Mr. Coffee BVMC-ZH1 Power Serve 12-Cup Coffeemaker, Stainless Steel

Mr. Coffee without the carafe!
Coffee is one of my four main food groups, so I am always pleased to try a new twist on coffee brewing. The Mr. Coffee Power Serve is a carafe-less coffee brewing system with a convenient, delayed brewing feature, a pause and serve feature, and cup-at-a-time dispensing.

You notice immediately upon unpacking that there is no carafe! The coffee is brewed directly into a reservoir, and you dispense your coffee directly into your cup or mug by pressing it against a pedal in the front. You can brew up to 12 cups at a time, and it takes 10 minutes to brew a full 12 cups.

The reservoir is designed to be used as a pitcher from which to pour the fresh water, but since it is a square shape, I found it to be a little awkward. I use a water pitcher instead. One very nice feature is that there are clearly marked "steps" in the back of the machine where you pour the water that makes it easy to add exactly the right amount. This is a big improvement over the hard-to-read marks...

Quite Dissatisfied - unfortunately
This coffeemaker was bought to replace another carafe-less coffeemaker from 'Cuisinart', which gave up the ghost. Coffee, is a must in our family - 1x/day-weekdays and 2x/day-weekends, not counting friends visiting or family coming over.

In the past I have had 3+ Mr. Coffee units and been fairly well pleased so I thought this one would be a decent unit. Boy was I surprised.

The Good:
1) I liked the speed at which it brewed - very nice and fast
2) The layout of controls is simple and uncomplicated
3) The coffee tasted as it should - no odd tastes that we could determine
4) The water fill area is nicely wide - compared to others that I have used
5) The ease of cleaning - IMO

The Bad:
1A) Purchase Date: 7/13/2011
1B) Date of First use: 7/14/2011
1C) Stopped working date: 8/21/2011
1D) Length of product life: 5 & 1/2 weeks - (39 days total)[TOTALLY unacceptable]

2) The inability of setting the...

Great customer service
The coffee maker that I received made coffee but the dispenser did not work. I contacted Mr Coffee's customer service and they sent me a new machine without any hassles. I always appreciate a company with good customer service. The new machine works well.

This coffee maker is rather bulky. It takes up about the same amount of counter space as my old coffee maker: Cuisinart 12-Cup Brew Central Coffeemaker, but the Mr Coffee is larger on top and this adds a lot of bulk. The other thing I don't like about this coffee maker is that the reservoir is plastic. If you drink the coffee right away it's not a big problem, but if you let the coffee sit for a while it tends to get a plastic flavor. I prefer coffee makers with glass carafes.

Click to Editorial Reviews