Cuisinart 12 Cup Coffee Maker, Black

Our coffee maker - a Cuisinart DCC-1200 - finally died after 5 years (the heating element gave out). So, we needed a new one but didn't really want to spend the money for a DCC-1200 right now. Isn't it funny how things tend to break at the same time, or all the big expenses seem to come together? We've had a few lately and an expensive coffee maker wasn't in the budget. But we liked our Cuisinart so much, we thought another one would be a good bet. So we started looking at other models. Finally, we settled on this one. It is almost the same size, makes the same amount of coffee, too. While the 1200 has a metal face, this one has more plastic. They both have a timer. They both use exactly the same carafe and filters. This had everything we needed at a savings. (The 1200 does have an extra feature where you can adjust the temperature of the heating element. This one doesn't have that but we didn't really use it anyway. The opening where you pour the water in is slightly smaller on this one too. ) Trusting in Cuisinart, we went for the factory-refurbished one to save a few dollars. It came out of the box looking pristine. If it was ever used, I can't tell - the factory got it back to new condition. Only the box was a little different. I gave it a wipe down, installed the water filter and paper filter, and we were ready to go. The instructions say to run a pot of plain water through the first time around, and we did so. And that was all the prep that needed to be done. And, like the 1200, it makes great coffee. My husband -- the designated coffee preparer and diehard java aficionado in our household -- thinks the coffee tastes exactly the same coming out of this model as it did our previous one. I do, too. It also has a pause function (as does the 1200) so you can pause it to pour a cup or two before it completely finishes brewing. We love that - so often can't wait to get that coffee into us in the morning! :-) The refurbished machine doesn't come with a gold filter (the manual mentions this) but we still have the one from the 1200 if we want to use it. If you already have a #4 gold filter around from another machine, it'll work (they're very inexpensive here at Amazon too). Otherwise, it uses #4 cone filters and comes with 3 of them to get you started. I still slightly prefer the look of the 1200 -- it looks a little more substantial, with less plastic, but that's not much of a consideration to me. Very pleased to have this coffee maker - and to be able to wake up in the morning again without having to pick up a cup at the corner coffee place or the gas station!