I'm picky about coffee; I want it to remain as hot as when I first poured it, or as nearly so as possible. This mighty stainless steel pot is the one I've been searching for. First, the size. Read it carefully, as the dimensions are stated clearly. It's a BIG pot and will hold a huge amount of coffee, enough to supply a couple of serious coffee drinkers through the day and possibly the night as well. However, if you make a small pot of coffee, it will function just as well and keep it just as hot. Workmanship: I wish everything was made half as well as this pot, with its stainless steel exterior and interior. You may have noticed that items made of stainless steel vary greatly in quality of the metal, with some of them seeming more like tin than stainless steel. This is excellent quality metal, beautifully finished and handsome. The stainless steel interior works better than glass for retaining heat, and is much less fragile. There are inevitably some plastic parts (those that couldn't be made of metal for functional reasons), but they're substantial, look nice, and feel as if they'll last forever. Ease of use: For a simple device, it's surprising how many things go wrong with lesser versions of the airpot. The Bunn dispenses smoothly, provides a whole cup without being pressed a second time, doesn't drip, splash or leak, and has worked perfectly for us with frequent use. I note others have said you should close the pump lid in order to keep the coffee hot. We haven't done this, and haven't needed to, but I'd give it a try if I were going to be using the airpot in a place that was less warm than the kitchen of my home. Cleaning: There are varying opinions to be found here as to the ease/difficulty of cleaning the airpot. It cannot be put in the dishwasher (please don't try!) and is a bit awkward to handle because the top comes open on a hinge and can't be removed. This isn't a design flaw, but is simply the only way to make an airpot. I wouldn't say it's exactly easy to clean due to the awkwardness of handling it with the lid open, and inability to reach inside with anything except a bottle brush. It must then be repeatedly rinsed, turning the pot upside down to get water and suds out (more difficult in practice than it sounds). If you're the type of person who puts everything in the dishwasher and would find it onerous to clean something like an electric percolator, you might not be too happy. Personally, I'm more than willing to take the five minutes or so that's required to clean this pot in exchange for a whole day and most of an evening of instantly available VERY HOT coffee. Additional: the pot has a substantial carrying handle, which we've used to move it around the house without incident or leakage. It's handsome in the way of very well made things, and we've enjoyed it so much that we were inspired to make it the centerpiece of a little coffee station that has become a favored spot in our house.
