Description
The Ihomekee CM9428C is a twelve cup programmable drip coffee maker with a touchscreen panel, an LCD display, a regular and bold strength selector and a dedicated iced coffee setting. On paper that is a longer feature list than several established brands offer at the same money in our coffee makers category.
The published rating base is roughly 227 ratings at a 4.2 average since February 2024. That is a small sample, and it contains one detailed negative report serious enough that it has to be addressed directly rather than buried at the end.
The Temperature Report
One published owner review was updated twice, moving from four stars to two and then to one. The owner states that the coffee is weak and lukewarm, and that the temperature reached after running the thirty minute brew strong setting was around 100 degrees Fahrenheit. They replaced the machine with a used percolator and describe that as much better.
One hundred degrees Fahrenheit is well below any accepted brewing range; proper extraction happens between roughly 195 and 205 degrees. If that measurement is representative, the machine is not brewing coffee so much as steeping it in warm water, which would explain both the weakness and the temperature complaint together. Against that, several other owners describe the coffee as hot and the strong brew setting as excellent, including one who has run around thirty brews on it. With 227 ratings there is no way to establish which experience is typical, and Ihomekee publishes no brew temperature figure at all. A buyer should know that this specific complaint exists and is measured rather than impressionistic.
Capacity, Controls and the Iced Setting
Twelve cups at the standard five ounce cup is around 60 ounces. The carafe is glass and sits on a warming plate. The touchscreen sets the start time and the strength, and the delay start is described in the listing as a reservation function. A touch panel is unusual at this price and it is a genuine difference from the membrane buttons most budget machines use, though it is also a component with nothing mechanical to fall back on if it stops responding.
The iced coffee setting is the more interesting control. Brewing normally and then adding ice gives you cold weak coffee; brewing a stronger concentrate intended to be diluted by melting ice is the correct method. The instruction as written on the listing, however, says to add “2 pounds or so of ice to the cup”, which is not a sensible quantity for a single serving and reads as a translation error. Treat the setting as a concentrate brew and use a normal amount of ice.
The Keep Warm Numbers Disagree
The listing states that the nonstick carafe plate keeps coffee warm for 40 minutes after brewing, and in the same bullet states a two hour automatic switch off. Those are two different claims: the first is how long the coffee stays drinkable, the second is how long the element stays powered.
An owner clarifies the behaviour usefully. They report there is no on and off switch on the machine at all, that it arrives set to turn off after two hours, and that the warmer can be set to shut off after thirty minutes or extended in thirty minute increments. That is an adjustable keep warm, which is a good feature, and it also means the forty minute figure is the manufacturer conceding that the coffee is only genuinely warm for the first part of the two hours. If you drink a pot slowly, set it short and decant rather than leaving the plate running.
Build, Labels and Filters
The machine weighs 4.91 pounds. The dimensions given are 14.8 inches deep by 7.5 inches wide by 11.2 inches high, which look like packaging figures with the machine on its side rather than the standing footprint of an upright twelve cup brewer; measure at the retailer rather than trusting them for cabinet clearance.
Two build complaints recur in the published feedback and both are specific. One owner reports a label stuck to the top of the machine that could not be removed cleanly, resisted adhesive remover and left the finish scratched after scrubbing. Another warns that the filter tears easily and needs care in handling. Neither stops the machine working, but both are the sort of thing that decides whether you recommend it.
Warranty and What Ihomekee Publishes
Ihomekee states ETL safety approval, a claim that the plastics are free of BPA, written on the listing as “BAP free”, and a two year replacement warranty with round the clock customer service. A published two year warranty is longer than several established brands offer at this price and it is worth weighing, because the main risk with an unfamiliar brand is not performance but what happens when something fails.
The same warranty bullet refers to the product as the “Ihomekee espresso machine”. It is not one. There is no pump, no portafilter and no steam wand, and it cannot make espresso. That is copy carelessness rather than a claim anyone would act on, but it belongs in an honest account of how this listing is written.
What the Specifications Do Not Settle
No brew temperature is published, which is exactly the figure the disputed owner report turns on. No wattage is published. No brew time is published. The carafe volume in ounces is not stated. The dimensions look like the box. The keep warm duration is given twice with two different numbers. There is no descale reminder and no water filter, so scale control is manual and its schedule depends on your water hardness.
One further point about the sample. Owner reviews on this listing repeatedly describe buying it because a previous branded machine failed quickly and they had decided not to spend more than a modest amount on a coffee maker again. That is the market this product is sold into, and it means the ratings measure satisfaction against low expectations rather than against a certified brewer.
Who It Suits
This suits a buyer who wants touchscreen controls, an adjustable keep warm and a delay start for very little money, who values the two year replacement warranty, and who is prepared to return the machine promptly if the brew temperature turns out to be as low as one owner measured.
Look elsewhere if brew temperature is your main concern, because no figure is published and there is a specific measured complaint on record. Buyers comparing similar value focused twelve cup machines should look at the Taylor Swoden 12 cup and the Shardor programmable coffee maker, and anyone whose main interest is the iced setting should compare the Ninja CFP100 DualBrew or look at proper cold brew coffee makers.
