The Delonghi 12-Cup Drip Coffee Maker is the only front-loading model in our coffee makers review, which means that it is ideal for locations under kitchen cabinets. Its modest price comes at the expense of power output and warranty, both of which are adequate but not the best compared to other coffee makers.
The Delonghi brews into a 12-cup glass carafe on a non-stick hot plate. In keeping with its role as a home-appliance, its power output is 900 watts, quite a far cry from commercial coffee makers, which often have at least 1,400 watts of power output. With 900 watts of power output, brew time takes a little longer in comparison with commercial coffee makers, but it does make the coffee hot enough. It has a strength setting, which considerably slows the brew process because it slowly saturates coffee grounds at 30-second intervals to maximize the brewing process and extract the most flavor and aroma from the coffee.
It does not have a water filter, which means that bottled water will result in better coffee, depending on your location and the quality of your tap water. Absence of a water filter also means that, in areas with hard water, it will be important to descale hard water deposits about once every 300 brew cycles to maintain functionality. It comes with a permanent, metal mesh, gold-tone filter, instead of paper filters. Metal mesh filters are not necessarily better than paper filters. Metal mesh filters save the cost of paper filters, but many people find better flavor in coffee brewed through paper filters.
The front-loading design means that it is convenient to keep it under low kitchen cabinets. The appliance can stay under a cabinet without having to be moved because access to the coffee filter and reservoir swings out of the unit. It has all of the convenience features that have become de rigueur for drip coffee makers: 24-hour programmable digital timer to control brew start, brew pause to enable filling a cup in the middle of a brew cycle without spilling, audible beep when brewing is complete, and automatic shut down after two hours. Cord storage and a storage tray that warms cups are also convenient features.
Customer support is available by telephone or email. The warranty is for one year.
We live in a caffeinated society. Despite some of the drawbacks to coffee drinking, such as the complications that it can cause with pregnant women, irritability, jitters and stained teeth, medical research during the past 10 years is revealing surprising benefits to coffee drinking. It reduces the risk of breast cancer, esophageal cancer, pharyngeal and prostate cancer. Coffee drinkers also have reduced rates of cirrhosis of the liver and they are less likely to experience Alzheimer’s disease in old age.
Enjoy all things in moderation. Just because the French writer, Voltaire, drank 40 cups per day, doesn’t mean that you should imitate the behavior. And just because you enjoy coffee, you don’t need to pay three dollars for a pierced barista with attitude to fill a paper cup for you. The Delonghi 12-Cup Drip Coffee Maker makes it so easy to enjoy affordable and delicious coffee at home (or on the road with the help of a thermos). Because of its front-loading design, this is one of the coffee makers that you can park on your kitchen counter underneath a low-hanging cabinet, and it can stay where it is while you add water and grounds through the front panel. It is easy to use, easy to clean and attractive.
