KitchenAid KCM0402CU Personal Coffee Maker, Small, Contour Silver

Just received this today and already I have run it through it's paces to see how I like it.I have the Onyx Black one, they have other brighter colors but I did choose the black one. It has some brushed silver steel parts and the rest is heavy duty black plastic. The water tank is translucent, the rest opaque. A very attractive, modern looking coffee machine. It is sturdy and well made.I first cleaned all removable parts in hot soapy water and dried everything thoroughly. Then I brewed a full tank of plain cold tap water (no coffee) to prime and clean all internal parts.I brewed the first time with regular medium grind canned coffee using the metal screen filter.I was astonished at how full bodied the coffee was, I drank a few sips and determined it to be a rich dark very flavorful coffee.I then cleaned the parts, set aside the metal filter and inserted a #2 cone filter. I filled it with a few tablespoons of my favorite brand of espresso and filled the tank only half way with water just to see how the coffee machine would react.This machine is very easy to use, add coffee, water and push one button which softly beeps and turns blue. No matter how much water you put in the water tank, the blue light turns off, it beeps and it turns itself off when the water tank runs out of water.The espresso coffee was better to my tastes, I prefer a heavy strong black brew.So, I think I will love this machine to make my coffee with everyday.It really does make a surprising good cup of Joe, it is versatile and is a good looking well made appliance.I'm very happy with this coffee machine.Okay, I'm editing this post several hours later.... Now I have run this machine through its paces several more times....I think paper filters actually harm the full flavor taste of coffee in this machine.The integrated metal filter is actually very good for the end resulting flavor.I have run espresso and regular grind coffee through this machine several times now with the metal filter and with the #2 paper cone filters.... Espresso runs through this machine just as well as regular medium grind with the metal filter... I still prefer the espresso grind myself for the flavor but the paper filters are really unnecessary, this machine is really very well thought out and will brew to your taste with no extra components necessary.Great fabulous coffee machine and very handsome on my kitchen counter but most importantly, it makes fabulous coffee.Edit:I've had this machine for about 3 weeks now and the coffee it makes gets better every day.The components work together so well, I would not even consider a paper filter now, the metal filter is excellence.I have always liked Starbucks regular black coffee but this machine beats that, it really does, I'm not exaggerating.I love good coffee and this single serve coffee maker is my favorite appliance now.If it ever breaks I'll just order another one, I'm hooked.Some hints: Use the freshest clearest coldest water you can obtain. Use any coffee of your choice but a medium grind seems to produce the best consistent quality- two simple things and your coffee will astonish you with every brew. I fill the thermos with water and pour it into the reservoir with it because the thermos has a very accurate pour spout, no dripping or splashing, easy to hit the hole with the water flow.

I have been using the same 1-cup coffee marker for 15-20 years, The problem has been that any replacements I have tried overflowed and made a mess when I used dark-roasted, fine-ground coffee. I called at least six coffeepot makers and asked if they had a product I could use. No one stepped up; in fact, most said don't bother to try. Then we ordered the KitchenAid KCM9402CU and my luck changed. It works with coffee ground for my espresso machine as well as coarser grounds. The reason it works is that you can use Melitta No. 2 coffee filters rather than the wimpy reusable metal filter that ships with the coffee maker and No. 2 filters are big enough that the water will complete dripping without overflow no matter whether your cup is 6 or 16 ounces. The coffee is hot, strong, and tastes great.Other good news is that the bigger No. 2 filters cost less than the No. 1 filters I've been using.Now the cautions: Other reviewers have noted that the swing arm that moves side-ward to expose the coffee holding area seems to loosen and either break or sag causing various problems. I believe it particularly if you are using Melitta filters - you need to press them into the exposed cavity and must be very careful. If you press too hard, I'm sure the swing arm will suffer or die. Further, you can not remove the filter holder and set it down to insert a filter; the bottom is pointed, not flat. If the filter holder cavity was about 1/16" deeper, precision filter insertion would not be so difficult and this problem would disappear. Another problem is that the filter holder has a handle that folds down. Unfortunately, that handle might catch the top of the filter so that when you hold it over a wastebasket to dump the filter, the filter is caught by the folded handle instead. If the handle is unfolded, it is square in the middle of the drop path of the filter containing the soaked grounds. In other words, there are several avoidable design flaws in this puppy.I'm rating this coffee maker five stars because it's given me the first opportunity in 15-20 years to replace an old crippled machine. If the design flaws actually cause expected problems or there are other, unexpected problems, I will upgrade this review and downgrade my rating. I will not rain on my own parade until or unless such problems show up. For the nonce, I highly recommend this product to anyone, like myself, who wants to use dark-roasted, fine-ground coffees.It's now 7/12/2015, about a year since I wrote the above review. I have two items to report: The first is no breakage of any part of the appliance so being a little careful seems to prevent problems. The second item is a recommendation of an inexpensive coffee grinder, the Mr. Coffee IDS77 Electric Coffee Grinder with Chamber Maid Cleaning System, Black. I have had two of them; the first lasted about five years. I use it to grind for espresso as well as the coffee I use in the KitchenAid. If you are reading this and are a fan of dark-roasted fine-ground coffee, this grinder is up to the task. And probably as important it's really easy to clean - all parts that need washing completely detach from the electronic base.It's now 9/20/2016 and well over two years since I bought my KitchenAid. I am happy to report that I, so far, have had no problems with the electronics or the structural components. I'm still extraordinarily pleased with my coffee.

I never write reviews but rely on others reviews prior to deciding on making a purchase so thought it's time to start. I've had this coffee maker for a few days now and it is EXACTLY what I have been looking for! Love the design, read a review complaining of a "Large footprint"..... I've learned to take negative reviews with a grain of salt (if there are only a few) most complaints are related to personal preference and not reading the product details. My personal opinion is this KitchenAid coffee maker is no larger than describe or expected for design. Another complaint was coffee temperature not hot enough. I can't say the exact temperature of my coffee but was hot enough to not be able to drink before allowing to cool a bit lol. This feature was something I really wanted as I have been heating my coffee up in microwave right after brewing for years! Lastly a few complained about the mug included not being high quality, whelp it works fine for me. As the description states and videos show, this coffee makerwill accommodate several sizes of cups and mugs....OR a person could just use the unappreciated included mug as a carafe and POUR IT INTO YOUR MUG OF CHOICE....lol.... common sense is priceless! All this rambling to say, I would definitely recommend this product and am very happy with my purchase and my HOT coffee. Full capacity brewed in about 5 minutes, cools fast if needing a second brew.