The Hamilton Beach FlexBrew is a versatile, space-saving coffee maker that brews a perfect cup every time.
[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] I wanted to use the Hamilton Beach FlexBrew for the entire time allowed to make sure I didn't post a review of a brand new product that I hadn't used thoroughly. (So much so that this is a day late. Oops!) I love this coffee maker. Honestly, an item from the FlexBrew line was one of the items that I was considering when I last purchased a coffee maker, but a ridiculous Black Friday sale on a bare bones model from a different company was too good of a deal to pass up at the time. I started about ten years ago with one of the big clunky loud single pod coffee makers from that other company, and used that until it wore out. It took up too much space, it was loud, cleaning it was a hassle, and just filling the water reservoir and putting it back into place on the machine ended up being annoying. Since then I've used pour overs, aair presses, cold brew contraptions, and went back to the little pod model just last November. I wasn't fully happy with any of them. I'm happy now. This FlexBrew coffee maker from Hamilton Beach is amazing and I adore it. It has a nice large reservoir that is easy to remove and replace for filling and cleaning. I like the option of being able to make a pot of coffee with it, even though I do not use that very often. It's nice to not have to dig out a separate coffee maker when there's a holiday dinner or any other time I have guests over. I like the Bold setting option. I like the screen with a progress indicator so you know how much still needs to be brewed before it's done. One major thing I like is the fact that you can push the red button and stop brewing. No need to scramble to open the top when you've forgotten to put your cup under the dispenser on a bleary morning, and no half-fillled cups for three or more cycles after an aborted brew. I like the versatility of a separate basket for brewing grounds on their own rather than in a renewable pod. That makes things extra easy. I used this to make coffee on the regular setting, I made iced coffee, I made bold coffee, I made coffee in the pot, then bold coffee in the pot. (One nice thing in this economy is being able to scoop in fewer grounds then using the Bold setting to brew a nomal cup of coffee. I did that using enough grounds for 3 cups of coffee and brewed a Bold 4 cup pot, and it came out perfect.) I have used multiple brands of pods from fancy name brands, regular everyday brands, and generic store brands in this coffee maker, and every cup has come out tasting good to great. I was going to clear a fancy showspace for the coffee maker but honestly, I prefer reviews from regular people in normal settings. As you can see, I have a relatively crammed full counter. The FlexBrew sits on a raised shelf and takes up hardly any room - the same amount as my last, tiny coffee maker that was not nearly as nice. The pot stores inside the brewer, and whichever single brewing option you are not currently using (pod or basket) fits inside the filter compartment for pot brewing. It's all very slim and space saving. I do give this 4 stars instead of 5 for one reason only: the pod holder retains a lot of water. The shape of the rim around the pod could be more slanted downward toward the draining holes to have it run out easier. You get lenghty dripping after you're done brewing and/or when you remove the adapter to discard the pod, you get a tiny bit of water spillage. The fact that the adapter and brew basket are removable and everything is so easy to clean makes up for the annoyance, but if that one little issue was gone, this would be a five star machine for me.
