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Now, I had my last Philips Cafe Comfort Plus for several years. It worked wonderfully all the time. I took good care of it by descaling it once a year, but some people might want to do that more often, if they use it more than daily. So, why did I get a new one? Silly reason, actually ... Read review
Advantages: Simple to use, Makes a great pot every time Disadvantages: No fancy attachments, hotplate has no thermostat
...Now, I had my last Philips Cafe Comfort Plus for several years. It worked wonderfully all the time. I took good care of it by descaling it once a year, but some people might want to do that more often, if they use it more than daily. So, why did I get a new one? Silly reason, actually - we broke the pot on the old one. Now since I live in Israel, finding a pot to fit this machine was a bit of a needle in a haystack project. Since my husband was on ... ...he decided to just get me a whole new machine - and, smart fellow that he is, he got me the same one, but just this prettier, newer version, which actually has a larger capacity than the old one. The old one was an 8/10 cup maker while this is a 10/12 cup maker. Bright guy, huh?
All in all, I love this machine, and if you're looking for a simple easy way to make a good pot of coffee, this should certainly be one of the models you seriously ... more
***** UPDATE: I see Ciao removed the picture of this, so I've uploaded some of my own. Note - mine is all white, and its still working wonderfully! By the way, www.dealtime.co.uk (via Amazon.co.uk) is selling the HD7440 model for £16.00 and the HD7444 in Green for £17.30 - in stock now! *****
OK, so what, you ask, is so great about this machine? I can sum this up in one word - simplicity! I mean, what else do you need, right? You put the water in, you put a filter in, you put coffee in and you turn it on and a few minutes later you have a fresh pot of coffee.
Still, perhaps you'd like more details. So that's what I'm here for - details.
This very attractive looking coffee maker has the following features:
See-through water level - this is a handy feature that shows how much water is in the machine before you make the coffee. (Simple again, right?) There is a gauge on this that tells you how many cups of coffee you'll make with the amount of water you're putting in. The gauge is in two amounts - one for small cups and another for large mugs. I find the two amounts is very useful, although almost all of the cups I drink out of are large mugs. Still, why should a machine deceive you - if you only use mugs and the machine only tells you how many small cups you'll get, you might put the wrong amount of coffee in the machine - see? Well, we can see - through the pale green plastic on this machine.
Just for good reference sake, the top of this maker flips up so you can fill the water resevoire. The opening is large so there is less of a likelyhood that you'll spill, and you might even be able to get it under the tap - if you use regular tap water for your coffee (I don't, but that's neither here nor there).
Removable Filter Holder - now, while the top is open, you can actually see the filter holder, and if you wanted to, you could put the filter and coffee into the machine this way. However, there's always the danger of spilling some of the coffee into the water resevoir, and that is the hardest part of this machine to clean. So, instead, the filter holder swings away so you can put the filter and coffee into the machine at a distance from the water. This also is made to be easily removed so you can put this in the dishwasher (yes, that part is dishwasher safe) or just wash it in the sink. I think this is wonderful.
In case you're wondering, this machine takes filters size 4 x 1. I use Melita filters, but any brand of filter that size will do. They also sell perminent filters, but I've never tried them, and never looked for them.
Drip Guard - now this is really a great feature, and I didn't have it on my previous machines. Say you're really, really thirsty, and you really, really can't wait for the whole pot to finish filling up. Well, with this drip guard you can grab the pot in the middle of the cycle and pour yourself a cup without turning the machine off or worrying that fresh coffee will drip onto the hot plate and short circut it. The drip guard closes the hole where the coffee comes out into the pot the minute you pull the pot away. This also helps keep those last few drops from spilling onto the hot plate after you were sure it was done, but ooops! it wasn't. This will save hours of clean up, I assure you.
On-Off Button with Light - not all models have a light that shows if the maker is on or off. I prefer one that has a light because if not, it doesn't catch my eye and I've been known to over-brew coffee.
Large, Comfortable Pot Handle - take a look at one of the real pictures of this model from the links I've given you here. That handle, well, what can I say? It is so easy to grip, so comfortable, hopefully with this handle on this pot I won't drop it so easily!
The hot plate seems to have a soft plastic cover on it - which is a fairly new feature, and I'd be willing to bet that if you touch it when its hot, you won't get as badly burned as you would when you touch an all metal plate. I haven't tested this out, however, since I really don't like blisters on my hands. Forgive me?
And how does it work? Well, perfectly, that's how. Like I said in the beginning of this op, you fill it up with the amount of water you want, you put a 4 x 1 sized filter in, put the amount of coffee you like for the strength of coffee you prefer, and turn it on. The coffee is done in a few minutes, and it tastes perfect!
I also like the looks of this machine, and if you like, you can get it with green trim - which wouldn't have blended in my kitchen. I see no reason to hide this away because of its looks, so I'm proud to keep this machine right out on my counter-top.
One cute thing - they give you a little coffee scoop with the machine. Isn't that sweet? I love it!
So, with all this, is there anything wrong with this machine?
Well, the hot plate has no thermostat, which means if you're not going to consume the coffee quickly, you might end up leaving it on and "cooking" it a bit too much. If you like your coffee strong, that's no problem. But if you like your coffee at the strenght you've brewed it at, but still hot a few hours later - you'll have to buy a thermos. If the plate had a termostat, this wouldn't be necessary. However, I've never found any filter coffee makers that have thermostatic hot plates.
Now, I had my last Philips Cafe Comfort Plus for several years. It worked wonderfully all the time. I took good care of it by descaling it once a year, but some people might want to do that more often, if they use it more than daily. So, why did I get a new one? Silly reason, actually - we broke the pot on the old one. Now since I live in Israel, finding a pot to fit this machine was a bit of a needle in a haystack project. Since my husband was on his way to Amsterdam (where we bought the first one), he decided to just get me a whole new machine - and, smart fellow that he is, he got me the same one, but just this prettier, newer version, which actually has a larger capacity than the old one. The old one was an 8/10 cup maker while this is a 10/12 cup maker. Bright guy, huh?
All in all, I love this machine, and if you're looking for a simple easy way to make a good pot of coffee, this should certainly be one of the models you seriously concider. My final verdict is... "pour me another cup, darling!".
(Correction - in the original op, I said there was no user manual. I was wrong - it just got lost in my husband's suitcases. Now that I found it, I see that the other version of this coffee maker - the 7440 - has only two differences. One is that there is no light on the on-off button and the other is that it doesn't have a see-through water resevoire. Neither of these are essential to making the coffee, so if you don't find the 7444 but only the 7440, no problem.)
