Side by Side Comparison of: Mr. Coffee vs Capresso

I thought that this would end up being a gadget that I'd regret buying. Not so. The Mr Coffee Iced Tea Maker is straightforward, well-made and easy to use. Fill the reservoir with water and the container with ice (it helps if you have an ice maker. It'd take a lot of tray ice to fill it!). Place 7 Lipton tea bags in the blue top, and about 10 sweetener tablets. Plug it in, switch it on, and 10 minutes later you have a huge pitcher of tea, ready to go!Yes, mother, I could make iced tea using a kettle, but Mr Coffee's brewing basket ensures that the tea is steeped perfectly before it trickles over the ice below.I love iced tea, and Mr Coffee's iced tea maker has earned a place on my limited kitchen counter space!

I'm writing this at 10 pm, EDT, while drinking a caffeine-free, sugar free iced tea slurpee (Sorry 7-11), which I haven't been able to do in ages. In my Ninja, I mixed 8 oz tea, 1 sweet n low and ice to the max fill line.I purchased the Luzianne Caffeine Free Family Sized Tea Bags from Amazon. I used 2 bags.You also need Mr Coffee 8-12 cup coffee filters (which I happened to have).Iced tea machine:pro:The tea tastes excellent.It really does take only a few minutes.No leaks.Easy to assemble (instructions are great)Easy to maintain.Lots of flexibility (can use small bags, large bags, different types of tea, coffee etc.)Con:The instructions have "if your ice supply is low..." verbage. This is wrong, wrong, wrong. It's not your desired Water level. It's the Water Level. My ice maker hadn't replenished itself enough, so I filled the pitcher with ice up to the water line. Then, I filled cold water about 1/2 inch above the water line. When the tea maker was finished, the tea level was 1/2 inch above the ice line. I was just lucky. I could have had a wet mess.I also had to wait for my ice maker to replenish itself, once I used the existing ice in my ice maker to clean the machine.I'm very pleased with taste, time, and mechanics required for this machine. Would definately purchase again.

In order to cut back on diet soda, I have switched to drinking herbal tea. I make about 2 gallons of tea each time I use this machine (which means I brew four 2-quart batches) and I brew tea at least every other day. In other words, I use this iced tea maker a LOT! I love it. It is so easy to use, clean up is a breeze and the machine has never had any problems. I have more than gotten my money's worth from this iced tea maker! I highly recommend this product.

This makes very good iced tea. I've seen complaints from other posters about it not brewing the tea, but ours works fine. We put the tea bag directly over the hole in the bottom of the basket and we've never had a problem. I like that it is automatic and shuts off after it's done making tea.

After 3 years of using our Mr Coffee Iced Tea Maker, I needed a replacement as the pitcher got dropped. I couldn't believe that Amazon had a near-identical one! Delivery was timely and packaging was superb against breakage. Directions for use are extremely easy. You will NOT be disappointed with this purchase - and why pay more when you see what other brands cost. We don't like weak tea as filling up the container with ice dilutes it quite a bit. These are the directions I use: I fill up the pitcher with water (to the water line), pouring it into the machine. Then I add cold water again to the water line on pitcher before hooking up to the tea maker. With the coffee filter in place in the basket, I use 2 "Luzianne" family-sized tea bags. When the tea-maker is finished perking, I then add several handfuls of ice before refrigerating. This minimizes diluting the tea. Another tip: don't forget to use a coffee filter, even with tea bags. You never know if a tea bag will break open during the processing. Lesson learned!

I bought this after having used one like it for the last year. It's a great machine, and works with bog bagged tea and loose tea (with a coffee filter)

Amazing!! I have my ice tea in 10 minutes. That is total time. Putting everything in to the brewer!I did dome of the reviews before purchasing. Not one time has mine leaked water.

Very happy with this purchase. I was worried about some of the reviews, but I went ahead anyway and got it, and I'm glad I did. This makes the best ice tea ever! We've had a Mr. Coffee for years and I must say this tea is much better. I love the glass carafe and attribute it to the fresher tasting tea.

Awesome Device for refreshing iced tea. Owned other brands and this one with the glass carafe has been THE BEST!

This makes a pitcher at a time, fine if that is all you want, or if you have another container to fill.

Makes delicious fresh-brewed tea!!

Love it

The on/off button doesn't work right. The unit turns on the minute it's plugged in. Not a big deal. Otherwise it works great.

This makes good iced tea easy and I like to use it. The only caveat I have is that it takes a LOT of ice to make the tea, so I have to dial my fridge to accelerate its ice maker and save up ice. Do you see where the blue tea maker lid comes down to--that's going to be how much ice you will need to make tea. That's at least a whole bin for my ice maker. But it does make great teal

I bought this for my hubby, he loves his iced tea! His only complaint is that the size of the pitcher is too small. Our previous machine's pitcher was narrow, but tall, and held more tea. It was easier to fit into the fridge too, the round size of this one makes it hard to fit into a tight 'fridge. It is quiet, and fast, and if you make sure the pitcher is lined up with the machine properly, it does not leak! (yet)

Does what it claims to do.....works very well and quickly. 4 stars only because it doesn't really do much better than doing the process yourself.

Works like a champ! I never thought I would need an ice-tea maker, but in the summer heat this has been wonderful to own. I got it at a great price and thought if it did not work well, then not much money spent. But it works very easily and quickly. Now I know that an ice-tea maker is a must for any kitchen against the summer heat!

There were more pieces to the product than I expected but I like that it doesn't take much room on my counter. The tea tastes good and is quick to make. I'm very satisfied with my Mr.Coffee 2 qt. Iced Tea Maker.

Got it for my mother and she loves it

I have one that I have used for years. I love it. This is VERY hard to use with the ice and a very small water holder. I will not buy another.Why change a good thing.

Machine worked fine. Just as advertised.

I am so sorry to see that they have redesigned the steeping basket and no longer have the pull up bar. The tea flows right through quickly and does not have enough time to steep and is therefore very weak.

I bought this as a replacement for one I had owned and used for 20 years. This one is not as well made. In fact, the hinge that holds on the cover for the water well has already broken! Luckily this does not affect its usefulness. I did not appreciate getting an email in poorly written English asking for a review of the product from the manufacturer which I believe must be in China. Although it still says "MR Coffee" I believe it has been outsourced to someone else and the quality has suffered. I do not believe this one will last 20 years.

I'm replacing my ice tea maker that I've had for over 20 years. It's the same make and model. It looks the same until you get it up close. The blue plastic on the new one is NOT dishwasher safe and it's made of a very cheap, thin plastic. I'm glad I kept my old parts. It seems quality has disappeared from our vocabulary today.

Ok, but does not steep tea long enough to get a good flavor. must use more tea bags. quick and easy though

I like the way this makes iced tea but I've had it less than a year & it broke. The switch broke & it will no longer turn on.

This works fine, but the pitcher is incredibly thin glass. I'm surprised we made it a few months before we broke it. I'm buying a new pitcher because my husband wants it. He makes iced tea almost daily and doesn't like using the plastic pitcher. I wish I could find a better quality product, with a larger pitcher!

This is a decent ice tea maker, and the pitchers are nice. There are two design problems with it, the mark on the pitcher is too high. If you fill the pitcher to the water mark, it overflows the water tank. The water tank also has a place at both the front and the back where water that's poured in leaks around the water tank. Water has to be poured in exactly right or it makes a pretty good mess.

No stopper in the bottom of the basket. Tea is very weak.

From other reviews I gather that Mr Coffee has changed the design of the brew basket so it no longer has an adjustable strength control which allowed a plug in the bottom of the basket to raise and lower for weak or strong tea. According to some people the tea produced using the new design is too weak.That is a deal breaker for me although I am tempted to buy one just to see if I can modify it to brew stronger tea. (Yes, I am a tinkerer.) <g>

There are a number of reviews on here speaking about how great this product is. I'm guessing some number are paid reviews. I ordered this, and there is an obvious design flaw - simply look at the picture. Water comes in on one side of the device, and only soaks the tea that happens to be on that side, leading to the other half being entirely dry and un-steeped. As someone who used to own a tea house years ago, I know what good quality tea is supposed to taste like, and this is not it. If you are used to low quality bag teas, this is probably fine. If you use loose leaf tea and are after the full body and flavor, go buy something else. You get what you pay for with this.

Capresso, we wanted this to work well. We drink iced tea year round. Thought this might do the trick and be easier to make loose leaf iced tea. It worked for a couple of months flawlessly then it started leaking out of the L side of the reservoir. The water that leaks is clear, so the leak is before the tea. We've tried everything. Can't say how many times we took it apart and put it back together again. We take the filter basket and whatever holds the basket out, wash, rinse and put on the drainboard to dry. Wipe out the inside where the basket and holder go and leave the lid to the reservoir and the filter area open. Today, I went to make tea, and there was white, mold or mildew in the base where the basket and filter go. We're running straight vinegar through it now. Hopefully, it will clean out well. It is still going to leak. I've continued to use it in spite of the leak by putting a smaller baking sheet underneath, so water doesn't get everywhere. At this point, if the white stuff doesn't go away, I'm just going to donate it. Such a waste of money. To make things worse, we liked it so well, in the beginning, we bought two more and gave away as gifts. I've warned the folks to whom we gave them as gifts that ours is now leaking and to watch for the mold/mildew. Sorry, Capresso. You screwed up making this model. I like your other products.

The first 3 days were awesome , no leaking and breed quickly. However on the 4th day the pitcher bottom cracked when I was put ice in it. Guess I will buy replacement pitcher

Didn't work !

Came broken

This thing takes 4 bags to make 25 per cent less tea--which is weaker than my old Mr. Coffee, plus it cost about 25 per cent more, as shipping was, like a ridiculously high 10.00ish. ComPLETE ripoff. There is not adjustment on it to make the tea stronger.

THIS MACHINE, DOESNT WORK ITS THE WORST THING I GOT IN AMAZON, THE WATER GOES ALL OVER THE PLACE

the pitcher was busted and cracked almost over the entire surface

My review is not for the product itself, because I used to own one of these and loved it. Rather, my review is for the seller. I ordered this item over a month ago and still have not received it. For the past two weeks I have been attempting to contact the seller for a refund. The seller has been insistent that because UPS states the item was delivered, I must have it. After a total of 10 emails and four calls to Amazon, I have finally received a message saying I have been issued a refund. I will try to look for this item in the store instead. I would discourage anyone from ordering this item online, as I have never had to deal with such poor customer service, and over an item I never received. If you can find this iced tea maker in a store, you should definitely get it. I used my old one every day for over two years!

A month after purchasing this unit, the glass pitcher cracked as I was stirring the tea. Thinking it was an accident, I purchased another glass pitcher and within two weeks, it broke as I set it on the counter after pouring a glass of tea. It is clear that the glass pitcher is very thin and can not stand up to normal use. I would not recommend this to anyone as the machine does not operate without that pitcher/lid combo. It is very disappointing to have wasted time and money on this product and I'm back to where I started, looking for an iced tea maker.

This is the review i gave on the 2 other pitchers i bought. The machine is great but what's the point i f they keep breaking.Don't waste your money. I bought two of these pitchers and they both broke in the same exact spot. I literally place it on the counter very gently, because the first pitcher that came with the machine broke in the same spot, a piece of the bottom side just broke off. So that makes three pitchers brokem in the same exact spot

Lousy, never worked. Lousy, disgusting junk.

Product was returned. During the first cleaning cycle most of the water heated from brewing came out of the bottom of the machine. Hot water was all over my counter. I checked to make sure everything was connected correctly and tried again with the same results. This is very dangerous.In addition the pitcher which is glass is very thin and I found a crack in the glass. Avoid this product.

It leaks water from the water compartment; dripping over the start button. Requiring you to dry the counter. Pushing down on water compartment sometimes allows you to brew without leaking water.Glass pitcher is big, & holds plenty of iced tea. Brews tea in a short time, about 5 minutes.I wouldn't buy the Capresso again.