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Hi, guys.
This is Brian Bennett for CNET,and right now, we're taking a first look at the Mr. Coffee Optimal Brew smart coffeemaker.
So, as you might guess from its name, this device is not your father's Mr. Coffee machine.
What this thing does is it combines high end smart home technology from Belkin, and grafts it on top of a high end Mr. Coffee drip coffee machine.
So one thing I first noticed about this machine is that it is compact, it also has a nice handsome design with lots of little silver elements and highlights.
What's really cool though is that it uses this modular design that is easy to clean and also easy to operate.
Up top you've got this lid that covers a water tank that you can remove, which makes filling it up really simple.
You can also just pop out the brew basked right here.
The whole thing just comes right out, flips open, you can drop out the filter and slap it back in and you're good to go.
Also cool is this thermal craft, which keeps your coffee hot for over four hours.
What's kinda cool about this coffee maker is that you can program it on a schedule.
You can set it up for seven days a week, have different times for it to brew.
Different times from Monday through Friday, different times for Saturday and Sunday, it's all up to you.
So at the moment there is not support for, if this then that.
This is something that a lot of smart home tinkerers will definitely be disappointed by.
Other big disappointments with this coffeemaker is that it only holds enough coffee and water for one brew cycle at a time.
And the coffee it makes is weak.
And at $150 this machine definitely costs a lot more than your typical Mr. Coffee device.
So, at the end of the day, this coffee machine is only going to be interesting if you really get a kick out of controlling it.
From a mobile device like a tablet or a smartphone.
If you want better tasting coffee, I suggest spending at least $20 or $30 more on a device from Bun or Bonavita.
Or you can buy this device for $20 less without the smarts.
I'm Brian Bennett for CNet appliances.
Be sure to check out a full review of this machine and other coffee makers at cnet.com.
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