For years I've been on the hunt for a thermal carafe that actually works. I saw the Alfi carafe in the Williams Sonoma catalog and was astounded by the price tag. Who would pay more than $150 for a stinkin' thermal carafe? For that price, it had better work! I ended up getting one (used credit card bonus points to get it), and it seems to work pretty well. I usually only drink one cup of coffee in the morning, and I make it with a drip filter. To get a satisfactory amount, I have to use a certain size of mug and just drink it all at once. That's all fine, but I have all these cute little mugs that I would like to use. Should I confess that the main reason I wanted a thermal carafe was so I could use the cute little mugs?