Accessories Reviews

This carafe is too fragile. I like the underlying Krups but after too many broker carafes I went with a nice Melitta at my office and another nice Krups (with a better carafe design) in my kitchen.

Also, early versions of this carafe woul dribble.

And the cost of this carafe is outrageous compared to carafes made by Krups or others.

There are other nice coffee machines that make good coffee and don't have a fragile carafe.

Buy another machine with a better carafe. Buy another Krups if you like but avoid this carafe.

If you're looking for a *replacement* carafe and already own the coffee-maker then you probably already know this, but in case you don't then be aware that this model has a "dribble" problem.

Especially when the carafe is full, the coffee tends to overflow either side of the spout and run down the side of the carafe onto the table/counter/floor/etc.

The carafe looks nice, but too much consideration was given to esthetics and not enough to functionality.

Krups is the ultimate in coffee makers. A gourmet delight. The flavor and aroma are the chefs delight. The carafe is artistically and designed to please your eye. It is functional and easy to clean. The price is economical. Buy by all means.

Have some othe vacu vin products and decided to buy these beer coolers ....

The packaging and the hype were soooooooo cool that I thought that I would be able to down my favorite bubbly a ferw degrees cooler than the fridge. If there is actually any temp decrease using these things I sure didn't notice it ....

Better to leave these plastic chillers in the freezer and put the beer in for 5 minutes instead ..... then I notice a difference in the temp of the beer .....

Save you money .....

I wanted to test how well these things worked so I used 3 bottles of Coca-Cola. Each held 16.9 oz. or 500mL (the plastic bottles sold in grocery stores). They were started at room temperature - 71.8 degress F. I put the first in the Vacu Vin sleeve which had been in the freezer at 0 degrees Farenheit for 10 hours. The second I buried in cube ice. The third I put in a 35 degree F refrigerator. I started a timer for 10 minutes which is twice as long as the box said it should take for the Vacu Vin things to "chill" something. After ten minutes the Vacu Vin soda "chilled" to 60.0 degrees. The ice chilled to 61.8. The refrigerator chilled to 68.5.

I guess 12 degrees in 10 minutes is a "chill", but it hardly gets the beverage down to the 34-40 degrees which I look for in my frosty beverages. Also, I can buy ice for $.99 per bag and chill more than one soda while knowing the ice will frost the drink in about a half hour. The Vacu Vin didn't chill my soda any cooler than 60.0, even after fifteen minutes.

Having said that, I suspect that these would work well as insulators for already cold beverages since they are frozen as opposed to a room temperature foam rubber sleeve. However, they don't "chill" anything, unless 60 degrees falls within your definition of "cold".

I have got these drinks chillers and I find them absolutely terrific at keeping your drink ice cold. Rather than using them to chill the can/bottle I find them most effective for keeping them ice cold for as long as I need, or as long as the drink lasts!! They're also great for picnics and on the go.

Never got the blender working, but the cigarette lighter worked fine.

We bought this thinking it would be a lot of fun on our camping trip. Boy were we wrong! The first night it did not work at all. The second night I tried pushing the tip of the plug in a couple times and realized it was stuck, so after a little while it started to move a bit, and then it worked. The next problem came becuase the bottom of the base says you have to do one minute on and one minute off but the instruction booklet says something completely different. Either way after 15 minutes of cyclying on and off I had nothing but smaller peices of ice and a broken blender. Don't waste your 21.99 unless you just want to use the pitcher as an oversized shaker as we did!

Great item! Luckily, I read reviews before buying this at my local store which gave me patience. Several people complained that it never worked. By looking under the pitcher I could see the little ramp underneath that must be aligned with the gray switch on the right side on the top of the base. IT WORKS. Just be sure the pithcer handle is at the right like the picture above and you're in business! 12 volt DC coffee maker works great too.

This doesn't necessarily need to be printed, but the biggest problem I'm having with this teapot (I have not yet bought it) is that I have absolutely no idea what its capacity is! I wouldn't dream of buying it without that information.

The attached infuser is a great idea, but you'd better like stong second cup of tea since it stays in the pot while you're drinking your first. The spout also has a habit of dripping tea towards the pot as you're pouring. Really not a great product.

This teapot makes a nice pot of tea and keeps it warm until you are ready to serve it. I removed the infuser because it wouldn't allow me to remove the tea leaves prompty after steeping. The lid got stuck once and I ended up chipping the porcelain in the process of freeing the lid. In my experience Cordon Bleu ware seems to chip easily.

I have owned 3 of these units. None lasted more than 6 months. I am not a very demanding owner, asking only that the machine grind spices and coffee beans. The performance is excellent, the design is nice, but after 3-6 months the motor seizes up. At first I thought it was corrosion from wiping it out with a damp rag, so on the subsequent 2 units I used dry paper towels only. (That didn't help.) For the price, it's a good little unit, as long as you don't mind frequent replacement.

This grinder works just fine, but what a racket! It's extremely noisy. I wish I'd been a more careful shopper, and am thinking about replacing this one.

It's also pretty hard to clean, but I suppose most grinders have this problem.

Being a big fan of the Kenwood major machine, using it several times a week, I have been very disappointed by the Kenwood pasta maker.

Why - heres the story :

The pasta maker works by forcing pasta dough through a dish containing a number of holes, the shape of the holes determine which pasta you thought you were about to make.

The holes are placed vertically as well as horizontically (rows and coloumns).

When using the pastamaker, gravity pulls the fresh and slightly wet pasta dough towards earth.

On the long and indeed dangerous journey towards earth the pasta emerging from a vertical set of holes collides with pasta emerging from the same vertical set of holes - producing the bubble of dough you put into the machine in the first place - instead of pasta..

The pastamaker mey be good for something, but its not making pasta.
I believe Kenwood should change the name of this appliance or take it of the market alltogether.

Some custumers have been disappointed by this pasta maker because pasta sticks after the holed dish. They also say "the slightly wet pasta dough". That is the problem.
The dough, mixed with the K beater at speed 1 and even less and not overworked, has to be like breadcrumbs, as stated in the instructions.
The measuring cup is perfect; I use 5 eggs medium, exactly reaching the upper line in the cup and honoring the golden rule "1 egg for each 100 gr. of flour".
Do not use light or allpurpose flour, too sticky, or pure semolina, too strong and dangerous for the machine, but that special for pasta (in Montreal it is currently sold in the supermarkets). If it is not available, use a mix 50/50 allpurpose and semolina.
If only allpurpose is available, less liquid will be added to obtain a dry breadcrumbs consistence. In the kitchen spoons, cups and scales must be counterbalanced by the brains.
The best is to pour the mix in the pasta maker by hand and the hands have to remain clean and dry.
Cut the pasta beyond the dish with the back of a knife.
The pasta is so dense that the average cooking time is 12 minutes, while eggs pasta homemade usually takes 3 or 4 or 5 minutes only.
All, I say again all, the pasta makers working with the system of a screw pushing through an holed dish want to process a dry dough!! The main beauty of the Kenwood pasta maker is that the motor is not 150 watt, but much, much more powerful.
Why I rated this equipment 4 and not 5? Because the fettuccine dish makes fettuccine too thick.
Bon appetit
ps sorry for my elementar English. It is not my mother tongue, but I love it.

I was not impressed with this purchase. Although it does everything it says it does, cut french fries, it is limited by the space in the feed tube. If you've already got the knife out to par down the potato to fit the tube, you might as well just slice your fries yourself. You will get a longer french fry and no wasted clean up. I prefer a fry that is longer than 3 inches which may even be stretching it for the final resulting fry size that you get out of this blade. As with most Kitchenaid products it is sturdy and will last, which is why I gave this blade a rating of 2. I have used my blade once and do not forsee it ever seeing the light of day again in my house.

I purchased the french fry cutter with the hope of getting a great french fry, instead I got more of a shoestring potato. This size does make a very good hash brown however.

I purchased a pair of these. They operated for approximately three weeks and then died. Even while they operated, they didn't work. They did nothing to get rid of the musty smell in the older car. Save your money.

This item is very small and compact. It can be stored in various area's of your vechile. The smell is very mild and really does a nice job of cleaning the oder of my cigerattee smoke from my blazer.

I'm sure the product is great if you can get them to send you one that isn't broken! I had to return the item 3 times and everytime i got a broken one back. If you looking for reliability or a nice gift for someone this vendor is not the one to go to

this item is a must have for any serious bartender plus it is a nice gadget to have in any bodies personal bar. makes you seem more sophisticated and is a great conversation piece. dont miss out on it

I love coffee made with the French press method, so I thought this travel press would be great. It was for 3 days. The lid's threads were stripped in 3 days.

This press worked great, but only for about a month. After that the press disc would not stay attached to the end of the plunger when I was pressing...

Similar to a French Press, you put some coffee or tea in the bottom of the mug, add water, screw the cap on, wait for your beverage to steep, and push the plunger down to trap the coffee grinds/tea at the bottom of the mug. It keeps beverages hot and fits in my car's cup holder. The bottom is padded with rubber to prevent sliding. Despite the price, it's definitely a mug I'd buy again.