 Larger | Hamilton Beach 40540 Brew Station 40-Cup Coffee Urn, SilverBuy from www.amazon.com | |
| List Price: www.amazon.com's Price: $39.99 Condition: New Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours Average Customer Rating: 3.5 Lowest New Price: $39.99 | Features• One-hand dispensing• Easy to fill and clean • Dual heater system maintains coffee's temperature without overcooking it for a fresher flavor • Ready light • Comfort-grip handles Rethink the DispenserI needed to replace a coffee maker on short notice. This machine filled in at the workshop and made great coffee. It is attractive and easy to use at a great price. However, the dispenser design is unsuited to traditional paper coffee cups. You must press the cup against a trigger to dispense the coffee. Lots of fumbling and crushed cups in the process. I'll replace it with another model.Brew StationDid not have the chance to use it yet, but for the money it is Okay.Pretty good for the priceFunctions well, heats quickly, but I don't care for the aluminum, the inside discolors. Stainless steel would be better but would jack up the price substantially. I only bought it for holidays so its fine, but if I were going to use it more frequently, I'd opt for a better quality stainless.Mostly as expected for the priceThis urn is supremely functional, with no bells and whistles. It advertises brewing times of 45 seconds per cup, but I've found that it's closer to the minute per cup advertised by other models: you'll buy back very little setup time with this model (heating 2 gallons of water took 35 minutes for example). Plus, like all other coffee urns, this one sings its moany little song while brewing, so if there's a chance it might be a distraction, you'll need to plug it in ahead of time so it's done brewing by the time the main event occurs, or you'll need to brew in another room and move it to the buffet table once it's hot. The one-handed dispensing works fine if the cup being dispensed into is solid, like a coffee mug, but common sense is confirmed that paper cups are not sturdy enough to depress the button without collapsing. In order to dispense one-handed with a paper cup, you have to push the button with your knuckles, which puts your fingers in the path of potentially hot liquids. Finally, and this is something that there's no way to know before reading the owner's manual, there's a little strainer right above where the liquid comes out. The owner's manual warns not to tip the urn while dispensing in order to prevent clogging of this strainer with coffee grounds. That's all well and good, except that due to the placement of the dispensing nozzle, the coffee becomes inaccessible when the level goes below about 10 cups--that's 1/4 of the total brew for a full pot!! It's this waste factor that resulted in the 4 stars instead of 5. For its price, it's a tidy little machine--the nozzle is particularly good at preventing drips. However, I'd rather clean up dribble from a lower-placed nozzle than have to find a way to decant 10 cups of coffee.Great coffee first time!I just made delicious coffee for a crowd with this. I have never made percolator coffee. I think I put in too much coffee but it came out very well. I got a 13 oz can of some sort of smooth & mellow decaf coffee from Trader Joe's and I got it very coarse ground. I used the whole can for a full urn of water (up to the 40 mark). I read that you use 1 pound for 2 gallons of water as a catering standard. The urn is about 80% of 2 gallons, so 13 oz seemed right. It was more than the directions for the urn, but I decided to wing it. I'm really glad that I did! It was excellent, even a couple of hours later. The keep warm setting is great and the coffee is nice and hot and NOT overdone. I would recommend that you get a light-medium roasted coffee and grind it coarsely in the store.My husband asked me to save the rest, which he never does when I get the Peet's catered coffee, so it is sitting in the fridge ready to make iced coffee! Product DescriptionThe Hamilton Beach® BrewStation® 40 Cup urn offers one-hand dispensing, so there is no need to put down a buffet or party plate to fill up a cup of coffee. In a busy buffet line, that means cups can be filled faster, saving time and reducing crowding. Disposable cups are never a problem, either - the dispensing button was designed to work with foam as well as classic ceramic cups. For added convenience, the dispensing area has a higher cup clearance than most urns and the drip tray removes for easy cleaning. The last drops of a 40-cup coffee urn have rarely tasted as good until now. In the BrewStation® urn, a powerful center heater brews the entire tank quickly (45 seconds per cup versus the normal 60 seconds). Once brewed, the center heater shuts down and a gentle, keep-warm heater maintains a perfect temperature without scorching the coffee. Coffee tastes great longer, from the first cup to the last.Read more... Similar Products:Copco 2 Quart Thermal Capacity Brushed Stainless Steel CarafeCreativeware 3-Gallon Polycarbonate Beverage Dispenser Anchor Hocking Presence 3-Tier Platter Set Winware 8 Qt Stainless Steel Chafer, Full Size Chafer West Bend 58002 12-42 Cup Automatic Party Perk Coffee Urn | |