SHARDORProgrammable Coffee Maker with 8-Cup Thermal Carafe, Touch-Screen Drip Coffee Machine with Timer, Regular & Strong Brew, Pause & Serve, Auto Shut Off, Black & Stainless Steel

Our last 2 coffee makers were expensive, with all the fancy features, and we barely got about 2 years out of each. This time we decided to forgo the bells and whistles and went back to the basics.Our non-negotiables were a timer, cone filter, and a stainless steel carafe. So this Shardor 8 cup coffee maker w/Thermal Carafe seemed to fit the bill perfectly.Once it arrived, I noticed how aesthetically pleasing it is. The LCD touch screen gives it a sleek, attractive look, and I was also suprised at how compact it was. We have limited counter space in our small kitchen, and every inch counts!We are coffee people, and enjoy fresh ground beans, and cone filters maximize flavor. By narrowing drainage, this ensures the water fully saturates all the grounds, so you get all the natural oils and flavors from the beans.The thermal carafe keeps the coffee nice and hot for much longer than glass. Since my husband and I have only a cup or two in the morning, I usually only fill it to about 4- 6 cups. I have found giving the carafe a quick hot water rinse just prior to starting the brew cycle helps to keep it warmer at bit longer. But obviously I can only do this when I am preparing a fresh pot, and not using the timer setting. I get up much earlier than my husband, so if by the time he has a cup its been more than 2 hours, a quick 30 seconds in the microwave is enough to make it piping hot again.As for the base: it feels hot after brewing, so I'm unclear if there is a heating element in the base itself that shuts off after a while, or if it just naturally cools down. Being a basic machine, once the brew cycle is done, the light goes off, it displays the time once again, and that's it. There wasn't anything in the directions that indicated there was a heating element, but it definitely stays hot for a while, so I'm unsure about the specifics of this aspect.The lid seemed a bit flimsy at first, but it locks into place securely. Line it up with the arrow, give it a turn, and when ready to pour, press down and there are no drips or spills whatsoever!I found all parts to be very simple to clean.Added bonus: In the box, you will find the information about the one year Warranty. But if you fill out your Amazon order number, take a quick picture of the paper, email it to Shardor, it extends the warranty to two years!One drawback is the timer. While setting the timer itself is simple, once you do, there is no light that stays one indicating it is has been set, so I was a bit unsure if I did it correctly at first.Also, as there is no internal filter, like our other machines had, I expect we may have to run a deep clean cycle a bit more often, since we have especially hard water. ( to do this, I use equal parts white vinegar and fresh bottled water, then run 2 brew cycles with fresh water only.Not a big deal.In short, its pretty hard to find a decent maker with a thermal Carafe for anything less than $70-80 and most of them have the basket filters. So for $50, you really can't go wrong with this one. For two people who enjoy a couple cups at a time, it's absolutely perfect. I hope we get a long life out of it.EDIT TO ADD- I figured out the timer. Took a few days. You hit program once, the time you have it set for flashes, then you hit it again and then the current time comes back on along with the little white light indicating it is successfully programmed. Once I figured that out, I was pretty happy.We've had it a few weeks now and I'm loving it. Easy clean, quick brewing, fresh flavor. So far so good. Updating my rating from 4 to 5 stars now.

Unit worked well and met expectations for coffee quality and usability for about three weeks, then just failed. The clock and all indicators work as expected but no longer makes any coffee, just sits there.

The reason I bought this coffee maker is because it’s small enough to fit in my dining area hutch, which I use as a coffee bar due to lack of kitchen counter space. It stands 13.25 inches high, although the product description has 2 different measurements. The second reason is that it has a thermal carafe, which for us is better since we end up breaking the glass carafes. It’s an annoyance to me that manufacturers rarely sell replacement carafes, which is wasteful and stupid. Anyway, this coffee maker comes in 2 models: one with a 10 cup glass carafe and the other with an 8 cup thermal carafe. However, the same base coffee maker is used for both. With this, the thermal carafe model has a heating element in the base, which I think is odd for a thermal carafe model. It may not be a bad thing though, since the carafe doesn’t really keep the coffee hot. It certainly won’t since you’ll want to take the locking cover off to pour the coffee. If you don’t, coffee spills everywhere. The thermal carafe cover is cheap and flimsy and poorly designed. The metal part is fine though. Not stellar but good enough. Initially, my carafe didn’t pour from the spout at all. It turned out it was blocked by a white disc that when I removed it the carafe was able to pour. I’m not sure if that was an intended part or not, but if so it was out of alignment and made the pot useless.I do wish the thermal carafe held 10 cups like the glass carafe; I don’t know why it doesn’t since they use the same base model coffee maker. But I need the compact size so I’m stuck with the 8 cups. Poor me.As I said, on the thermal carafe model the heating element goes on while brewing. And it stays hot for quite a while. I think it may actually be off, it just takes a while to cool down. It’s hard to tell.The brew time isn’t too bad, 5-6 minutes for the 8 cups the thermal carafe holds. And 5 stars for the fact it doesn’t leak, or get coffee grounds in your coffee. The coffee isn’t super hot, but in theory you’re supposed to warm the thermal carafes up with hot water first, which I don’t do. If I had the wherewithal to do that I wouldn’t need coffee in the first place. The coffee tastes good, no complaints.The coffee filter of this machine is cone-shaped. It comes with a reusable filter, but it’s plastic and not a gold filter you often see. I opted to use a paper filter instead and avoided the extra plastic. It worked just fine that way.When you turn the machine on there is a very small red indicator light that stays on while the coffee is brewing. It goes off when it’s done, which makes sense. Unfortunately, it’s hard to see that unless you’re standing right next to it. There is no beep or chime to signal the end of the brewing cycle. Just saying.So aside from the fact this thermal pot only holds 8 cups, my biggest issue is the lid of the thermal carafe and how coffee spills everywhere. I kept it off after that but then, of course, the coffee got cold and I had to nuke the final cup. All in all I think it’s a trade off I’ll live with. For now.

Besides obviously pronouncing this company name like I am a overzealous LOTR extra (you know you do it too...) the coffee maker is top notch. The brew is quiet, the programming is easy, the coffee is good. The true hero of this tale is the thermal carafe that will keep your coffee piping hot for a couple hours. The controls aren't overly complicated or gaudy, and it is easy to program and clean. I can't wait to try other appliances by Shardorrrrrrr.

Makes GOOD Coffee and is still hot after three hours. Shuts down right after brewing coffee. Coffee pot takes a little getting use to,.

I really wanted to love this coffee maker and its features seemed like they were going to be a perfect fit. Sadly, it falls short in several key areas. First, I must admit that the coffee it brews is quite good. It also looks nice on the counter. That said, there are some serious shortcomings. First, the thermos carafe is open on top so it doesn’t actually retain heat. Your coffee will be cold in about five or ten minutes. What is the point of having an insulated thermos if the lid has an opening that allows all the heat to escape? Second, the lid of the thermos pitcher is very flimsy and will surely break within the year. The way you open and close the lid which relies on you pushing on the flimsiest part of the lid will ensure this. A very poor design. Finally, you can’t reliably make less than four cups of coffee as you can’t see into the reservoir below the four cup mark. We are on the hunt for another coffee maker…