Hamilton Beach Eclectrics 40111 Coffee Maker

Hamilton Beach Eclectrics 40111 12-Cup Coffee Maker

I don’t have a huge amount of space in my kitchen, and to be honest I don’t really have a huge amount of time to be messing about with settings – I just want my coffee ready to go when I need it, so when I saw a Hamilton Beach Eclectrics coffee maker on sale I liked the price enough to give it a try.

To be honest I was first drawn to the coffee maker by its looks. I’m a sucker for the retro look of this solidly built machine and it was an absolute joy to realize that in this age of digital this and digital that, this was unashamedly analogue in how you use it, while still having some smart little electronic extras.

Hamilton Beach Eclectrics 40111 12-Cup Coffee Maker – Retro styling with all the modern performance

Hamilton Beach Eclectrics 12-Cup Coffee Maker Product Features:

Drip-free, spill-free pouring with specially designed carafe

No-scorch heater maintains just-brewed temperature for fresh flavor

Measures approximately 8 by 11 by 14 inches; 3-year warranty

Coffeemaker brews in less than a minute per cup when brewing 12 cups

Brew-pause function; programmable clock/timer; 2-hour auto shut-off

One feature that I really like is that you don’t have to wait for the brewing to finish if you’re in a hurry. The coffee maker allows you to grab a cup while it’s still dispensing that lovely black gold – fantastic when you’re in a rush or the smell tempts you too much.

The Hamilton Beach Eclectrics 40111 is also the first coffee maker that I’ve found in a while that doesn’t drip at all. I wouldn’t believe it if I hadn’t found it. I’m so used to just having to be extra careful and wiping up regularly, but I’ve found myself happily slinging the carafe round while pouring out, or refilling the water tank and even at my sloppiest while running round the kitchen I don’t seem to be spilling anything like as much I normally would.

There are no complicated controls on this thing either. The coffee maker seems unconcerned with how strong you’d like your coffee – instead it’s all down to how much you load up in the hopper. The conical filters it uses seem to have something to do with the consistently rich flavors it produces but I couldn’t for the life of me tell you how that works.

I’m just really glad it does, especially when I’m in a hurry or it’s been a long day and I just can’t be bothered to sit down with an instruction manual. I just want my coffee and it suits me to just put in a filter, add some grounds and let it just get on with it in the corner.

I’m particularly happy that they’ve moved away from the European espresso cup sizes and the markings on the jug reflect proper cup sizes – much easier to work with and I don’t feel like I’ve been shortchanged by the machine when it’s finished brewing. I can fill my mug and just get on with it.

The Hamilton Beach Eclectrics is also easy to clean – and running some basic maintenance and rinsing on a regular basis will pay you back big time with this machine. The non-scorch heat pad seems pretty standard, but coupled with the way the carafe seems designed to retain a small amount of liquid at the bottom rather than leave you with a possible empty jug on the heat I’ve never felt that worried that I was going to be coming back to a horrible burning smell.

The Hamilton Beach Eclectrics 40111 All-Metal 12-Cup Coffee Maker also has a two hour cut-off so that’s one less thing to worry about when I get called away on duty.