First off, let me say that drip coffee isn’t my favorite way to make coffee. A French press will give you a much better cup. However it isn’t always practical or convenient to press coffee. The Capresso MT 500 might be the second best way to make coffee in my opinion, but hey, I’m picky. This is one outstanding machine.
Features of the MT 500
Overall
The MT 500 is most notably different from its competition by the primary materials that it is crafted from. While most home coffee makers are 90% plastic, the MT 500 has a stainless steel pot and mostly aluminum exterior. This adds not only to the durability of the MT 500 but makes it more attractive as well.
The Pot
The pot is one of the most important features of the MT 500. The stainless pot is insulated and is rated at four hours for keeping your coffee hot. In my experience the four hour rating is a little optimistic, but three hours is a very realistic time. An insulated pot is important because coffee is very temperature sensitive once brewed. Brewers that keep coffee hot on a burner will give your java a burnt taste in as little as fifteen minutes. The insulated pot will remain palatable as long as it is hot.
The other nice feature of the pot on the MT 500 is the limited amount of air contact during brewing. The lid design on the MT 500 allows brew through even while it is closed keeping contact with open air to a minimum. This has two benefits. The obvious benefit is that brewing through the lid keeps the coffee hotter. The less obvious one is that it actually makes your coffee taste better. Coffee suffers from long exposure to air getting oxidized. It is similar to the effect of leaving open food in the fridge or freezer too long.
There is no glass liner in the pot as in the less expensive air pot coffee brewers. This leads to a much less fragile pot . . . something you can drop on the hardwood floor once in a while without worrying about it breaking. Now the floor on the other hand . . .
The Coffeemaker
The MT 500 uses a cone shaped filter. This seems to be the best method for extraction in drip coffee makers of this size. I have always found the flavor to be a little more robust with a cone filter than a flat bottom in the 10 to 12 cup range machines.
The brew time on the MT 500 averages a little over six minutes. This is a little on the long side of a perfect 4 minute brew, but using coarser grinds to speed things up doesn’t really improve the flavor.
The internal parts are primarily stainless steel according to Capresso. I haven’t taken one apart to see if the tubing is plastic, brass or steel, but temperature is a pretty consistently in the 195º ballpark. Consistent temperature would be the main thing that brass or stainless parts would help with and there isn’t a problem here.
The drip stop works pretty well on this model unlike a few machines that I have had which simply dripped a little slower rather than stopping when I forgot was I was doing and pulled the pot out too soon. A side note, drinking before the brew is complete will make your first cup stronger than the later ones.
Bonus Features
The water filter that is built in to the MT 500 is probably the second biggest feature that makes it such a great coffee maker. Unless you have the best tap water in the world it is going to substantially affect the flavor of your coffee, and not in a good way. Capresso is the only brand of coffee maker I know of that comes with a built in water filter. The maker claims that the filter removes 85% of the chlorine in tap water. I don’t have anyway to prove or disprove this claim, but by taste, having the filter in makes a very noticeable difference.
Another bonus is the indicator light that reminds you when it is time to change the filter. With other Capresso models you have to log it, or simply take a guess when you’ve brewed sixty pots. The filters can be a little difficult to find, but Capresso is pretty good about shipping them quickly if you order them direct. In fact you can order directly from their website at $10 for a three pack.
There is a built in timer and clock so you can have your coffee waiting in the morning. I don’t ever use it since I like to grind the beans right before brewing and am more inclined to press coffee in the morning. The Capresso MT 500 is generally the after dinner, when guests are visiting machine.
The included gold filter is another nice feature that is included. Purchasing one separately would cost another $20 to $30. I prefer paper filters, but when I was in the coffee business customers seemed to be split about 50/50 on which they preferred. For me a gold filter is nice simply because my wife and I are not always organized enough to remember when we are out of filters. The gold filter is a nice insurance policy.
Cleaning and Maintenance
The exterior of these machine will look as good as new for years. It is simply cleaned with a damp rag. The brushed aluminum holds up nicely for years. The pot are durable as well (although I haven’t tried dropping one on a hardwood floor yet . . . I’m worried about denting the floor).
The basket and pot are easy enough to throw in the dishwasher. If you use the gold filter, I usually throw ours in the dishwasher as well and it has held up nicely to the mere half a dozen uses or so it has seen.
I use Purrocafe to clean my coffee machine every five to ten uses. I’m not sure if it is something that you can buy as a general consumer as I was still working in coffee when I got the rather large container that will last me several more years. However, putting a bit of vinegar in the reservoir and brewing it will keep any calcification to a minimum.
Bottom Line
Capresso simply makes the best drip machines on the market. The taste from this machine, while not quite on par with a French press, is very good. The construction is solid and I expect it will last many years. This is the top of the line machine from the best maker around. You cannot do better than this machine.
© Scott Noble – Unauthorized use prohibited
A couple of my other reviews that you might find helpful:
Bodum Travel French Press
Nissan Insulated French Press
Capresso Elegance Classic Coffee Maker
