Others say...

"Great coffee / Good pot - update 2008"
Update 4/10/08 - Still going great three years after I bought it - and not one broken knob.

(old review) I've had this pot for over a year and love it. Fast, hot, great tasting coffee which stays hot and fresh for a long time. I bought it after my last electric perk had died at age 10 years because I loved the looks of it, and there were limited choices at the brick-and-mortars. I read all the reviews only after I bought it. The reviewers' major complaint is about the plastic knob cracking. Yes, the plastic knob is poorly-designed and is the only reason I give this pot 4 stars instead of 5. The designer should have known that users would take the lid off the pot by using the knob. However, it is completely possible to remove the lid without touching the knob at all. Just pop the lid by pushing in and up near where the lid meets the pot. This is what I've been doing since I bought the pot and I've had absolutely no problems with the knob. It's unlikely you'll need to remove the lid while the coffee is still hot, so you can avoid burned fingertips. A secondary complaint is about grounds in the coffee. I've never had this problem; I suspect users who have are either not careful when spooning the coffee into the basket, or they are using the wrong grind. It's important with any percolator to use a percolator grind, or "FAC" 'for all coffeemakers' grind.

"Very poor design"
It seems that there is always something crappy in a good design. The pot does a good job perking coffee, but the lid and the glass top are bad and enough to void the use of the pot. I think that Melitta should send out, for nothing the glass top. I am like the other reviews, I would not buy another Melitta product unless they make good on this pot. There is a danger of the top blowing out and Melitta could be in for law suits.

"worked great - for six months."
What more needs to be said? Followed all instructions and yet I am now having to look for a new percolator. How exactly do companies keep making garbage products and we buy them?

"Great Coffee Until The Bulb Breaks"
Allow me to be the 30th person to say that the lid is terrible. My bulb (the plastic thing on top) finally broke after a year, and about 10 hours of searching later, I still can't find a replacement. The coffee was great, but not good enough to make up for the crappy lid.

"Here's how to get a new plastic top"
I love my Java Perk, but I loved it a lot more before it blew its top. Here's how I got a new top. I called 800-947-3744 and gave the nice lady there my mailing address and my credit card number. She charged me $4.86 and shipped a new top to me. (At least I think she did. I just got off the phone with her.)

The 800 number is for Toastmaster/Salton, the people who contract to have the Java Brew MEP 10 made in China. Oh, the nice lady wants to know the number engraved on the very bottom of your pot, and when you bought it, how much you paid, and so forth. BUT she can live without that info. If you bought your percolator recently, I suspect your fragile plastic top will be covered by warranty.