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

I couldn't agree more with other reviewers regarding how truly awful this machine is. It really needs 0 stars. Not only did mine leak water and produced lukewarm coffee, the coffee was completely undrinkable as it had a burning plastic odor and taste to it. I could not get the chemical smell to go away nor did it ever taste like coffee. It tasted and smelled as if I took an electronic item and warmed it in water and served it in a mug. YUCK! I cleaned the machine out by brewing 25 cycles of water only...I used the vinegar method the product guide recommended...nothing worked. I cannot recall how many pods were wasted and yet the smell and taste remained.

So I contacted the company. I was told to cut the cord and mail it in with $7.50 (like the other reviewers) to get a replacement. The second machine was just as bad if not worse! This time I didn't bother to try again and cut my losses and threw the stupid thing in the garbage.

I'm glad a few people had luck with this item but I wasn't one of them. I strongly urge you to look elsewhere...stay far away from this one!

I've owned two of these Black & Decker Home Café systems; both are junk. With the first unit I had to replace the pod holder twice under warranty. Apparently the plastic pod holders can't withstand the heat and pressure and begin to crack and literally disintegrate. Eventually the lid handle also started to disintegrate, allowing hot water to spray from the unit. When this happened I got fed up and threw it out. For some reason my wife got me another for my birthday; she thinks they look nice and match her kitchen. Just like the first, the pod holder is cracked and coming apart after only 3 months. Again under warranty I called the 800 number and they are supposed to send me a new pod holder. It's been 4 weeks and they tell me they're back order. So, I went out and got a $15 dollar Mr. Coffee which will most likely give me years of reliable service.

If you buy one of these Home Café systems, make sure you have a backup coffee maker.

Also, the pods cost over $4.00 for 18 pods. That's $4.00 for 18 almost 9oz cups of coffee. Do you have any idea how many cups of coffee you can get with a pound of regular coffee?

My husband had purchased this item as a gift and without any prior knowledge about coffee machines. Well this one is horrible. It makes a terrible noise when brewing. There are three settings on the bottom to measure how much to brew, I have tried all three and the result is always the same... not enough! When the cofee is finally ready to be drunk it tastes awful. Save your money on this product. I wish we had now we are out about $60.00!!!!

Let me just start this review by saying-Only buy this product if you want to catch your kitchen on fire!! For those customers who have been happy with the machine for a couple of weeks or months-give it time. Even though the machine was really noisy, I was fine with mine...until it started smoking!! I thought that it was just steam from the pod at first, but the smell of burnt plastic soon clued me in that it was more than that. I had to set it outside in the rain to put it out!! Seriously, DO NOT leave this machine unattended! I returned mine and bought a Senseo. The Senseo was only $10.00 more, and the coffee tastes MUCH BETTER, comes out hotter, and the machine is A LOT quieter.

Had trouble with spray head leaking because it was difficult to get the head to latch correctly and it would sometimes unlatch itself (fine if you had a towel handy). Didn't care for the taste of the coffee either after trying 4 different brands or blends. Bought a Senseo, this thing is sitting on the shelf.