Dome Brew Classic Coffee Maker (Stainless Black)

This is our third Zojirushi product, and once again, they don't disappoint! Sure they're expensive, but you get what you pay for, especially for Japanese engineering. They really put the thought into it. We have their table top fryer, which my wife uses for when we fry pork bellies and other Asian stir fry dishes, right at the table. And we also have their inductive heating, top of the line rice cooker, which is, without a doubt, a quality product that has given us years of service and PERFECT rice. FWIW, some Zojirushi products are made in Japan, like the rice cooker (Which of course, cost more), and some are made in China (Like the table top fryer and this coffee machine), but rest assured, the Zojirushi engineering, as what you'd expect from Japanese engineering, is there. I bought this coffee maker from Zojirushi as it had some nice features that appealed to me. One is the heat of which it brews the coffee. It's very very hot. Also, the hot plate stays on for 2 hours. Another feature is the ability to have limitless "Bold" settings for the coffee strength (From light to bold), the shower head adjustable feature determines that in how it showers the coffee with the hot water. And you can also make iced coffee with it, which is very nice, as when you select the "Ice Coffee" feature, it turns off the heating plate. So you can brew the coffee and it will not heat the carafe. Also, when it comes to brewing time, if you pick the "Classic" setting on the brew strength, of course it brews the pot faster, "Bold" will take longer. Which is logical. First and foremost, as you would expect from a Zojirushi product, the quality is very good. It's substantial, you can feel it in the build. Very solid construction. The inner basket (which holds the paper filters or the gold filter) is also very solid, even though it is plastic it feels much more substantial and thicker. The frame and chassis construction is also very solid on the machine. Secondly, it's super easy to use, which I liked, and not too many hidden features in it's embedded firmware. Simple and to the point. Thirdly it's also easy to clean, the "Shower" head comes off easily, it just snaps out, and you can rinse it and wipe out the shower dome (or percolator area) if you like. I just open the door a couple times and let it drop to get any excess moisture out. But easy maintenance is there if you want it. Great product from a Great company. Buy it, you won't be disappointed.

After purchasing two failed Cuisinart coffee makers that I had to return to Amazon (see my review here: https://www.amazon.com/gp/customer-reviews/R3OCP8S4BOCZYB/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_ttl?ie=UTF8&ASIN=B00MVWGQX0), and a Krups Savoy EC31450 on which the display dimmed after less than two years, I decided to spend a little more on a Zojirushi EC-ESC120 Dome Brew coffee maker. So far, I'm glad I did. Friends have a Zojirushi Fresh Brew Plus Thermal Carafe Coffee Maker, which they highly recommended, however I wanted a coffee maker with a glass carafe. My Zojirushi Dome Brew brews the best tasting, hottest coffee I've ever had from any coffee maker I've ever owned. It's clearly a high-quality machine with excellent workmanship and a heavy-duty glass carafe. The unique dome brew feature ensures that the coffee grounds are evenly wetted by very hot water that's perfect for brewing great coffee. It works almost like the glass dome on a percolator. The controls are easy to navigate and the display is bright and readable. I've read a few reviews that mentioned that the warming plate does not automatically turn off. In fact, it does after two hours (you can manually turn off the warming plate at any time by long pressing the Brew button). The temperature of the warming plate is not adjustable; it is preset to keep coffee warm at the optimal temperature. I've also read that the carafe is cheap glass and that it drips. In my experience, that is not the case; in fact, the carafe's glass seems heavier than most. It's true. The clock is a 24-hour clock, aka "military time." I don't find that a detriment at all. It's not that difficult to figure out that 6:00pm is 18:00 hours. As mentioned earlier, the controls are simple and easy to navigate, including the settings to program the timer to brew your coffee at 6:00am (or whatever time you choose). There's even a setting to brew iced coffee!! In summary, this is the best coffee maker I've ever owned. Time will tell how it performs in the long run, but I suspect it will last a long time. I once had an old Krups Pro Aroma 12-Cup coffee maker that lasted for 18 years; if I get half that life out of my Zojirushi, I'll be very happy.

The coffee maker worked well initially, but a little less than 5 months later the pot now leaks when pouring coffee and the auto stop no longer works when pulling the pot out mid-brew.

It's human nature to not like something that is different from what you had, so I waited 2 months to write this review. We had our previous coffee maker 9 years, it was a similar 12-cup programmable style. We now realize that our old coffee maker was making not particularly good coffee that was not particularly hot. We have a Zojirushi rice maker and a bread maker from long ago, both still work great. PROS: - really great tasting coffee! - hot coffee! - programmable timer is easy to use after reading instructions - it brews quietly - cone coffee filters are better, our old coffee maker used the basket filters that always folded over and made a mess - timer shows how long since coffee was brewed - you can turn all of the beep sounds off if you want - very good instruction manual - just about all companies cheap out on this important part of customer service CONS: - there is no excuse for the terrible design of the water fill area - glass does seem to be thinner than on our older one so be careful - military time takes getting used to, luckily we only use it in the morning before thirteen-hundred hours - not really a con, but we would prefer a smaller 10-cup model Pro Tip: if you like HOT coffee then always preheat your mug with boiling water or heat it in the microwave for a minute BEFORE pouring your coffee in