Home > Consumer Reviews > Black & Decker AM8 Home Caf? Single Serve Coffee Brewing System, White

Bought this coffee maker June, 2004. I use Senseo coffee in it. The only problem I had was the leaking around the top of the pod basket. We fixed that by using the opposite side of the pod holder. We turned the deeper side up. It stopped leaking. If it starts again, I'll get rid of it and buy a Senseo brand coffee maker....

I just received this as a gift and I love it - it brews good coffee so quickly - but it leaks water while it's doing it - don't know if I got a dud or what. Waiting for response from B&D. I'm really hoping it is fixable.

I got this for Mother's Day - I think my kids hate me!!! By the first of July I was on my third unit. It spits coffee and hot water everywhere. Each time I brew a cup, it makes less coffee. Within two weeks the unit was making about 3/4 of a cup and then suddenly just started smoking and smelling like burnt electrical wires. So I took it back and got a new one. That one would not brew any coffee. I called Black and Decker and was told that I could send it in for an exchange or just go back to the retailer. So I went back and got ANOTHER one. This one was making about half a cup within just a couple weeks also. I use filtered water, so that is certainly not the problem. Black and Decker does not respond to e-mails and I really don't want to exchange it again, but I will probably have no choice. The retailer won't refund my money and neither will Black & Decker. All in all, I feel that this is a REALLY LOUSY product.

I made the sad mistake of selecting this machine. Sad because I trusted a brand (Black & Decker) that had been a dependable and loyal maker of home appliances for my home for years.

It's poorly designed and makes a mess!

The "lever" on the machine is rickety and flimsy. It feels like your going to break the machine every time you load a pod.

The machine has a huge problem that other makers addressed. When the machine drips, scratch that, it *spits*, the hot coffee into the cup it splatters coffee all around the maker and up to a foot away. Yeah, a book I was reading the first time got a nice couple of permanent coffee stains. A dress shirt and tie got hit the next day.

Then lastly the darn thing leaks. The tank literally drains through the machine when it's just sitting there. Eventually the hidden waste cup (Under the silver cup holder) fills up and you get the bulk of the water in the supply tank on your counter. That's happened twice in under a week.

Simply stated, don't waste your money.

I was looking forward to a single-serve coffee maker since I am single and don't want to brew a whole pot every day (even a 4-cup pot was too much.) In theory, this machine is a great idea. The pods are convenient and I don't think they are particularly expensive (although I don't use them every day, so...)

My biggest problem was the cheap manufacture of the machine. I don't care that it's plastic, but the open and close mechanism is nearly impossible to use. Its difficult to get it closed properly, and while struggling with that, you tend to unseat the pod and have to start all over. Once you finally get it closed, it performs well...if you like your coffee on the cool side. Add a little cold milk to your cup and you might as well just go ahead and ice it! It's also pretty loud, so much so that I worried my apartment neighbors would hear it. Once done, it's another struggle to get the thing open again to toss the used pod.

Like I said, single use machines are a great idea and work particularly well for me, but I'm buying myself a Flavia. It's more expensive, but we have one at my office and it's well worth it!