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The Hamilton Beach Stay or Go Coffeemaker has a unique feature - a split basket - along with three brewing choices for those on the go. And the accessories are pretty nice too. Find out how it performed in my home test.

Product Description

Hamilton Beach 45238 Stay or Go Custom Pair Thermal Coffeemaker

• Brews three ways: Thermal carafe, one travel mug or two
• A split basket for custom brews (brew two different coffees in travel mugs)

• Easy-pour 10 cup Thermal Carafe (brew one type of coffee)
• Two thermal travel mugs
• Black and stainless finish
• Automatic shut-off
• Programmable clock/timer with oversize digital time display
• Small batch brewing
• Drip tray with positioning guides for travel mugs
• Brews iced coffee
• MSRP $79.99
• 1 Year Warranty
• Learn more from the manufacturer in U.S.; in Canada

How the Hamilton Beach Stay or Go Custom Pair Coffeemaker Performed

November 29, 2010
The brewer has some must-have features like auto shut-off and you can set it ahead to brew your morning coffee, but its best design feature is the unique split basket brewing. I like it! This is ideal for brewing decaf(or tea) in one mug and regular coffee in the other - a choice a lot of couples want. Or you can brew two different flavored brews at the same time. This works rather well, even down to adding a pinch of salt to grounds for one side and cinnamon on the other. Having a choice of brewing into travel mugs (1 or 2) or a 10-cup thermal carafe is very nice and the thermal carafe keeps the coffee hot for at least two hours.

If you want coffee to stay hot, you need to hot water prep the carafe like you do with any insulated beverage holder, by letting hot water sit in it for a few minutes. This is typical of any thermal brewer since there's no heating element. There's no pause feature so you have to wait the brewing process out, but it's reasonable for brewing time and rather quiet.

Filling the coffeemaker is the easiest - the reservoir has a large opening, so even in a hurry, you can pour water in without a problem. As for coffee - it brews a good cup of coffee and then the brewer shuts off automatically. There's a little trick to quickly applying the thermal lid to the carafe when setting up. Line it up properly, then make sure it snaps down evenly into place at which point you can turn/twist the lid easily, so the thumb tab is directly above the handle. The carafe is definitely easy to pour, a simple pressing of the thumb tab though it does sometime drip. You have to stop the pour (release tab) a couple of seconds before returning the carafe to the upright position to ensure a clean pour. If you immerse the mugs in water while washing, you'll need to shake out the bit of water that collects inside the bottom section.

Overall Impression

The Hamilton Beach Split Basket Coffeemaker is the perfect choice for couples who prefer two different types of coffees (or tea/coffee) or those that like to serve with an energy-saving thermal carafe. It's also handy to take outdoors or set on the table for guests to serve themselves. This brewer has some very nice features and it seems very durable.

It's clear that a lot of thought went into the design of this Stay or Go coffeemaker from the split basket design to the brewing choice of carafe or mugs. And while some other thermal brewers offer a twist-to-pour thermal carafe lid that's hard on the hands and is more of a turn-off, this Hamilton Beach model offers a simple thumb-press tab for easy pouring. The only thing that took getting used to was clicking down the thermal carafe lid into its proper place, but once you get that right, it's a breeze. This coffeemaker offers the commuters more choice - custom coffee in a single brewing operation.

What could be improved: A color band on at least one travel mug would be nice, so you can tell them apart, especially when they hold custom brews; close the small hole under the travel mugs to eliminate water in this recess; and redesign the carafe pouring spout to reduce the risk of dripping while pouring.

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Disclosure: Review samples were provided by the manufacturer. For more information, please see our Ethics Policy.