We had been using the previous model Capresso Grind&Brew, the CoffeeTEAM TS, for several years now and were happy to see that the manufacturer had taken user feedback to heart and created a new model that addresses some of the weaknesses of the TS. 1. The Pro Plus has a removable water reservoir while the TS does not - anyone who has had stray beans fall into the TS water tank will appreciate this feature. 2. The Pro Plus has a removable bean canister with a gasket-sealed cover. Arguably, only a modest improvement over the TS's non-removable, non-gasket sealed bean canister, this design change allows for a far more important improvement - the ability to clean the grinder. 3. The Pro Plus allows the upper element of the burr grinder to be removed. This is a huge improvement over the inaccessible grinder in the TS. This, in conjunction with the new grind & clean function promises to eliminate progressive weakening of the brew experienced when using the TS - especially when using oily dark roast beans. 4. A dedicated oily bean mode that compensates for the potentially slower feed rate of oily beans through the chute. This seems to be a replacement for the three-step strength setting found in the TS and, in practice, may be considered a step backwards for those who grind and brew light or medium roast beans. In use, the Pro Plus has lived up to the promise, it is easier to maintain and brews a more consistent pot of coffee than our TS ever did. So, why all the mediocre reviews you may wonder? Well, it's a question of perspective. No doubt, many owners of previous Cappresso grind & brew coffee makers, myself included, were disappointed by the execution of the new features - this is no Jura expresso maker - just a Chinese-made consumer product. In this respect, it seems equivalent in build quality to the 2 CoffeeTEAM TS units we have owned but they could have done better at this price point Additionally, in two respects, the Plus may seem like a step backwards. Firstly, the removal of the three step brew strength setting means you have to experiment with quantity of water you add for the selected pot size to adjust the brew to your taste. Secondly, the thermal carafe provided with the Plus doesn't seem to keep the coffee as warm as the carafe supplied with the older TS. This, second, may not actually be the result of an inferior carafe but rather, the difference between where the water heater is located between the two units. On the TS, the water heater is below what would be the warmer plate on the GS glass carafe model, so while the machine is brewing, the carafe is being preheated. On the Pro Plus, this doesn't seem t be the case. Personally, I never liked the idea of having the water heating element located at the bottom of the machine as it allowed any drippage from the pot or basket to seep in and shorten the life of the unit, so I'd call it a plus. In any event, expect to microwave any coffee poured beyond a half an hour from initial brewing. Bottom line - if you like the convenience of a grind & brew and your taste runs towards dark roast, this may be your dream machine. Update 4-5-17: Like some other reviewers, my coffee maker has developed a problem with the bean canister lock-out pin that prevents the machine from brewing coffee. The lockout is there, presumably, to keep the machine from operating if both the canister and lid are not in place.The pin is spring-loaded as is the switch that the pin engages. In combination, these springs exert enough force to keep the bean canister lid from staying seated once the lid's rubber seal get worked in a little. The workaround I'm using is to remove the spring from the canister spring assembly (removing the two small Philips head screws from the underside of the canister provides access). I guess adding a weight to the underside of the canister lid would also work. I contacted customer service about the problem and they offered to replace the bean canister. When I asked if they had made any changes to the canister to keep the problem from reoccurring, the answer was no, so I declined. I would remove a half a star from my previous rating for the manufacturer failing to address an obvious problem but since I can't do that I'll just say it's more a 3.5 than 4 star product.
