Black & Decker DCM18 Brew 'N Go Coffeemaker

If you are in the market for a personal-type coffee maker, such as the Black and Decker Brew N Go, I would suggest you avoid this one like the plaque!


I drink more coffee now   March 19, 2006
K. Gittins (CA USA)
9 out of 10 found this review helpful

I used to drink no-name instant coffee at home, and generic brewed coffee at work from the community pot.

Got a bag o' ground coffee (S*******s Gold Coast) at Christmas, and I needed to get a coffee maker for it. Not sure I wanted to invest a lot in this new fangled technology, so I opted for this inexpensive coffee-maker. I actually wanted the stainless cup, but it was not in stock at the time, so I went with the available plastic version.

I guessed at the correct amount of coffee grounds, and luckily made what I call a perfect cup of coffee. And that Gold Coast is the best variety (strong) I've tried so far. The Sumatra blend from the big "A" supermarket chain is very similar for a few bucks less, however.

The pot makes almost 16 ounces, so I pour about half into a ceramic cup, add some half-and-half, and drink from that. Perhaps that is why I don't notice any plastic taste some others have commented on. I also use a filter, which will reduce the amount of grounds in your cup (though pouring it into the other cup helps as well).

It only takes a few minutes to brew, makes loud burbley-steamy sighing sounds when it nears completion, and turns itself off.

I find I drink more coffee at home after getting this machine. I'll get another when this one dies.

(As of 12/28/06...I finally noticed I threw out the plastic filter somewhere along the line a few months back :-) I could order a new one I guess, but the paper filters work fine. Oh, and I'm grinding (actually "milling") my own as of this XMas...)






Good Coffee but a Few Drawbacks   April 8, 2004
T. Kuehhas (Oak Harbor, WA United States)
8 out of 8 found this review helpful

Pros:
- Good tasting hot coffee.
- Includes permanent filter.

Cons:
- Coffee mug is plastic, which means hot coffee rapidly turns warm.
- Besides the removable lid, the coffee mug consists of two pieces, a black container and a brown outer housing. Water tends to seep between the container and housing after a few hand-washings or one run through the dishwasher. You must separate the two pieces to remove the water. That's when you'll discover the seal between the two is simply a thin rubber band.
- Coffee grounds ALWAYS attach to the overhead where the hot water enters the grounds chamber, which means a little extra effort cleaning the unit between brews.
- Coffee grounds frequently enter the water reservoir and seep between the permanent filter and the filter housing, which means even more effort cleaning the unit between brews. Recommend buying number 2 cone filters; less mess.

Note: Black & Decker has released an improved model, the DCM-18S. It has a stainless outer shell and they have solved the issue of the housing coming apart from the inner shell. I give it 5 stars!


Orininal one was Great - This is Junk   October 10, 2006
J. G. Balaschak (oviedo, fl)
8 out of 8 found this review helpful

I am the only coffee drinker in my family and had a Brew N' Go for over 6 years when the mesh filter began to separate from the plastic. Unfortunately, Black and Decker changed the design and I was unable to find a replacement filter from them or anybody. I looked for a replacement single cup coffee maker in several retailers and finally found one on Amazon at a very reasonable price.

However, newer is not better. The new model filter only has screen on the 2 sides and is mostly plastic, where as the original was mostly a fine screen with plastic reinforcement.

From the very first cup it was a disappointment, as coffee grounds overflowed into my cup and throughout the coffee maker. This new design filter does not let the water pass through quick enough when you use a fine or moderate grinds of coffee. With larger grinds the coffee comes out weak, or if you try to make it stronger by adding more grinds you can have the same overflow problem! For months I would put coarse coffee in the bottom and the better fine ground coffee on top and crossed my fingers.

Then the other day I was in CVS and saw a single cup coffee maker for 15 bucks. It has a mostly screen filter like the original B&D and works great! The next day I was in Big Lots and found another one that appears to use a #2 filter (so replacements can be easy in the future) and it works great for 10 bucks!!

The Black and Decker is going in the trash!! Save yourself the hassle and get something else and make sure it has a lot of screen area in the filter.