Chefman, My Barista Single Serve Coffee Maker, Red

The first machine we received was apparently defective and it was given ONE STAR, this was my review: I read all the reviews before purchasing this and I realized that more than a few people had issues with this coffee maker so I was sure to follow the instructions to the letter.I followed instructions as printed in the manual - beware that the "Quick Start" card that you see upon first opening the box does not have the same instructions as the manual. Having had experience with Keurig and other coffee makers I knew I would probably want to or have to run water through the machine before first use. And the manual instructs you to do just that - the "Quick Start" card does not. When I first turned on the power smoke started coming out of machine. That didn't seem to me to be a good thing - it wasn't. The first attempt to brew coffee was an abysmal failure. About an ounce of very dark liquid dribbled into my cup. Then it shut off ! I actually laughed a little when this happened.I tried it again using the 10 oz. setting. This time more water was pumped through, but it was ice cold, just like the water in the reservoir.I'm going to give this unit one more try - I'm returning this defective one and when the replacement arrives I'll modify this review as necessary.I'm hoping for the best since this is the perfect size for my needs.Amazon is awesome when it come to handling returns and replacements!The replacement was received later that same day. The machine arrived intact and again the directions were followed exactly as outlined in the manual. With fingers crossed, we put it through the initial operating process. IT WORKED! Hot water, but not quite the amount promised - the 8 oz. setting produced slightly less than 8 oz. and the 10 oz. setting gave us exactly 8 oz.That is primarily the reason for 4 stars vs. 5.It brewed a very good cup of coffee however and that's why we bought it.It is working well for us at the moment and we did purchase an extended warranty for it just in case.If you want to give it a try and you get a good one, it's a great little machine.Love the size, it brews fast and makes a good cup of coffee - albeit 8 oz. only (from this machine) and I really like that such a small unit has a reservoir.

I previously had the Hamilton Beach FlexBrew. After a month of using that, it started to have problems. We dealt with it for a couple of years, constantly trying to work the bugs out until one day the water stopped falling into the reservoir. I thought about opening it up, but I didn't want to bother.So after some research, and finding the k-cup machines are often far too expensive, I bought this guy. I love the idea of a larger reservoir in which I can make multiple cups of coffee without having to refill. I love the idea of a faster cup of coffee. I love the design.Upon getting it, I was not disappointed. It was easy to setup and start using. I had a cup of hot coffee in no time with a k-cup alternative from World Market (their k-cups have less waste and are biodegradable).This machine is very quiet, and actually doesn't make a sound when it's done. I kind of wish it did so I knew when to grab the cup instead of checking every so often.I guess the one major downside is the design of the cup holder. It's kind of small. Many of the mugs we have simply do not fit. It's a bit annoying to have to know which mugs work and which don't.Something surprising is the girth of the power cord. It's very thick. Like as thick as a cord coming out of the back of a desktop computer. This means that it's a bit harder to hide the cord. If you like a clean counter, this may be an issue for you.Overall, I'm happy. No problems with operation so far. I will update the review if that changes.

I received a Keurig 2.0 brewing machine around the holidays and I purchased this machine for my desk at work. The main concerns for me were noise level and good brewing.One of the other people on this site was kind enough to answer my question about the noise level, and they were correct it is rather quiet. This little thing is nice and quiet relative to a Keurig. It makes a hum noise that is much less obnoxious than my Keurig 2.0 at home. That thing gurgles and grinds and sounds like it might be euthanizing a small rodent or something, but this Chefman unit has a nice steady hum. I suppose I would liken it to the sound of an electrical transformer. It makes good coffee and tea. I’ve been running it for a few months now and I’m noticing that it is slowly putting more and more water out with each cup and I suspect that the metering part is suffering from some normal buildup and probably needs to be cleaned.The two weaknesses I have found with this unit are the cartridge setup and the low clearance for mugs. This unit uses a formed plastic cartridge as the holder for your kcups. You put the cup into that plastic cartridge, then put that cartridge into the machine and close the lid to puncture. It works well enough, but I prefer not having bits that I can lose that will render the machine useless. It also comes with an alternative cartridge with a fine mesh basket for loose leaf tea or custom coffee grounds, so that is a nice plus. If you have a particularly tall mug, you will probably be ok, but note that you will never get any respectable travel mug into this machine; it simply isn’t made for it. The heating cycle is remarkably fast.For the market area that Chefman is targeting, this is a nice machine. It’s not the Cadillac of brewers and it clearly wasn’t designed to be. However, if you are like me and want something with a small footprint to put on a desk or in a workshop, this thing is a great find at a great price.NOTE: I cannot speak to the reliability issues that others have been having, as I have had no issues with mine so far. To be honest, at this price if I can get 2 or 3 years out of the unit, I’ll be very happy.ANOTHER NOTE: Don’t be shy when you close the lid. Try to do it in a snappy fashion, as it is performing the puncture with that motion. If you do it too softly, it won’t make a clean puncture and can be a pain.