Capresso 454 CoffeeTEAM-S Coffee Maker/Burr Grinder Combination

Product Description

The only combination machine with a Conical Burr Grinder! Just pour in the beans, program the time and amount of coffee to be ground¿and CoffeeTEAM-S does the rest! Only CoffeeTEAM lets you program the amount of coffee you want to grind: choose from 2, 4, 6, 8, or 10 cups and select mild, regular or strong. You can even program two completely different settings, one for manual operation and one for automatic operation. This way you always enjoy exactly the same coffee taste. The CoffeeTEAM uses solid steel conical burrs. The slow grinding of the burrs imparts minimal heat, preserving more aroma than blade grinding. It also allows for a finer and more uniform grind than combination machines with a blade grinder. Grinding and brewing are separated, keeping moisture away from the grinder. The CoffeeTEAM grinds the programmed amount of beans directly into the filter. Then the filter automatically swings back and the brewing process begins.

Product Details

* Amazon Sales Rank: #59526 in Kitchen & Housewares
* Color: Black
* Brand: Capresso
* Model: 454.01
* Released on: 2006-02-01
* Dimensions: 15.50" h x 11.50" w x 10.00" l,

Features

* AM/PM Programmable Clock/Timer lets you set the time when to grind and brew automatically
* The elegant, illuminated white-on-black display is easy to read.
* Charcoal Water Filter and Electronic filter indicator shows when to replace the charcoal filter
* GoldTone Filter, Size 4 Conical is included. CoffeeTEAM can also be used with Size 4 paper filter
* Special setting maintains flavor when brewing only 2 to 4 cups.

Customer Reviews

Poor. I mean pour.4
I've had this model coffemaker at work for a couple of years, and so I placed it on my registry and got it as a wedding gift. As far as grind and brew goes, this one is mostly good, but falls short in a few respects.
The good:
o- burr grinder, much better grind than a blade
o- programmable - I just set it in the evening and it's good to go when I get out of the shower
o- no major cleaning necessary every time you use it
o- I don't see anything wrong with the plastic at all. Looks fine to me.
o- GoldTone filter - a very fine mesh to capture most coffe grounds, but does not absorbe any of the oils from the coffee the way paper filters do, giving you a fuller flavor, albeit at a price of a slightly silty cup.

The bad:
o - the temperature isn't quite up to snuff - a little too cold. If you pour it into a cup you pulled out of the cupboard, and add a splash of half and half or milk from the fridge, then pour in the coffee, it's just above warm. Not hot enough. Which also contributes to the brew not being quite as good as the beans' potential. Sad.
Update - being the engineer at heart that I am, I went and tested the brew temperature, just to be sure. I used two different kitchen digital thermometers, both in the basket and in the carafe. For most of the bewing time the temp stays at about 165F, climbing up to almost 175F towards the end of the brew. That is well short of the 200F +- 5F (92C-94C). No wonder then. I was always puzzled at how I would find great coffee at a shop, buy the beans, bring them home and only get a mediocre brew. Now I know. Too cold.

o - there is a conduit between the burr grinder and the basket. As you grind beans, the grounds fill up the conduit and push the grounds that were there already out to the basket. It's okay if you use it at the office and brew 10 cups at a time, a few times a day (full brew takes about 10 minutes, BTW). Not good for home use where you bew 2-4 cups a day: you are constantly using day-old grounds. Not good. Next time this thing breaks, I'm replacing it with a standalone burr grinder which dumps beans right out, and a thermal carafe coffemaker like Braun, which brings me to the next point:
o- No thermal carafe! What's up with that! For a high price like that, I'd have at least expected a thermal carafe. Alas, no such luck.
o- Reliability. At the office we've had to replace it about once a year, which isn't bad considering how heavily we used it - multiple 10-cup brews every day. My home version quit (motor burned out, I think) after just over a year of use. Luckily, the department store exchanged it, a'cause it was off the wedding registry and they are extra nice in those cases. Next time this thing dies, I'm getting two separate pieces - maker and grinder, both can be had for under half of the cost of these.
o - if you do get it, make sure to point the spout of the carafe to the right, away from the basket, as the steam can make the mechanism and beans sticky.
o- Brew time is too long. A full 10 cups take 10 minutes. Ideally a brew should not take more than 6 minutes; after that time you start to extract bitter unpleasant flavors from the beans. So if you want to make more coffee, then make 6 cups, pour into a thermal container and brew the other 4.
Better yet, don't buy this coffemaker.

Update: Capresso has come out with a new model, Capresso 455.05 CoffeeTEAM which does come with a thermal carafe. I don't know what the brew temp is - I suspect still too cold; no way to tell. It's an extra hundred bucks. I'm going to see if I can return mine and buy a better one.

Have purchase 5 of these2
We bought one, loved it and after several years bought a new one. Also, bought one for my Mother-in-Law, Sister-in-Law and Aunt. The digital readouts on all four machines have broken within 6-18 months. Capresso says we can send the machines in for repair at a cost of around $100.

Four out of four machines bought at different times tells me that this is a design flaw. Capresso clearly knows about this, but is unwilling to fix the problem. By the way, this only seems to apply to newer machines with the orange/red backlight.

By far the BEST coffee maker I've ever owned...5
Who wouldn't want to wake up every morning and have not only freshly-brewed, but freshly-ground coffee waiting for them??? No, we don't have a butler... we have a Coffee Team!

Ok... I'll admit the price of this coffee maker seemed a little high in the beginning. My husband is a coffee fanatic and I wanted to get him a coffee maker for his birthday that would hopefully last longer than 6 months and reduce his morning coffee-making time.

Immediately after discovering the Coffee Team I started doing the math on how many Starbucks drive-thru trips my husband could make for the price of this coffee maker and realized that in the end this would be more cost-effective for our budget.

I can't say enough about the quality of this coffee maker. I was initially skeptical as the coffee pot part appeared to be similar to several of the other no-longer-functioning coffee makers we have lying around our garage. I will admit that there isn't anything super-fancy about the actual coffee-maker part itself, but it is the incredible attached burr grinder, water filter and array of digital settings that sets this coffee maker apart.

It comes with a manual and a video. We never watched the video, but we did study the manual to figure this thing out. Once you get your settings right and make a couple of pots of coffee, it is really quick and easy to whip up a pot of fabulous coffee.

I love to drink coffee, but was notorious for making coffee too strong or too weak. Also, I could never really figure out how much to grind to make the perfect coffee. The Coffee Team really makes it easy to make a great cup of coffee without having to over-think it!

We love the three separate strength settings (mild, medium and strong) which actually change the flavor (unlike some of the other coffee pots we've tried). This really comes in handy when we switch from milder to richer beans. We also appreciate the ability to switch the number of cups we make with the touch of a button. It also has a reminder light to change the water filter (which I need!). I never realized how much water quality affected coffee, but now I can definitely tell when the filter needs to be replaced. I was a little skeptical about having to buy replacement filters, but they are only $10 for a 3-pack sold here at Amazon. Spend more than $25 and they'll ship 'em to you for free!

I will warn you that when you switch coffee brands or flavors you may need to make small adjustments to the settings for different beans, but ultimately this coffee pot always makes a great cup of coffee!

I highly recommended the Coffee Team as the ultimate gift for the coffee-lover in your life!!!