BLACK+DECKER 12 Cup Thermal Programmable Coffee...

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Coffee Maker with Great Features and Performance
I recently purchased the BLACK+DECKER 12 Cup Thermal Programmable Coffee Maker, and I couldn’t be more pleased with its performance. The sleek black and steel design looks great on my countertop and adds a modern touch to my kitchen.

The programmable feature is incredibly convenient, allowing me to set up my coffee the night before and wake up to a fresh brew. The VORTEX Technology ensures an even extraction of flavor, resulting in a rich and full-bodied cup of coffee every time. I also appreciate the brew strength selector, which lets me choose between regular and bold coffee to suit my preference.

The thermal carafe is another standout feature—it keeps coffee hot for hours without the need for a hot plate, which helps preserve the flavor and prevents burning. The machine is easy to use and clean, with intuitive controls and a removable filter basket.

Overall, this coffee maker offers excellent value with its combination of features, performance, and design. It’s been a fantastic addition to my morning routine, and I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a reliable and stylish coffee maker.

4.0 out of 5 stars 4.5 Stars – solid brewer – very happy – only a few things I’d change.
For several weeks, I ventured through a wormhole of videos and reviews on what coffee maker to get next. I wanted to update my Mr. Coffee that was about 7 years old with a new one that offered a thermal carafe. AT first, I was dead set on getting a SCA approved coffee machine. With the cheapest models coming in at $229, and most around the $350 mark, I was hesitant. So instead, I started looking at what beans I was using. After upgrading those, I noticed an immediate improvement in my Mr. Coffee. I went with this Black & Decker, because it was on the affordable side, the thermal carafe seemed solid (especially pouring out of), and the shower head spread evenly.

After using for a few weeks, I’m happy to have made this purchase. It’s super easy to use, the carafe keeps the coffee hot for 1.5-2 hours (even if you don’t do the recommended “heating” of it), and the quality of the coffee I’m very happy with. It came with a reusable filter, which is nice to have, and the filter can hold the amount of beans I need for a quality brew.

There are two minor, yet essential things I would change on it:

1) IT doesn’t shut off immediately after the pot is finished brewing. Without a heating plate, there is no reason for the machine to stay on, yet it does. It only turns off after 120 minutes I believe. Again, with a thermal carafe, no need for the machine to stay on.

2) No noise or beeping indication that the pot is finished brewing. Relatively minor, I know. Yet, nice to have if you’re running around. The blue light flashes while the pot is brewing, and remains solid when it’s finished, so you’re able to tell it’s completed.

Again, two minor things, yet overall, I’m very happy I got this machine. Will update my review in 6 months.

5.0 out of 5 stars Great for iced coffee too!
When my most important appliance (coffee maker) died last month, I replaced it with this B+D 12 cup maker. The most important feature I needed was the ability to make iced coffee* in the summer – so a glass carafe wasn’t a good idea. And since iced coffee lasts much longer than hot coffee, being able to make 12 cups, instead of the standard 10, is another good idea.
I like the wide opening of the carafe, for cleaning (and filling it with ice is easier) but I wish the lids designed for all coffee makers with a ‘sneak a cup’ feature came apart for cleaning. They can hold several ounces of liquid inside the lid and get gunky if not thoroughly rinsed out. I like that the water indicator is a window, rather than some sort of separate tube gage (that was impossible to clean on my last one).
The ‘strong’ feature saves a bit of coffee (it uses a longer brewing cycle, so you could use a little less, but the regular cycle makes a pretty good cup of coffee. I use the strong feature for iced coffee though, since the coffee needs to be double strength to hold up to the ice.
I like that the power light pulses when the coffee is being made, and goes solid when done – often you never really know when things are done, even with that nice gurgling sound every drip maker makes at the end.
As others have noted – if you leave the carafe in the coffee maker after it’s done, the valve at the top will remain open, letting heat out. You can solve this just by taking the coffee filter holder out, since you’re going to clean it at some point anyway.
The water indicator, the ‘strong’ indicator and the time, is hard to read if you kitchen lighting isn’t good. That’s the only thing that effects the ‘easy to use’ rating.
Otherwise it’s a coffee pot, and if you can’t figure it out, you are either in need of some coffee before operating this appliance, or should just let professional at a coffee shop make your coffee.

*How To Make Iced Coffee:
Please follow any manufacturers instructions for safety. Test with less ice the first few times and keep an eye on things since your ice trays may vary, and you don’t want to thing to overflow.
Fill the water reservoir to 6 cups (indicated in the window), fill the coffee filter with as much ground coffee as you normally would for 12 cups (12 T’s or so) and fill the carafe with 2 trays of large ice cubes. I can get away with 3 trays – you are trying to almost fill it, but like I said, don’t make it overflow, or it’ll be messy. The ‘strong’ feature can save you a little coffee or as you might expect, make it stronger.
As soon as it is done (when the light stops pulsing) put the carafe in your fridge (third most important appliance, after the furnace) and the ice will last for 24 hours.

5.0 out of 5 stars The best coffee maker I’ve ever had!
This Black & Decker coffee maker is undoubtedly the best coffee maker I have ever owned. The stainless steel carafe is a significant improvement over the standard glass carafes, and it effectively maintains the temperature of my coffee for several hours. Furthermore, the carafe is effortless to clean and exceptionally durable. Remarkably, this coffee maker includes a reusable coffee filter, making it both dishwasher safe and cost-effective as it eliminates the need for disposable paper filters. The robust brew function is highly effective and noticeably enhances the intensity of the coffee. The auto-start feature is ideal for early risers who appreciate the convenience of waking up to freshly brewed coffee.

The design is aesthetically pleasing and seamlessly complements various kitchen decors, owing to its elegant black and stainless steel finish. In summary, this coffee maker encompasses all the desirable features, is user-friendly, and includes a stainless steel carafe and reusable filter. What more could one possibly desire? I wholeheartedly recommend this exceptional coffee maker.

4.0 out of 5 stars Could Look Better But Functions Well, Nice Features
The media could not be loaded. This review is comparing the Black and Decker to a Cuisinart 12 Cup coffee maker (Maybe the DCC 1200 – looks mostly like it but a different finish/material).

I got this Black and Decker unit over cheaper options for two reasons and BOTH turned out a bit worse than I thought. At least there are some other redeeming qualities. I’ll go over it all.

Reason 1 I got this: “Washable brew basket” I thought that meant, like the Cuisinart, I never had to buy paper filters. I thought this was a reusable, washable filter. NO. WRONG. It’s just another cheap plastic bucket to put paper filters in. Exactly like what you get in the $20 coffee makers. Yes, it’s a removable and washable basket but the Cuisinart had that too AND a removable reusable filter. Now I’m back to lifting out soggy lumpy paper and carefully moving to a trash can unless I fork out an additional $10 for a third-party reusable filter. $10 isn’t terrible in and of itself, but it’s unconscionable to not include it with a $60 coffee maker. UCH.

Reason 2 I got this: Stainless steel carafe. The Cuisinart is being replaced because the glass Charif finally broke. It lasted years and years, maybe even a decade. It has been bumped against the sink during cleaning several times, and the coffee maker was used almost every day. It was sturdy glass! It just finally couldn’t take another hit after a six year old messed with it. So I thought stainless steel would be the way to go. Far more durable, looks pretty cool, and is insulated! Well… It is more durable, and does look pretty cool, and is insulated. But I immediately realize how much I loved the seeing the remaining coffee in the Cuisinart – it even had cup level markings on the side. This not only allowed me to know exactly how much coffee was left but also allowed me to know how much water I was filling it with when I was making coffee. I cannot do either with a stainless steel carafe.

Those were the two reasons I wanted to get this. But how is the rest of the coffee maker? There are positives and negatives for this as well.

It looks really cheap. Extremely cheap. It all looks and feels like cheap plastic (except for the carafe). The bottom plate to hold the carafe looks especially thin and flimsy, with micro feet underneath to support what looks like something that’d otherwise bend and snap in half under the weight of a full carafe. Nothing about this unit outside the carafe looks premium. It certainly doesn’t look like this thing cost over $60. I don’t feel comfortable putting the carafe back when I pour myself a cup of coffee because every time it looks so thin and flimsy I have to be careful.

The top of the unit gets very, very hot when brewing. On my old coffee maker, I could touch the top and it was not a problem. On the flipside, the Black and Decker has its first main benefit for me. The insulated stainless steel carafe means none of that gets hot to the touch, unlike the glass on the previous unit. And because the coffee pot relies on insulation to keep the coffee hot, there is no powered heated electric bottom to accidentally burn your hand and drain electricity after the coffee has finished brewing.

I like that the clock and overall display screen is a bit bigger. It isn’t brighter though and the actual display numbers and text are still just as dark. But at least it being a larger size makes it a bit easier to see.

The new unit has much larger buttons. I could go either way on that. Button size does not affect me. But I will say these larger buttons tend to feel cheap. You can press the button anywhere on its surface and it will work. But clearly the surface you touch is larger than the surface of the control board the button is interacting with inside. Indeed, there are areas of the button you can press that feel more “floppy“ or “mushy“, unless your finger presses directly over the part of the button that makes direct contact with its connection to the control board. My previous model had very tiny buttons, but that meant they could only ever feel one way, and it was very tactile, it had a “click“ feeling to it. And it wasn’t only buttons, it had switches which felt nice. This Black and Decker has no switches, and no button on it feels very “tactile.”

I like the “Evenstream” showerhead. It’s true that even my older coffee maker had one single spout at the center top and after every brew, there was a very specific hole through the wet pile of coffee grounds, and I always did wonder if I was getting enough flavor from all the grounds around the sides. HOWEVER, lifting the lid during a brew, it would appear to me that the hot water would dispense enough into the basket that all the coffee grounds were fully submerged in hot water. So it appeared like, at least for a portion of the brew, flavor was being extracted from all the grounds. Still, there’s no denying that at the end of the brew, and, there was a very specific dent dead center of the coffee grounds. And to be clear, not only does this Black and Decker dispense water from multiple spots up top, it also feels the basket of coffee up like a tub, all the coffee grounds get fully submerged in the hot water.

I can’t tell at the moment which keeps coffee hotter, longer. Obviously the Cuisineart isn’t insulated. But it rests on that hot plate for a while. The Black and Decker I THINK turns off a bit sooner, BUT it claims to keep the coffee hot in the pot for 2hrs. I haven’t timed it, and haven’t measured the temperature to know if there’s a difference.

Edit: After posting this review I noticed one other thing. Like all coffee makers, there is an automatic lock/seal mechanism to prevent coffee from dripping out onto the platter when you remove the coffee pot. And the coffee pot itself has its own little lock/seal that when pressed down opens it up to receive the coffee. When you pull the coffee pot out, that top seal is… MOSTLY sealed shut. video shows, if you tip the coffee pot far enough, coffee will drip out that top mechanism. But this is all to say, after leaving the coffee pot back in the coffee maker for about five hours after my brew, was warm, but not hot. I know it says in the documentation I can keep coffee hot for about two hours… But next time I am going to remove the pot completely from the coffee maker when it’s done in hopes that the top mechanism, in its locked/sealed position, will keep the coffee hotter, longer.

Bottom line: It doesn’t look and feel like a $60+ coffee maker, but the stainless steel carafe/pot helps. No reusable coffee filter – 3rd party can be bought fire about $10. You can’t see how much coffee is left or how much water you’re filling in the carafe/pot to use for a new brew until you pour into the coffee maker. It’s got a bigger but still dark display and bigger but a bit more flimsy feeling buttons compared to my Cuisineart. Still, a pot not hot to the touch and no hot bottom plate which also drains electricity is a respectable reason to chose this.

4.0 out of 5 stars Best coffee maker ever.
This is a great find. The stainless steel thermal carafe keeps the coffee piping hot for hours. It only uses electricity to brew the coffee. No electricity for the carafe to keep it hot. It has a spill proof pouring spout. It is truly a delightful experience thus far. I have yet to use the cleaning feature, but the clock, brew time and strength work very well. The carafe is heavier than a glass carafe, but it is not breakable like glass. The breaking of a glass carafe is what led to this purchase. One less worry with this maker. I would buy it again in a minute. Good morning…enjoy your coffee!

4.0 out of 5 stars Upgraded Model 2 Thumbs Up
This coffee maker is great! We had the other model for about 12 years in our RV, and liked it very much. I dropped the carafe, and broke the plastic rim. I ordered the newer model with vortex, and it is better! It’s slower though. The bonus is that it actually makes an extra cup of coffee! The reason I didn’t rate a “5” is because I couldn’t program the brew time. Also, the display is difficult to read. I also couldn’t program the previous model either. Nevertheless, we’re very pleased with this coffee maker to brew daily, as it brews delicious coffee!

4.0 out of 5 stars Black & Decker vs Mr Coffee vs Cuisinart
I’ve been caught in coffee maker hell for the past month or more. My old Cuisinart 12 cup died. I was too lazy to figure out how old it was, but not that old — maybe 3 years at most. I make two small pots per day, generally, and turn off the heater plate right away, and always use filtered water, so this thing was babied. Recent reviews show more and more people experiencing early death at 1 year or less, so I decided to try another brand.

Bought the Bonavita 1900, which was much more expensive, but they are stuck offshore due to the dock slowdown/strike, and I finally gave up actually receiving one. This machine used the flat Mr. Coffee-style filters, which I bought in huge bulk on amazon, seeing that I could get a great price. So I was pretty much stuck buying a similar style maker when I gave up on the Bonavita.

I bought the Mr. Coffee BVMC-PSTX91 10-cup thermal carafe model. The first one was defective and wouldn’t let me set the clock. I ordered a replacement, which is unfortunate because I really didn’t like that machine and ordered the Black and Decker 12-cup thermal a few days later. Guess I’ll have to return the Mr. Coffee.

Here is a comparison of the Mr Coffee and the Black and Decker.

Thermal carafe — the Black and Decker is much heavier, and not just because it’s a 12-cup instead of a 10. I didn’t really test the heat-retention of each model, so I can’t comment. I’m pretty sure that if you make small amounts, none of these thermal carafes will probably be very effective. The tab that you press to open the pour spout is very stiff on the Black and Decker. The pour opening is a horizontal slit, only the depth of two quarters (I measured). This makes pouring difficult, but perhaps they felt the flow was more controlable this way? On the other hand, the screw top is **much** easier to get right. The Mr. Coffee was difficult to get on and off. It was difficult to actually empty the Black and Decker. I thought I had fully emptied one of the water-only runs I did to initially clean the unit, but discovered later that it still had a lot of water left inside even though I had practically turned the unit upside down in emptying it. This may be one of the reasons so many complain about coffee overflow with this unit. For the time being, I’m going to remove the carafe top completely before assuming anything.

The Black and Decker has a much wider mouth, so you can get your hand and sponge inside to clean it. The Mr. Coffee would only allow you to squirt soapy water inside and then rinse. Eventually maybe using a bottle brush of some kind, but you’d have to be careful not to scratch the interior with any metal parts to the brush.

Cleaning Cycle — the Mr. Coffee has a light that comes on to let you know that it’s time to clean the machine. This requires 45 minutes and 6 cups of vinegar. That gets expensive! Since I filter my water using the Zero Water system, I figured I might go for a while before that light came on, but in reading the fine print in the instructions, turns out the light will automatically come on after 90 uses regardless of how good your water is. Since I tend to make a small amount of coffee frequently, sometimes three times a day, that means I would have to put up with that light much of the time, for no good reason. I think earlier models refused to make coffee until you ran the clean cycle. Good thing they changed that.

1-4 Cup Feature — The Black and Decker has the 1-4 cup feature, which is perfect for people who make small amounts like me. It works fabulously well. The Mr Coffee and Bonavita did not have that. The Mr Coffee made very weak coffee because it ran through too quickly, even when I used robust fresh-ground beans.

Overall Size of Unit — The Mr. Coffee is much taller, and I think also has a larger footprint. I tried to figure out what all that space was being used for inside the machine, but couldn’t tell. Maybe their consumer research said that people liked the idea of a big visually strong design. I much prefer the smaller size of the Black and Decker (even though it’s a 12-cup rather than 10).

Filter Basket — When I removed the basket on the Black and Decker after brewing my first pot, I found that it still was sopping wet with some water still inside. Good thing I was holding it over the sink when gathering up the corners of the filter to discard. I realized later that the filter basket is snapped down only by the lid forcing it into the downward position. You have to snap the lid down firmly, which I hadn’t done.

Clock — The clock on the Mr. Coffee is back lit, the Black and Decker is not. I don’t care, personally, since my microwave clock has a good bright light, but others might. It’s a little bit difficult to see the settings on the Black and Decker.

Water Reservoir — the Mr. Coffee reservoir is removable, which means you don’t have to use a big measuring cup to put water into the machine. That’s what I use with the Black and Decker. On the other hand, there is a loose lid from the removable reservoir that is kicking around the kitchen counter. I found that to be an irritation.

Bottom line, unless I start having draining and overflow problems with the Black and Decker as others have described, I probably will be pretty happy with it. It’s about half the cost of the Cuisinart, although at moments I wish I’d just stuck with the tried and semi-true Cuisinart. I feel the Black and Decker is better made than the Mr. Coffee — just has a heftier feel. The other features of the Mr. Coffee are not important to me, or are a negative.

Hope this helps anyone looking at these same models. I don’t know why it’s so difficult to find a drip coffee maker that works for a long time. They certainly did many years ago. But then I’m dating myself. 🙂

4.0 out of 5 stars Good coffee, Carafe didn’t last
Love the coffee quality and length of time it is able to stay hot. We bought this about 10 months ago and it has continued to work well. However, this week we started having the problem where the lid to the carafe doesn’t drain into the coffee pot when coffee is being made so therefore it overflows in the seal and coffee drips all over the counter instead of in the coffee pot. I wasn’t expecting this to be an issue so soon.

5.0 out of 5 stars A very capable coffee maker!
I’ve bought over 2,000 products via Amazon and this one makes me happy… every morning. Of course I’m talking about my BLACK+DECKER 12-Cup Thermal Coffeemaker! Let me get a few specific items out of the way. I want to address some specific questions that others have been asked and the answers that left me with questions still.

1. NO, it does not come with a reusable coffee grind filter basket. YES, you can purchase one here on Amazon that fits perfectly and does a great job (I bought the GOLDTONE Reusable 8-12 Cup Basket Coffee Filter for a little under $8.00).

2. Read this one carefully! The unit comes with a anti-drip or “stop” basket. This basket allows you to get a cup of coffee before the brew cycle is complete by automatically closing a spring-loaded valve when you remove the carafe (thermos) from the coffee maker to pour a cup of coffee. There is also a spring loaded valve in the carafe lid that, when the carafe is in the coffee maker, the spring is depressed and allows coffee to flow from the basket into the carafe and, when removed from the coffee maker, this spring closes, thus sealing the carafe so that your coffee stays warm in the thermos. Both of these spring-loaded valves can become clogged with rogue coffee grinds (especially if you use paper liners and they are not properly seated in the bottom or sides of the coffee filter basket and a few grinds end up on the outside). If this happens, you might experience overflow and get water on your counter. This is easily avoided by simply removing the basket from the coffee maker itself and washing after use (it lifts right out). Just be sure to depress the spring-loaded part when rinsing to make sure that no grinds are clogging the drip hole. Similarly, when cleaning the carafe (thermos) lid, depress that spring-loaded valve, and make sure water runs freely through the lid. This is a NORMAL thing to do when cleaning a coffee maker after brewing a pot, so I’m not real sure why there are issues, but these steps are not specific to this coffee maker and are standard cleaning practices.

3. This coffee maker uses flat-bottom filters… NOT cone filters!

4. NO. The carafe does not sit on a heated plate. The carafe is insulated like a thermos, but if you let your coffee sit for more than a couple of hours, you will need to (dare I say!) microwave your coffee. Do not be tempted to re-run brewed coffee back through the machine as it will eventually gunk up the innards! It does help to pre-warm the thermos before brewing. Simply pour in the cold water to your coffee maker first. Then, using very hot water, fill up the thermos, put the lid on and let it sit for 5 – 10 minutes. Then pour out the hot water and start the brew cycle with the empty carafe in place. Your coffee will stay hotter, longer.

5. TIP-TIME! I find that using a re-usable coffee grind basket saves me $$ (aside from the obvious of having to buy paper filters). This coffee maker comes with a feature to brew STRONG and BOLD coffee (settings to increase the strength of your coffee by lengthening the brew cycle by a few seconds, therefore allowing the grinds to steep a bit longer). The usual ratio of normal coffee is 1 TBSP of coffee for each two cups of water. If I choose BOLD (which is the highest setting – normal –> Strong –> Bold), I can use 5 TBSP to 12 cups of water and still get a strong, great-tasting brew.

6. Bonus TIP! You can use even less coffee, and get better flavor, if you grind your own beans. Either grind them just prior to making your coffee, or grind them at the local grocery store if they have the machine to do so. Coffee oils are sensitive to time. The fresher the grind, the richer the taste.

7. Bonus TIP #2! Use COLD water! Never brew using hot water from the tap… I’m not Millennial enough to suggest that you use bottled water (those who drank from water hoses as a kid will get that reference), but the quality of your water will make a difference in the taste of your coffee. Nuff said.