Review: Mr Coffee 12-cup programmable coffee maker

Why choose Mr. Coffee 12-cup coffee maker (SK13) over others?

The main advantage of this product over other similar products in this price point, such as AmazonBasics coffee maker, is that Mr coffee 12 cup SK13 is advanced enough yet remains very affordable (sells for about $32).

This product might be wonderful for budget shoppers who would like a more advanced appliance that may stay at home for a little longer. Compared to other similar products of this tier, Mr Coffee 12 cup programmable coffee maker differentiates itself with the following:

• Fairly advanced features such as delayed brew (possibility to program brewing), brew pause and auto-off
• Quite a nice design for a plastic coffee maker
• Very easy and convenient to use
• Very affordable

Who is Mr. Coffee 12-cup programmable coffee maker perfect for?

The Mr Coffee 12 cup SK13 can be a perfect choice for those who want to taste a good cup of coffee at a low price. Given how cheap the appliance was, I was surprised how exquisite coffee was. In my opinion, Mr Coffee 12 cup programmable coffee maker might be a perfect choice for the following:

✓ More long-term coffee maker for low budget

✓ A fairly more advanced coffee maker at an affordable price

✓ A compact and lightweight coffee maker that should fit into most offices, dorms, kitchens and other small spaces

✓ Programmable device (auto on and auto off)

✓ A decent cup of coffee (but by no means perfect)

✓ Glass carafe

✓ Easy to use

Who is Mr. coffee 12-cup coffee maker NOT perfect for?

I always strive to remain honest in my reviews, and this should be no different in this Mr Coffee 12 cup programmable coffee maker review. Though Mr Coffee 12 cup SK13 can be a strong choice for some, I do not believe that it would be suitable for everyone.

Specifically, it may not be suitable for any or all of the following reasons:

✗ Preference for plastic-free coffee makers

✗ Tasteful and rich coffee (this one is decent, but lacks depth and richness)

✗ Ability to control important aspects of the brewing process (temperature, strength, blooming, etc.)

✗ An advanced and long lasting coffee maker

✗ No dishwasher safe components

✗ Takes a bit of time to brew

Mr. Coffee 12-cup SK13 Review and Evaluation 🕵️

→ Appearance

Mr Coffee 12-cup programmable coffee maker was a fancy-looking appliance. I enjoyed that it had a digital clock (used primarily for programmability), and that it looked a lot sturdier and more reliable than other coffee makers in the $-price point.

At first glance, Mr Coffee 12 cup programmable coffee maker seemed like a more advanced appliance. The appliance itself is all black, and made with plastic. The coffee basket is matte, while the bottom of the body is more polished/reflective. I enjoyed the combination of both. Mr Coffee did a good job with it.

Because the machine is plastic, it is also quite lightweight. It was about 5 pounds. The unit was also relatively small, measuring about 12 inches in height.

There was a digital clock and 6 buttons on the machine. 2 were to turn Mr Coffee on and off, 2 buttons to set the time, and 2 to set delay/program brewing. Overall, the machine was quite simple.

→ Features and technical specs

Voltage: Mr. Coffee 12-cup programmable coffee maker (SK13)  is made for 120V, and can be used in Canada and the US only.

Beverage size: Without any surprises, Mr Coffee Simple Brew comes with a capacity to brew 12 cups of coffee. I was quite happy as the in-built water tank, located on the side of the machine, has a scale that told me how much water I needed for a specific volume of coffee.

Weight: At about 5 lbs, Mr Coffee 12 cup programmable coffee maker is lighted than other coffee makers of this volume (AmazonBasics is a lot less heavy, though). I found it light enough to move around, lift or install in the kitchen without any additional support.

Unit size: The unit measures about 12 x 9.2 x 13.8 inches. Mr Coffee Simple Brew 12 cup programmable coffee maker fitted into my rather small kitchen very well. However, I really dislike that the top lid is not removable. To refill water or coffee, I had to open the top lid UP, which was taking additional 6 inches in height. This was really not ideal.

Carafe: I love the fact that Mr. Coffee 12 cup programmable coffee maker comes with a glass carafe. Though this carafe is of poorer quality than those at the best drip coffee makers, I felt that it was good.

As you might know from my other reviews, I like glass carafes more than I like “thermal” carafes for 2 reasons. First, glass carafes do not introduce any additional metallic flavors in my coffee. Second, if there’s a glass carafe, there’s a good chance there’s a warming plate to keep coffee warm. Mr Coffee 12 cup SK13 did not disappoint.

Water reservoir: The Mr Coffee 12 cup SK13 came with a built-in water reservoir that could not be removed. Because the water tank is built-in, I had to be careful not to spill water all around. With a few precautions, the process was rather easy.

Further, the dual water window granted me visibility when I was pouring water in. On the semi-transparent window, there was a scale, which indicated how much water I have already added (and for what volume of coffee).

Additional perks: Overall, Mr Coffee 12 cup programmable coffee maker SK13 is a simple device. It’s far behind other more advanced coffee maker ranked as best drip coffee makers. However, I was pleasantly surprised that, despite the low retail price, Mr. Coffee came with some really useful and cool features.

Compared with other machines, I feel that there are fewer things in this machine, but the features were quite awesome:

✓ Mr Coffee 12 cup SK13 is fully programmable, with an auto on and auto off features. With that, I was able to program the coffee maker 24 hours in advance to start brewing at my desired time. I felt that it was such a great feature. In the mornings, I never had to wake up too early to enjoy a cup of coffee. I was waking up to the aroma of coffee permeating my apartment. My only complaint is that the machine turns off only after 2 hours. This is a standard in the industry, but I felt like this time could be much shorter.

✓As I’ve previously mentioned, the Grab-A-Cup Auto Pause function does wonders when I want to grab a cup of coffee without letting the whole brewing process go through. It doesn’t affect the taste of my beverage and I can resume the brewing operation to completely fill the carafe.

Unfortunately, my unit did not come with a removable water reservoir.The reservoir was in-built. Further, my Mr Coffee 12 cup SK13 did not come with water filter.

→ Performance

Brewing time: It took me well over 10 minutes to brew 12 cups of coffee. I was quite disappointed, as I expected slightly faster turnaround. Though I appreciated the Grab-A-Cup Auto Pause function to get some coffee more quickly, brewing an entire carafe took a while. I always tried to mitigate the wait time by programming the coffee maker in advance.

Flavor: Mr Coffee 12 cup SK13 does a fair job brewing coffee. I enjoyed a cup of coffee on the go, or quickly in the morning. It did the job it was supposed to do. Again, walking in, I did not expect to be blown away by flavors. It did not brew super rich or delicious coffee I would want to enjoy day after day, year after year.

Temperature: Like a lot of other drip coffee makers, including best drip coffee makers, Mr Coffee 12 cup programmable coffee maker does not reach a perfect brewing temperature. In my tests, I detected temperatures between 170-180 F degrees, which is a far cry from the perfect brewing temperature of 195-205 F degrees.

Noise levels: Mr. Coffee 12 cup programmable coffee maker did not initially produce any remarkable noises or sounds. It was quite on par with other machines. After a month or so, SK13 began to emit slightly louder gurgling and banging noises. I am not yet sure where they are coming from, or what they mean.

Cleaning: Cleaning is fairly easy, but, given that the water tank is in-built, I was not able to reach all parts and places. The machine comes with a removable filter basket for a quick and easy cleanup.

As the machine is mostly plastic (and glass carafe), I did not risk putting anything in the dishwasher. I felt that the carafe was too fragile to persevere the power of my dishwasher, so I decided to wash everything manually. 😊

Customer-reported technical issues

Though I did not experience many issues with the appliance (with the exception for banging noises..), there seem to be some user complaints about the product.I would like to believe that they are an exception rather than the norm.

Again, we cannot verify whether it is a user-error or a product error, but wanted to flag them. From what I have seen, here are some most commonly reported issues:

• May have plastic odor and plastic flavor in coffee
• Coffee basket might be a bit flimsy and difficult to remove and put back
• Brewing may not starting despite lights being on

→ Health and safety

I did not find Mr. Coffee to be very transparent about the chemicals and plastic included in Mr Coffee SK13. I searched multiple websites, including Mr Coffee, and found very little information about materials or chemicals included. I was not able to find information about any particular chemicals, such as lead. Hence, I cannot confirm or refute.

Mr. Coffee made an official statement that Mr Coffee 12 programmable coffee maker SK13 is BPA-free.

However, SK13 is made primarily of plastic. Whether it is BPA-free or not, this plastic comes into direct contact with scorching hot water. As you may know by now, I am personally very concerned about using products in which boiling water touches plastic.

The BPA-free status is helpful to know, but it typically does not guarantee that there are no other potentially dangerous substitutes used in the production process.

Reports show that many manufacturers replace BPA with other types of plastic. These types include but are not limited to BHPF (fluorene-9-bisphenol), TPP (triphenyl phosphate), and bisphenol S (BPS). The exact health effects of the BPA substitutes, such as BHPF, TPP and BPS, are unknown at this point.

I was not able to find much detailed information what kind of materials or chemicals are used, so I am not able to verify.

→ Price to value: is Mr. Coffee 12-cup SK13 worth the money?

Mr Coffee Simple Brew 12 cup programmable coffee maker sells in a $-price point. This is slightly more expensive than AmazonBasics, but offers a much stronger price-to-value ratio than AmazonBasics.

On the positive side, Mr. Coffee 12-cup programmable coffee makeris not just budget friendly, but it offers a BPA-free appliance (but perhaps contains other chemicals and materials). Further, Mr. Coffee is a lot more advanced than some other coffee makers in this price-point. It comes with programmability (auto on and off), as well as brew pause.

On the negative side, the machine is very basic and contains a lot of plastic. It takes a while to heat up water and brew coffee. Bland flavors.

Should I buy Mr. Coffee 12-cup SK13? Owly’s verdict! 🔨

Mr. Coffee 12 cup programmable coffee maker (SK13) is a decent affordable coffee maker. It brews coffee, though it takes quite a while to brew. It comes with a fairly advanced feature set for this price point.

Yet again, Mr. Coffee is a fine coffee maker. It did not shock me out of my socks with flavor or performance. It took about 10-11 minutes to brew 12 cups, and coffee, being lukewarm, was alright.

What do you think about Mr. Coffee 12-cup programmable coffee maker? What was your experience with Mr. Coffee 12-cup SK13 machine?

Let us know your thoughts in the comments, under this Mr. Coffee 12-cup SK13 review!