There are a few features that I needed before buying a good coffeemaker in addition to the obvious -- must make a good cup of coffee:
- Programmable. Need to have the auto feature so coffee is ready and hot when we get up
- Water gauge. Need to see how much water we can add.
- Time. Good to see what time it is!
- Cheat cup. Yeah, at least one of us cannot wait for the coffee to finish brewing.

I turned first to Cuisinart, since many of my appliances are this brand and it is always reliable. My sister has one so I thought I'd go for it. A few things are annoying:
- Yes it is programmable and I can set the time. HOWEVER, I cannot see the numbers like I did with our old coffeemaker. SOunds silly, but having a backlit display would be enormously helpful instead of using a flashlight or turning on the kitchen light.
- Water gauge is impossible to see. I'd have to stand on a stool to see the numbers inside. And, it's BLACK. Like staring into the dark ocean. I use a measuring cup to add my water and ignore the useless gauge. How about an indicator that displays on the outside of the unit (again our old coffeemaker had this great feature ---- just didn't make the best coffee!!)
- Cheat cup sometimes works, sometimes doesn't. Beware of cascading coffee on the hotplate if it doesn't!  Doesn't pay to cheat.

So, why did we keep it? The coffee is hot and well-brewed. Also, the changeable charcoal water filter and the self-clean reminder are good items to have, even though we only use spring water in the machine.

Up to you if you choose to purchase. Know what you are getting and not getting, though. Happy sipping!
There are a few features that I needed before buying a good coffeemaker in addition to the obvious -- must make a good cup of coffee:
- Programmable. Need to have the auto feature so coffee is ready and hot when we get up
- Water gauge. Need to see how much water we can add. - Time. Good to see what time it is! - Cheat cup. Yeah, at least one of us cannot wait for the coffee to finish brewing. I turned first to Cuisinart, since many of my appliances are this brand and it is always reliable. My sister has one so I thought I'd go for it. A few things are annoying:
- Yes it is programmable and I can set the time. HOWEVER, I cannot see the numbers like I did with our old coffeemaker. SOunds silly, but having a backlit display would be enormously helpful instead of using a flashlight or turning on the kitchen light. - Water gauge is impossible to see. I'd have to stand on a stool to see the numbers inside. And, it's BLACK. Like staring into the dark ocean. I use a measuring cup to add my water and ignore the useless gauge. How about an indicator that displays on the outside of the unit (again our old coffeemaker had this great feature ---- just didn't make the best coffee!! )
- Cheat cup sometimes works, sometimes doesn't. Beware of cascading coffee on the hotplate if it doesn't! Doesn't pay to cheat. So, why did we keep it? The coffee is hot and well-brewed. Also, the changeable charcoal water filter and the self-clean reminder are good items to have, even though we only use spring water in the machine. Up to you if you choose to purchase. Know what you are getting and not getting, though. Happy sipping!