Coffee, tea, or?

Something else warm and cozy? This product is for you!

It is the Cuisinart Coffee Plus 12 Cup Programmable Coffee Maker with Hot Water System.

In my house, my husband is the coffee drinker while I don't touch the stuff. I prefer hot chocolate or hot apple cider. It is also perfect for the hot cup of tea.

Both sides each have a charcoal water filter, with its own method of priming so you don't have that yucky charcoal debris the first few times it is used. Both sides have its own water storage.

The left side is the coffee maker with so many good things. It has a gold filter basket so you don't have to pay for filters. It has its own on/off button. If you filled the water storage up to 12 cups but only want to drink maybe 3 or 4 cups, there is a 1-4 button and approximately 5 cups will brew. It has a programmable auto on switch. You can choose the amount of time the plate stays warm and for that amount of time you can choose hot, warm, or cool for the temperature for the plate. After the amount of time set, it will automatically shut off. Among other things, there is also the "pause" feature that allows you to pause mid-brew to pour yourself a cup of coffee and then resume brewing.

My side is even better! Really, it is! I can not even tell you how much water is in reserve. There are 2 lights above the on/off switch. The first one is water ready. It will blink blue until the water is hot (boiling hot) and it will then turn solid blue. The other light comes on red when you need to add more water. It takes about a minute to heat up the water. Below the on/off switch is the dispenser tab. All you have to do is press the tab down while you fill your cup, mug, or tumbler. However, there is a catch, a safety guard. A sliding lock. You have to slide the lock to the left to unlock and dispense the hot water. After dispensing the water, just slide back under the tab. I love this feature. Great for safety for younger kids but also safety that you don't accidentally hit the dispenser and very hot water come pouring
out! The last feature is a removable drip tray. With the drip tray in, my 16oz Tervis Tumblers fit perfect! I THINK that removing the tray, my larger tumbler fits as well. It is removable for larger travel mugs.

All you need to do is fill whatever drinking vessel you choose with powdered or homemade dry hot chocolate mix, apple cider packet, teabag or tea diffuser. Next, unlock and dispense the hot water. So far I have only tried hot chocolate using Swiss Miss sugar free. Using my 16oz Tervis Tumbler, I added 2 packs of mix and filled up with water. I will say that I filled about half way and used an iced tea spoon to stir it up and dissolve any powder left and then finished filling with the water, stirred again. Just perfect! Let me warn you that it is hot. At home, I leave my lid off so it will cool. If you need to fill and go, I would wait just a few minutes before proceeding to drink. My second cup was even better. I put mini marshmallows on the bottom, then mix, then water! Yummy! Tomorrow, I plan to make some caramel sauce and try some caramel apple cider. Not having to boil water, I may start drinking hot tea again.

In the new world of 1 cup dispense coffee makers, I still would choose this model! As a non-coffee drinker, I truly dislike any hint of coffee taste in my cups or drink. I even have mugs that my husband is not allowed to use for his coffee.

If you are a house divided or love other hot beverages or have children who love their hot cocoa, this is the product for you.

This product usually retails for $99 but Lowes had them on sale for $69. We also had a Lowes coupon for $10 off a purchase equal to or greater than $50. That made ours only $59! My husband was in dire need of a coffee maker, but I told him I had to pick it out. A stunned look came across his face and said, "You don't even drink coffee," to which I reminded him the kitchen was mine! Now it is OUR coffee maker and neither one of us regret the purchase and now that we have used it for a week, we would have paid $99. I truly suggest you check this
kitchen electronic out. Off to fix me some more hot chocolate to sip while watching Christmas movies!

I was not asked nor compensated for my review. All opinions are my own.