“These Ratio 8s are beautiful machines that brew consistently great coffee. Although the glass carafe is more elegant, the thermal carafe keeps the coffee warm for plenty of time and looks just fine, so I'd go thermal every time. In general, I love this machine and now every other coffee brewer I use pales in comparison. That said, there are three things I'd like Ratio to improve:
(1) The power cord is large, unwieldy, and doesn't match the color of the machine, so detracts from the machine's beauty. The appearance of the machine is an important part of its value, so the power cord being so prominently unattractive is disappointing.
(2) The machine sometimes just doesn't work. This seems to happen most often when a new person is using it (not sure why; maybe something to do with how water is poured into it), or if the machine has been relocated. It seems to be due to some air bubble issues and often can be fixed by gently tilting the machine back and forth to get out the bubbles, but sometimes you need to drain out all the water, which requires unplugging it, bringing it to a sink, and tipping it updside down. Due to the size and weight of the machine, it's not easy for everyone to do that. Also makes dropping and breaking the machine a bit more likely. I'd like Ratio to solve that problem--it shouldn't happen so frequently (or at all) for a machine that costs as much as this one does.
(3) The machine is not at all user-serviceable and when something goes wrong you have to ship it back to Ratio, which is a hassle. Would be nice to have some user ability, and Ratio-provided instructions, to do something basic like change a fuse or give it a hard reset.
Customer service is good if you do have an issue, though. You may think number 2 above would be a deal breaker, but the other benefits of the machine (namely, great tasting coffee every time and a beautiful design) are usually enough to keep me loving it even when it's broken (I'm on my 2nd machine after the first one quick working entirely). Just be sure to have a backup plan for your coffee habit.”
