Starbucks Barista Aroma Grande Thermal Coffeemaker

Pros: Great tasting coffee. Thermal carafe goes anywhere. Easily cleanable parts.
Cons: That Starbucks doesn't continue to give you free coffee for your machine!

We purchased the Starbuck’s Barista Aroma, the 8 cup version. It seems the larger Grande simply provides more cups in the carafe and that is about the only difference. We previously owned 3 Hamilton Beach brew stations, and in 2 years all three had ...

Pros: Excellent cup of hot coffee, holds heat well.
Cons: Very heavy pot and complex setup

We decided after much thought to purchase the Starbuck's Barista Aroma Grande. Being steadfast Starbuck's customers, we have been very pleased with the other coffeemakers we bought there. Since this was an expensive purchase, I did a side by side ...

Pros: Coffee Flavor, Keeps heat in, Nice looking, Starbucks...
Cons: Carafe spout dribbles and even splatters sometimes.

After my Mr. Coffee bit the dust I was excited to buy a real coffee maker. I did a lot of research and read a lot of reviews. What finally sold me on the Starbucks Barista Aroma Grande (SBAG) was the removable water reservoir. (And the 30% discount ...

Pros: great looks, easy cleaning, outstanding warranty service, and good coffee.
Cons: Kind of cheap feeling brew basket & slow pouring.

We have the Aroma 8 cup, not the grande, but they are all but identical except for the maximum number of cups that can be brewed at once. It is a VERY nice looking pot. My wife had zero problems with it as a replacement to the freebie no brand coffee ...

Pros: Ease of programming; carafe's ability to keep coffee hot for extended periods.
Cons: Extremely difficult to pour a cup without several dripping coffee down the front.

I've been using this coffee maker for almost four years now and still really like it. The clock and auto programming buttons are really easy to use (and makes me wonder why all electronic clocks/alarms aren't this easy) and the stainless steel looks very ...

Pros: Great coffee maker when it is not leaking.
Cons: Not supported by Starbucks, they just want you to buy another expensive machine

Purchased the machine from Starbucks Fullerton, CA 3 years ago. Machine started leaking water each morning, disassembled it, the heating element is all corroded and decaying. Starbucks refuses to identify the manufacturer so I can secure the part, and the small appliance repair shop they sent me to in Lake Forest, CA was no help at all.

I am going to send the heating element to Underwriters Laboratory, if they approved this machine they approved a potential electric hazard.

Pros: The coffee tastes good and the carafe keeps coffee warm for 10 hours.
Cons: It overflows a lot spilling coffee all over the kitchen.

Our Aroma Grande is 3 years old and has been heavily used by our office. It overflows about once a week spilling coffee all over the counter and floor. Sometimes this is happens when the carafe isn't shoved all the way into the machine. Other times we can't tell why it does it.

Pros: Good coffee.
Cons: Bad quality & service.

I chose this particular machine because of the reviews I read here and elsewhere. I was not disappointed with the taste, and I found the machine easy to use. I didn't have any of the spillover or mess problems other people mentioned. I found it no harder to clean than any other pot.

Because of the price, I thought long and hard about whether to go with this pot. I'm a coffee lover, so decided the splurge was worth it.

I really didn't hate anything about the machine -- for the short time that it worked.

However, the machine broke after just one year of relatively light use (as in, one pot per day). Starbucks refused to honor the warranty because I didn't buy the machine directly from them, though it was brand new when I bought it.

Regardless of taste, I would not buy another machine from this company. Not at those prices and with that lack of service.

Pros: Great coffee. Carafe is large and keeps the coffee hotter longer than other thermal carafes.
Cons: Awkward, flawed design.

We have been using the Starbuck's Barista Aroma Grande for 2 years. The coffee is superb and the carafe holds the coffee hotter and longer than any thermal pot we have had. The carafe is a nice large size and holds more coffee than most units we looked at. However....
1. Setting up to brew is a little awkward because the maker is tall and getting the water reservoir out and back in again requires turning the unit around so as not to run into the cupboards above the counter and then turning it back into position after it is filled sometimes causing spillage. Using a pitcher to do this is equally awkward because you cannot tip the pitcher up enough to empty into the reservoir without running into the wall cabinet above.
2. The curved stainless piece that covers the front of the brewing basket pops off regularly.
3. I agree with the previous poster that the carafe can sputter and drip when pouring.

That said, we are still happy with the quality of the coffee and that's most important. The fact that we have to work a little for it is okey.

Pros: Pretty to look at
Cons: Didn't get coffee hot enough, DIED after 2.5 years.

I was so excited in February of 2005 as I left the wonderful-smelling Starbucks cafe with my new $150, 12-cup Aroma Grande machine. It's sleek stainless-steel finish was sure to be the crown jewel of my kitchen. Unfortunately, the coffee was never quite hot enough. But, I never drove the 1 1/2 drive back to return it. I just brewed my coffee, and then heated it further in the microwave. The other day, when I plugged it in, nothing happened. No blue light, no bubbly sound, NOTHING! So, I tried other outlets, and NOTHING. It was dead. I tried again tonight to plug it in, but to no avail. The beautiful coffee maker had died. I used it maybe only twice a week during the cold seasons (which is not often in Georgia). But, the warranty expired about 4 months ago, and now I have no coffee maker again! SIGH!