@PlacidPenguin Your humanity is in doubt. How could you not have made a financial sacrifice at the mermaid’s altar? By everything good and holy, denying coffee is like … is like … denying bacon! Oh, the horror!
I’m just disappointed that “refurbished” isn’t automatically translated to “r0x0rz!” anymore. I miss that.
@huja Depending on how much/little of a tea snob you are, I’ve found the Numi Pu-erh to be quite good for a reasonable price. It’s not in little bird-nest forms as per usual, but more like a big chocolate bar that you break servings off of.
@huja I tend to go with blueberry tea and white tea. I tend to mix it up but I have become use to using stevia over regular sugar. I’ll go with honey every now and then, but never creamer in tea. That’s gross.
@JT954 Warm milk and tea isn’t half bad. I was staunchly against until a vacation to Bhutan where tea time included a side of warm milk to pour into tea. The key is warming the milk before adding to the tea. I rarely sweeten my tea these days. Maybe a spoonful of Manuka honey and a squeeze of lemon with my Earl Grey now and then.
thank you, meh. this same model that i purchased from you two years ago stopped working on the k-cup side (my preferred delivery method). time for an equipment refresh!
@Jonas4321 yes, i like that it can swing both ways! and the timing on the offering couldn’t be better. i was just about to head out into the real world and buy a replacement.
i could probably fix the k-cup side - water doesn’t seem to be travelling well through the tube anymore. maybe it just needs a good scaling type cleaning but it’s not worth my time/energy.
@Jonas4321 I got this model in a Fuku bag awhile back. It appeared to be a return to Amazon with the complaint that the K-cup side tasted like plastic. I ran some vinegar through it a few times and that worked fine. I’m not a coffee drinker, but I like it for hot chocolate and cider every now and then. And it’s great to have around for guests who are coffee drinkers.
Some k-cup brands don’t work well–Mad Monkey brand has problems in our machine. We use San Francisco Bay Coffee Organic Rainforest Blend partly because SFB k-cups don’t have the plastic cup.
If you follow cleaning instructions, you’re looking at over an hour.
Use the cup stand inverted for short mugs or splashy splashy everywhere.
The nice thing is a k-cup and a large mug of water brewed on ground setting makes a good, large cup of coffee. So a k-cup French roast that might be too strong in a short pour is nice in the larger cup.
We got ours incredibly cheap but I would have been upset paying full-price for this thing.
@michaelahess They make a nice range of coffees, too. I like the Rainforest blend; the other coffee drinker here likes the stronger Fog Chaser. Amazon.com currently lets us subscribe for an 80 pack of stronger French Roast for $20.
Still use ours daily, from the last time they sold here. Granted the refurbished one we got leaked like an 18 year old dog, but the refurbished Hamilton sent under warranty has been very reliable!
@mehmeyousweet the paper filters with the Bunn brand are slightly larger than standard size, no more coffee grounds overflow if you remove the carafe during brewing. PITA to find irl, but Amazon has them.
@iggy71 It’s not exactly unnecessary, that’s how they heat the water for brewing. It’s the way pretty much all drip coffee makers work, standalone K-cup makers have a heating element elsewhere, obviously. It’s a cost saving decision; adding a 2nd heating element would put this out of the price range they are targeting in all likelihood. I don’t think it’s particularly unsafe as long as you know what it’s doing, though they probably could have added an indicator light for when the hot plate is hot.
@mcmonkey819 You need to read donrull’s link and look closer at the design. The heating element BELOW the carafe (which does have an indicator light BTW) is already a separate heating element from the one that heats the water ABOVE the carafe or mug. All that would be required is a wiring change when you move the selector to K-Cup. Therefore there is no need for “adding a 2nd heating element would put this out of the price range they are targeting”. It’s a dumbass design - pure and simple, not to mention the plastic smell/ taste issue seen in the Amazon comments. It’s a hit or miss on that happening. Easy pass on this for me - good luck to anyone who chances it.
@Felyne What do you use to get your water hot before pouring it into the French press? Not dissing FP’s, they make wonderful coffee, but seems to me that the no-electricity benefit is a convenience not a conservation, correct?
Got the older model of this when it was on Meh and I use it daily. I think it might have been one of my first purchases and it’s probably what solidly sold me on Meh. I’m actually trying to think of a reason to buy a second one…
Ours did too until we ran some vinegar/water through it for a couple cycles and then ran a couple with citric acid/water. Since, then it makes great tasting coffee and we love the flexibility of doing single side or a full pot.
I have some counter space left and was looking for something this exact size to fill it. Now i wont have to see my expensive natural stone counters any more!!! Woot. More useless gadgets. Now to find something branded Ronco…
We’re trying to think of a better name than “FlexBrew”… and, uh, it turns out we can’t
C’mon, meh, it’s staring you right in the face, just like cross-country ski machine in your basement. The BrewFlex! Comes complete with Duran Duran video:
Meh’s gone too far this time
And it won’t arrive for valentine’s
I tell you somebody’s fooling around
With my knives and bluetooth speaker finds
I’ll buy that dock when I find it
Another day
For my nightstand, oh oh
Midnight is no time for deciding
If I should find a baby hand, oh oh
Why don’t you use it?
Try just to brew it?
Buy, now, don’t lose it
Why don’t you use it?
Try just to brew it?
Buy, now, don’t lose it
(chorus)
The BrewFlex is a lonely child
Who’s waiting for a spark
The BrewFlex is a door to finding
Treasure in the dark
Drip over or K-cup exposure
Isn’t that bizarre
Every little thing the BrewFlex does
Leaves you answered with a speaker dock
I see a lot of negative comments on here about the FlexBrew. I bought one about 5 years ago, refurb, from Woot, back when the Meh guys still owned it, and it’s still going strong. The Hot plate under the carafe isn’t a big deal, and I haven’t had any problems with it that weren’t due to my screw ups.
I own this one. Still going strong (if you pick the strong brew setting, heh heh heh). Couple important caveats.
The kcup side is awkward. It’s nothing like a dedicated Keurig. You only put exactly amount of water for one cup in the water reservoir. It works, but automated it ain’t.
The hot plate still gets warm if you’re using the kcup side, which is why they warn you.
Very sneaky of you to offer this after I’d already purchased the Hamilton Beach Single-Serve Coffee Maker (Refurbished), Meh! You know what? It’s okay, because I REALLY missed having a pot o’coffee…because waiting that 90 seconds for the 2nd cup of Java in the morning was really killing me. So, ya’ wanna buy back the single-serve? It’s only 20 bucks, remanufactured!
So having owned this (or an identical model), it’s decent- especially for this price.
There are a couple of quirks to be aware of:
The reservoir is a bit funny, and will prevent the brew process on the K-Cup side if there’s too much water.
It’s likely impossible to use those reusable K-Cups that you fill with coffee, due to how the machine treats the cups- it punches out the back of the cup (not an issue for a normal K-cup, but a big deal for anything reusable).
Otherwise, it’s a fine machine that gets the job done.
@dashcloud Thanks, good info on the K-Cup abuse. I use an EckoBrew stainless steel K-Cup with paper filters in my Keurig every morning, and would not want to start paying for actual disposable K-Cups.
Bought a refurbished one of these directly from Amazon about 15 months ago and it’s been hit or miss - we’ve had 3 different occasions where the pump stopped working and we couldn’t make coffee on either the pot side or the k-cup side. We’d have to dump the water out of the reservoir and try again. It was kind of a crapshoot as to why it wasn’t working but we always got it working again - sometimes after a few days of literally just letting it sit. No idea what the cause is but MANY others have had the exact same pump problems. Some have thought that the single cup float valve is the issue but I’ve played with it and it never resolved the issue. Cleaning with vinegar didn’t seem to fix it either. At any rate, it’s working once again as I type this. No idea when it will stop again and no idea if it will ever start working again but it has been great when it’s worked. At $35 I think it’s worth the gamble even knowing what I know now. We paid $59.99 for our refurb on Amazon. Enjoy!
BTW, this does come with (it shows it in the 4th photo on the main page) a fine mesh screen filter that goes into the k-cup side if you want to use loose grounds in the single serving side. You actually remove the interior portion of the k-cup side that pierces the k-cup and then insert the mesh filter in it’s place.
@Jonas4321 I only used it a couple times and it was fine but I had to use a lot of coffee since it runs through the single-serving size much quicker than the drip on the pot-side. I haven’t used it since then because of how much coffee it takes and I don’t have a sink nearby to wash out the mesh filter - which really needs to be rinsed after each use.
My girlfriend has one of these and I have been using it regularly for the last 6 months or so. I would say about 90% of the time at least, the K-cup doesn’t get pierced all the way through and I have to take a knife and cut the edges so it will sit all the way down in it. I am not sure if it is a common thing or if I just buy cheap K-cups that deform super easily.
Also, if you use a regular-sized mug and don’t put anything under it to lift up closer to the spout, the coffee sprays all over the counter top. Other than that, it is fairly convenient for the occasional times we want to make a whole pot of coffee. Seems pretty good at this price.
Are these refurb’d because when the dial was in the carafe position (see pic 1), brew was dispensed through the K-cup side? Seems counterintuitive . . .
Hate to be that guy who says the K-cups are an ecological disaster! I like my coffee knowing that I contributed to enhancing peoples lives by drinking sustainable organic coffee. Oh and the filter that I use is biodegradable. K-Cups are horrible… you initially had me at 2-way… !!!
You are awesome people, its the K-Cup people have ruined this morning ritual. Just make a pot of coffee and share and find a way to seal that K-Cup thing! I hear Duck Tape works wonders!
@kramarrap I am not here to completely defend K-Cups, but it’s necessary to tell the whole story when it comes to what that single-cup-brewing revolution has done. Many articles have been written about the dual-edgedness of this issue (like this one, for example), but the bottom line is that there is a seriously-worth-considering upside to the evil little K-Cup - FAR less water is used to grow (because less coffee is wasted) and brew for our black gold drug fix each morning. We undervalue water COMPLETELY in this day and age, and that will bite us just as hard down the road as plastic in landfills and oceans will.
This is scary. When I got out of the shower this morning my wife told me our coffee maker was busted. I suggested we look to see if there were some kind of combo coffee maker that did both a pot of coffee and single k cups. This way she could have her giant iced coffees and I could just make a single cup when I wanted it.
Indeed, the Meh guys are the original Wooters. Same city in Texas (Woohoo). I hear the original gentleman in looking back wished that he had never sold out to the Mothership. I always did wonder how Amazon could be so stupid as to not require him to sign a Non-Compete Clause though. MUhahahaha. I am Glad they are and have been back in force. Wish I could get a Fuku though someday. Meh on this product though.
I bought this from meh October 2014. I did a thorough cleaning right away. I typically only drink coffee M-F during fall and winter. So this is still going strong. My teens used to use the k-cup side regularly. I was never pleased with the taste/quantity of the k-cups, even using the metal mesh thing. So I just make a ‘small’ 4-cup pot of coffee. Most of it fits in my travel mug. I’ve never had any problems with this unit though. In fact I have thought about buying a 2nd one to put in my office at work for the days 1 travel mug isn’t enough.
@gfletcher01 don’t waste your money. mine broke in 35 days… and just read some comments on this site. Unless I get a replacement, I will never ever buy anything from meh again…and I’ll spread the word. I hope they’ll honor a replacement.
I took it out of the box, ran water through the carafe side, and ended up with a large puddle of water on the counter. Tried the K-cup side, no problem. Tried the carafe side again, same result as the first time, big leak. Submitted a complaint via the Hamilton Beach web site yesterday, nothing heard - not even an autoresponse.
I’ve never awarded zero stars before. I am now. The unit arrived filthy. It actually appeared to be from the previous owner, not the repair process. Th handle was missing from the pot-side filter tray. Terrible taste until we ran vinegar through it. And the unforgivable: The pod side doesn’t work. (It does work with grounds, however.) Unfortunately we didn’t keep the box to send it back.
What a steaming pile of carafe - I’ve never had, used, seen or heard rumors of such a poorly-designed, even more-poorly executed effort at ANYTHING. MEH-ga misuse of time, money and hopes for a good cup of joe.
Well, I ordered this refurbished Hamilton coffee brewer on Feb 10, 2017 and yesterday, March 19, the damn thing broke. When trying to brew a k-cup, it steams up and a few drops come out, the remaining water stays in the machine. It sounds like a water link came loose. How do I get my money back or a replacement?
Mike
Specs
What’s in the Box?
1x Hamilton Beach FlexBrew Coffeemaker
1x Single serve brew basket
1x Glass carafe
1x Instruction Manual
Pictures
With Travel Mug (not included)
With raised coffee cup (also not included)
Single serve side works with K-Cups
…and grounds
Carafe side works with grounds
Price Comparison
$64.56 (new) at Amazon
$89.99 List
Warranty
30 Days Hamilton Beach
Estimated Delivery
Monday, July 13th - Thursday, July 16th
Yuck, used toilet coffee
I ran out of letters to type in.
Meh Brew ha ha
@AttyVette I saw what you did there…
I’m gonna need this in the morning since I stayed up late to see what the new product was… zzz
Happy to not be a caffeine addict.
I suppose some people need coffee to help them stay up for the Meh rollover.
(Have never had coffee ever myself though.)
@PlacidPenguin Your humanity is in doubt. How could you not have made a financial sacrifice at the mermaid’s altar? By everything good and holy, denying coffee is like … is like … denying bacon! Oh, the horror!
I’m just disappointed that “refurbished” isn’t automatically translated to “r0x0rz!” anymore. I miss that.
@DocBJ
Have never had bacon before.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
@PlacidPenguin I’m calling shenanigans.
I’ll let this one drip by
And I stayed up for this? Grrrrrr
Less coffee, more tea.
@JT954
/giphy morty
@JT954 What are you drinking these days? I’m backing off the Oolong and drinking more green these days but am looking for a good Pu erh source.
@huja Depending on how much/little of a tea snob you are, I’ve found the Numi Pu-erh to be quite good for a reasonable price. It’s not in little bird-nest forms as per usual, but more like a big chocolate bar that you break servings off of.
@brhfl Probably a 7 on the tea snob meter.
@huja Still worth a shot. Just don’t get the garbage in the bags. Might be pleasantly surprised.
@huja I tend to go with blueberry tea and white tea. I tend to mix it up but I have become use to using stevia over regular sugar. I’ll go with honey every now and then, but never creamer in tea. That’s gross.
@JT954 Warm milk and tea isn’t half bad. I was staunchly against until a vacation to Bhutan where tea time included a side of warm milk to pour into tea. The key is warming the milk before adding to the tea. I rarely sweeten my tea these days. Maybe a spoonful of Manuka honey and a squeeze of lemon with my Earl Grey now and then.
There appears to be more than two ways, in this two way coffee maker.
Carafe, or K-Cup? Strong, or Regular? Travel Mug, or Normal Cup? Decaf, or Caffeinated?
A variety of ways, stop limiting yourself to two.
It’s a hot, steaming cup of no from me, meh.
Well, the video was spot on.
Refurb. The FlexBrew wrecks brew.
This coffee machine doesn’t have a hip, modern, swoopy design, so, no thanks.
/image hip modern swoopy design
Juan Valdez would love this!
@daveinwarsh Too bad he couldn’t afford it since his coffee wasn’t Fair Trade.
@huja ouch!
thank you, meh. this same model that i purchased from you two years ago stopped working on the k-cup side (my preferred delivery method). time for an equipment refresh!
@annwat So you like this machine, then?
@Jonas4321 yes, i like that it can swing both ways! and the timing on the offering couldn’t be better. i was just about to head out into the real world and buy a replacement.
i could probably fix the k-cup side - water doesn’t seem to be travelling well through the tube anymore. maybe it just needs a good scaling type cleaning but it’s not worth my time/energy.
@Jonas4321 I got this model in a Fuku bag awhile back. It appeared to be a return to Amazon with the complaint that the K-cup side tasted like plastic. I ran some vinegar through it a few times and that worked fine. I’m not a coffee drinker, but I like it for hot chocolate and cider every now and then. And it’s great to have around for guests who are coffee drinkers.
Breeeewwww! No thanks.
Another enjoyable read.
The hot plate gets hot for both brewing sides.
Some k-cup brands don’t work well–Mad Monkey brand has problems in our machine. We use San Francisco Bay Coffee Organic Rainforest Blend partly because SFB k-cups don’t have the plastic cup.
If you follow cleaning instructions, you’re looking at over an hour.
Use the cup stand inverted for short mugs or splashy splashy everywhere.
The nice thing is a k-cup and a large mug of water brewed on ground setting makes a good, large cup of coffee. So a k-cup French roast that might be too strong in a short pour is nice in the larger cup.
We got ours incredibly cheap but I would have been upset paying full-price for this thing.
@mehmeyousweet I too use San Francisco Bay, less waste and good when you just want one cup!
@michaelahess They make a nice range of coffees, too. I like the Rainforest blend; the other coffee drinker here likes the stronger Fog Chaser. Amazon.com currently lets us subscribe for an 80 pack of stronger French Roast for $20.
i’m disappointed. this doesn’t include the intravenous kit.
@alacrity Bluetooth Intravenous Administrator.
@Fuzzalini does that require a 4 year degree or is it more of a community college thing?
Still use ours daily, from the last time they sold here. Granted the refurbished one we got leaked like an 18 year old dog, but the refurbished Hamilton sent under warranty has been very reliable!
I bought one the last time you offered it a while b ack…we love it! Great deal for dual options!
I got this the last time they were sold, but didnt actually open it for about a year. It was DOA, but my loss since I waited forever to test it.
I though, “Why the hell not” and then I bought one.
that is some watery-ass coffee
Can anyone recommend paper basket filters for the carafe side? Preferably ones sold on Amazon. Thanks.
We’ve been using a Melitta cone pourover and carafe but we’d like to start using the carafe brew option on this.
@mehmeyousweet Trader Joes sells their own brand.
@halnwheels Thank you.
@mehmeyousweet the paper filters with the Bunn brand are slightly larger than standard size, no more coffee grounds overflow if you remove the carafe during brewing. PITA to find irl, but Amazon has them.
@cblloyd Thank you. I wondered whether there was a paper filter that was a little better than the others. I’ll have to try some.
pass.
could you guys sell those wonderful JBL pebble speakers again? my old set finally died
@boygenius1991 Agreed. Mine are still good but need another set.
/giphy Tres aces. Good hand.
Doesn’t seem like this is worth it at all unless you really need the k cup function
Deemed unsafe by Consumer Reports http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/news/2014/02/hamilton-beach-dual-coffeemaker-deemed-unsafe-by-consumer-reports/index.htm
@donrull Thanks, this ups the price per K-cup made since you are unnecessarily heating an unused “hot plate” for each cup. Dumbass design.
@iggy71 It’s not exactly unnecessary, that’s how they heat the water for brewing. It’s the way pretty much all drip coffee makers work, standalone K-cup makers have a heating element elsewhere, obviously. It’s a cost saving decision; adding a 2nd heating element would put this out of the price range they are targeting in all likelihood. I don’t think it’s particularly unsafe as long as you know what it’s doing, though they probably could have added an indicator light for when the hot plate is hot.
@mcmonkey819 You need to read donrull’s link and look closer at the design. The heating element BELOW the carafe (which does have an indicator light BTW) is already a separate heating element from the one that heats the water ABOVE the carafe or mug. All that would be required is a wiring change when you move the selector to K-Cup. Therefore there is no need for “adding a 2nd heating element would put this out of the price range they are targeting”. It’s a dumbass design - pure and simple, not to mention the plastic smell/ taste issue seen in the Amazon comments. It’s a hit or miss on that happening. Easy pass on this for me - good luck to anyone who chances it.
Got one in a fuku 2 years ago - we love it! Works perfectly, brews splendidly. Recommended.
Meh, French Press fo life.
120v?
Did someone say “More kitchen items please”? Your wish, their command. All meh so far.
Yup, French Press uses no electricity, takes up less room, makes great coffee and doesn’t break unless u drop it.
@Felyne You should try heating the water with your press, it’s waaaay better that way (although you do end up using some energy).
@mehvermore I think I just passed The Flash! LOL
@Felyne What do you use to get your water hot before pouring it into the French press? Not dissing FP’s, they make wonderful coffee, but seems to me that the no-electricity benefit is a convenience not a conservation, correct?
@Jonas4321 I at least have a kettle that I put on my gas stove, so gas, not electricity, is spent.
@Felyne @mehvermore Or just don’t heat the water, what has come to be called “cold brew”. Takes longer, but winds up stronger and less acidic.
@Jonas4321 We use one of those quick heat elec kettles. Solar panels.
@MWPollard Hmmmm, interesting.
@Felyne I accept the well-deserved burn!!!
@Felyne Some don’t even break when you do drop them!
/image frieling french press
@brhfl Sleek! Now that u can leave on your counter!
Got the older model of this when it was on Meh and I use it daily. I think it might have been one of my first purchases and it’s probably what solidly sold me on Meh. I’m actually trying to think of a reason to buy a second one…
Be warned - My wife and I bought one of these just after our wedding, and everytime we brewed coffee it smelled and tasted like burning plastic.
@jemclemore
Ours did too until we ran some vinegar/water through it for a couple cycles and then ran a couple with citric acid/water. Since, then it makes great tasting coffee and we love the flexibility of doing single side or a full pot.
I have one of these and I like it a lot.
I have some counter space left and was looking for something this exact size to fill it. Now i wont have to see my expensive natural stone counters any more!!! Woot. More useless gadgets. Now to find something branded Ronco…
@ralimore you evidently missed your opportunity yesterday…HERE
C’mon, meh, it’s staring you right in the face, just like cross-country ski machine in your basement. The BrewFlex! Comes complete with Duran Duran video:
Meh’s gone too far this time
And it won’t arrive for valentine’s
I tell you somebody’s fooling around
With my knives and bluetooth speaker finds
I’ll buy that dock when I find it
Another day
For my nightstand, oh oh
Midnight is no time for deciding
If I should find a baby hand, oh oh
Why don’t you use it?
Try just to brew it?
Buy, now, don’t lose it
Why don’t you use it?
Try just to brew it?
Buy, now, don’t lose it
(chorus)
The BrewFlex is a lonely child
Who’s waiting for a spark
The BrewFlex is a door to finding
Treasure in the dark
Drip over or K-cup exposure
Isn’t that bizarre
Every little thing the BrewFlex does
Leaves you answered with a speaker dock
@lehigh EPIC!!! Love the lyrics!!
I see a lot of negative comments on here about the FlexBrew. I bought one about 5 years ago, refurb, from Woot, back when the Meh guys still owned it, and it’s still going strong. The Hot plate under the carafe isn’t a big deal, and I haven’t had any problems with it that weren’t due to my screw ups.
@davevinci What?!!? The Meh guys are the old Woot guys? That explains why I love this site and hate New Woot! I loved Old Woot! Mind blown.
Many negative reviews on Amazon. Buyer beware.
I own this one. Still going strong (if you pick the strong brew setting, heh heh heh). Couple important caveats.
Very sneaky of you to offer this after I’d already purchased the Hamilton Beach Single-Serve Coffee Maker (Refurbished), Meh! You know what? It’s okay, because I REALLY missed having a pot o’coffee…because waiting that 90 seconds for the 2nd cup of Java in the morning was really killing me. So, ya’ wanna buy back the single-serve? It’s only 20 bucks, remanufactured!
I recently had lunch with a Rodeo Clown. Does this qualify me for receiving a couple of free FlexBrews?
Man…just get a big French Press and be done with it!
So having owned this (or an identical model), it’s decent- especially for this price.
There are a couple of quirks to be aware of:
The reservoir is a bit funny, and will prevent the brew process on the K-Cup side if there’s too much water.
It’s likely impossible to use those reusable K-Cups that you fill with coffee, due to how the machine treats the cups- it punches out the back of the cup (not an issue for a normal K-cup, but a big deal for anything reusable).
Otherwise, it’s a fine machine that gets the job done.
@dashcloud Thanks, good info on the K-Cup abuse. I use an EckoBrew stainless steel K-Cup with paper filters in my Keurig every morning, and would not want to start paying for actual disposable K-Cups.
Bought a refurbished one of these directly from Amazon about 15 months ago and it’s been hit or miss - we’ve had 3 different occasions where the pump stopped working and we couldn’t make coffee on either the pot side or the k-cup side. We’d have to dump the water out of the reservoir and try again. It was kind of a crapshoot as to why it wasn’t working but we always got it working again - sometimes after a few days of literally just letting it sit. No idea what the cause is but MANY others have had the exact same pump problems. Some have thought that the single cup float valve is the issue but I’ve played with it and it never resolved the issue. Cleaning with vinegar didn’t seem to fix it either. At any rate, it’s working once again as I type this. No idea when it will stop again and no idea if it will ever start working again but it has been great when it’s worked. At $35 I think it’s worth the gamble even knowing what I know now. We paid $59.99 for our refurb on Amazon. Enjoy!
BTW, this does come with (it shows it in the 4th photo on the main page) a fine mesh screen filter that goes into the k-cup side if you want to use loose grounds in the single serving side. You actually remove the interior portion of the k-cup side that pierces the k-cup and then insert the mesh filter in it’s place.
@kcmark How’s the coffee that this technique makes?
@Jonas4321 I only used it a couple times and it was fine but I had to use a lot of coffee since it runs through the single-serving size much quicker than the drip on the pot-side. I haven’t used it since then because of how much coffee it takes and I don’t have a sink nearby to wash out the mesh filter - which really needs to be rinsed after each use.
My girlfriend has one of these and I have been using it regularly for the last 6 months or so. I would say about 90% of the time at least, the K-cup doesn’t get pierced all the way through and I have to take a knife and cut the edges so it will sit all the way down in it. I am not sure if it is a common thing or if I just buy cheap K-cups that deform super easily.
Also, if you use a regular-sized mug and don’t put anything under it to lift up closer to the spout, the coffee sprays all over the counter top. Other than that, it is fairly convenient for the occasional times we want to make a whole pot of coffee. Seems pretty good at this price.
@dansch07 The metal portion under the K-cup side will flip over so that a mug will sit closer to where the liquid comes out (See pic #1).
U need to put an air fryer on here… hopefully I didn’t miss one!!
@reneeinparadise like this one?
I’ve had two HB coffee makers. Two, because the first one broke, but HB is very good about replacing their items. Even refurbs…
Are these refurb’d because when the dial was in the carafe position (see pic 1), brew was dispensed through the K-cup side? Seems counterintuitive . . .
@jpu good eye!
Hate to be that guy who says the K-cups are an ecological disaster! I like my coffee knowing that I contributed to enhancing peoples lives by drinking sustainable organic coffee. Oh and the filter that I use is biodegradable. K-Cups are horrible… you initially had me at 2-way…
!!!
You are awesome people, its the K-Cup people have ruined this morning ritual. Just make a pot of coffee and share and find a way to seal that K-Cup thing! I hear Duck Tape works wonders!
@kramarrap I am not here to completely defend K-Cups, but it’s necessary to tell the whole story when it comes to what that single-cup-brewing revolution has done. Many articles have been written about the dual-edgedness of this issue (like this one, for example), but the bottom line is that there is a seriously-worth-considering upside to the evil little K-Cup - FAR less water is used to grow (because less coffee is wasted) and brew for our black gold drug fix each morning. We undervalue water COMPLETELY in this day and age, and that will bite us just as hard down the road as plastic in landfills and oceans will.
@Jonas4321 meh.
Coffee once a week is good enough for me…and instant is fine for that.
This is scary. When I got out of the shower this morning my wife told me our coffee maker was busted. I suggested we look to see if there were some kind of combo coffee maker that did both a pot of coffee and single k cups. This way she could have her giant iced coffees and I could just make a single cup when I wanted it.
Indeed, the Meh guys are the original Wooters. Same city in Texas (Woohoo). I hear the original gentleman in looking back wished that he had never sold out to the Mothership. I always did wonder how Amazon could be so stupid as to not require him to sign a Non-Compete Clause though. MUhahahaha. I am Glad they are and have been back in force. Wish I could get a Fuku though someday. Meh on this product though.
@Mandamm I think there there was one. 3 years.
Mediocre Labs opened up shortly after that.
I’m bored, haven’t bought anything in weeks. Bring back the micro quadcopters!
I bought this from meh October 2014. I did a thorough cleaning right away. I typically only drink coffee M-F during fall and winter. So this is still going strong. My teens used to use the k-cup side regularly. I was never pleased with the taste/quantity of the k-cups, even using the metal mesh thing. So I just make a ‘small’ 4-cup pot of coffee. Most of it fits in my travel mug. I’ve never had any problems with this unit though. In fact I have thought about buying a 2nd one to put in my office at work for the days 1 travel mug isn’t enough.
Any chance I can still get this deal?
@gfletcher01 don’t waste your money. mine broke in 35 days… and just read some comments on this site. Unless I get a replacement, I will never ever buy anything from meh again…and I’ll spread the word. I hope they’ll honor a replacement.
I took it out of the box, ran water through the carafe side, and ended up with a large puddle of water on the counter. Tried the K-cup side, no problem. Tried the carafe side again, same result as the first time, big leak. Submitted a complaint via the Hamilton Beach web site yesterday, nothing heard - not even an autoresponse.
I’ve never awarded zero stars before. I am now. The unit arrived filthy. It actually appeared to be from the previous owner, not the repair process. Th handle was missing from the pot-side filter tray. Terrible taste until we ran vinegar through it. And the unforgivable: The pod side doesn’t work. (It does work with grounds, however.) Unfortunately we didn’t keep the box to send it back.
@dogdude
That’s worse than refurbished.
@woodhouse @galmaegi - Ping
What a steaming pile of carafe - I’ve never had, used, seen or heard rumors of such a poorly-designed, even more-poorly executed effort at ANYTHING. MEH-ga misuse of time, money and hopes for a good cup of joe.
Well, I ordered this refurbished Hamilton coffee brewer on Feb 10, 2017 and yesterday, March 19, the damn thing broke. When trying to brew a k-cup, it steams up and a few drops come out, the remaining water stays in the machine. It sounds like a water link came loose. How do I get my money back or a replacement?
Mike
@greengoe1 Sounds more like a clog.
As for a replacement, from the specs:
That, BTW, is where the blame needs to be; meh is not the manufacturer or refurbisher; they just sell it.
My K-Cup side stopped working the 2nd day. In warranty process now.
I have had no problems with mine, except it only makes 12 cups of coffee at a time!!!