Drippy

I like our new -- well, fairly new -- coffee maker. I think that thermal carafe keeps the coffee warm longer with none of the bitter taste that the glass carafe/heating plate had. I like the timer, which gives the ability to set it up at night and have it perking (if you can use that phrase) in the morning. I imagine the clock won't thrill me when time change comes around again, but what the heck. It's a good deal, and I like it. Price was right, too.

But what I don't like is the carafe lid. It screws into the pot, and tightly, too; this is goodness for keeping the coffee warm, but not so good when you want to pour -- because you have to unscrew the lid to do it. Argh. Is this the time I accidentally dump the damn carafe on the floor while I try to undo this damn lid? But what kills me -- as it just did, again, for about the fifth time since we bought the device -- is that if you don't have the lid in place, and you start the cycle, the water will not drain -- it'll stay trapped in the grounds. If you swear, grab the carafe, put the lid on, and slam it back into place, it will begin to drain -- sloppily, and slowly. With little drips, everywhere.

A better design, I think, would have been to make the screw-in much easier to use -- gripping ridges on the outside rather than flanges on the middle. Painted white, or something that would clearly show when it wasn't in place. (Hard to see a black cap in the dark shadow of the grounds-holder.)

I know, I know. Problems of the Idle Rich. But isn't thinking about industrial design fun?