So, on Tuesday, the coffeemaker that I've been using for years died. It was fine in the morning, but when I went to make a second pot later that day, it spurted out a couple of drops and then...nothing.
So I went shopping on Wednesday, and checked at Target. There was a Black & Decker that would have been the one I'd bought if my mom hadn't been there and talked me out of it with the idea that I could probably get a Mr. Coffee at Wal-Mart for less. But considering the fact that I only need a small coffeepot, that would mean I'd have to get the exact same model that my sister has. Lo and behold, that's
exactly what happened. So even though I'd have preferred the Black & Decker, I went ahead and got the Mr. Coffee.
Well, we get home, and I read the instructions for cleaning it out before first use. I wash the filter basket and the carafe, and go to pour the water into the reservoir...and it leaks out the bottom and all over the counter. Turns out there was a crack in the bottom of the reservoir.
I should additionally take the time to note here that I don't like the design that these newer coffeemakers use. Not only do the flip-top and tiny drip neck they use seem overly flimsy, but the pot itself has a neck that you're barely able to get your hand into so you can clean it out well. I really was spoiled by the one I'd been using (which was an older model of Mr. Coffee from before all this stuff changed).
I was frustrated, and I had a headache, so I wasn't going to go back to the store to get the thing replaced that night. Instead, I walked over to my grandparents and used theirs to make myself some coffee (because the other coffeemakers we have at home are all either more complex or annoying to use) and relax a bit. While I was there, I went about trying to find a model that I was more accustomed to online, which actually resulted in me finding out the exact model of the one I'd been using.
I found one for sale on ebay, so I bought it. It got here today:

The listing claimed it was brand new. After actually getting it out of the box, I can definitely believe it. There were a couple of hairs and some odd spots on it behind the carafe that I cleaned off with a wet paper towel, but aside from that, it was pure white - even on the inside of the filter basket and the inside of the reservoir. So if it had been used at all, it was
extremely lightly used (or, what I'd rather not think, had been subjected to some kind of cleaner; the carafe did have a ring in it that came off easily when I washed it). Since the store on there seemed to mostly be selling college banners and things, my guess is that it may have been for a common room or something and was sitting in a closet for a good portion of the last 14 years (the copyright date on the box is 1999; the one I had been using was bought by my parents for a vacation we took in 1995, or so they said). The spots and things may have come from the box not being airtight.
And I'm typing this post while having my first pot of coffee out of this thing. It does taste a bit funky (as in, kind of plastic-y), but I assume that's because of it not having been used/being clean, and because I'm sure there was some mineral buildup and such in the old one that I was used to. It'll probably fade after a few more times using it. Also, according to
this, that plastic taste isn't an uncommon thing to encounter with new coffeemakers. Not sure if I want to go to the trouble of using vodka on it, though.
This could just as well go in the Happy thread, considering the circumstances around it.