When I started shopping for a new coffee maker, I'd originally been thinking of some kind of single-cup pod/disk system as I most often only drink one or two coffee/tea beverages per day, but I am relatively picky about flavor, need to limit my caffeine intake, and have some ingredient intolerances and health issues -- as a result, I liked the idea of having a greater measure of control and more options (it's also nice to have the option to brew a full or half carafe when I have company). So when I saw this machine, I got kind of excited! I liked the idea of having a variety of brew size options and an easy way to create specialty drinks -- all in a single machine. And the fact that this also provides tea brew options made trying this product too tempting to resist. Previous to this coffee/tea maker, I was using an old iced tea machine without adding ice to make tea concentrate for my favorite drink (iced decaf chocolate chai made with a high-protein alternative milk -- yum!), but this Ninja CP307 makes a tea brew of far superior flavor and makes just the right amount, so I can create a drink that tastes better than my local coffee and tea place at a cheaper price and with more nutritional value. This machine has dedicated baskets for coffee and tea, which are color-coded orange for coffee and green for tea, and I like that since it means those flavors and aromas don't mix (I confess that I wish I could buy an extra tea basket on Amazon, too, since I tend to make particularly fragrant teas -- chai and mint -- and would like a dedicated basket for each, but that has no bearing on the quality of the product, and replacement/extra baskets are available on the Ninja website). The baskets are very easy to remove and clean, as is the water reservoir. And I love the double-sided measuring spoon that nests in the side of the machine since it makes it so easy to get the right amount for each size of drink. I will say that the first few times I made coffee with this machine, I sometimes had a bit of leakage issue and not all the water had dripped from the basket upon the end of the brewing cycle, leaving a sort of "well" in the center of the grounds, but I discovered that the problem was the coffee itself, which came ground and was supposed to be the correct grind for the machine, but clearly wasn't quite right. When I switched to another brand after that previous bag was empty, I never had another problem. So the machine IS a wee bit persnickety about the coffee grind -- something that might be an annoyance to some consumers -- but I've found a brand that both I and the machine like, so it performs perfectly now, and I didn't find that early issue to be off-putting enough even at the time to ruin what was otherwise such a fantastic machine and which made such fine drinks. Of course, this machine is probably overkill if one is just a hot, black coffee drinker, but if you like a variety of coffees and teas and appreciate the ability to enjoy a good specialty drink at home, this might be a good option for you. I know it has been for me!
