Customer Reviews

BRAND NEW Cuisinart Grind&Brew Thermal 12-Cup Coffee Maker

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

At first we were thrilled about the combination of fresh tasting coffee and brewing convenience. We gladly accepted the responsibility to clean it at least once a week (sometimes every three or four days for wetter beans). Over time, our visions freshly brewed coffee house coffee changed. Here's what we've discovered.

1) The grind feature is very loud. That is not convenient when you want to grind and brew a pot and still let everyone else sleep. Other grinders that I've used are loud, but this one screams. Don't stand too close without ear plugs.

2) To clean the coffee maker, the manufacturer provides a small table spoon/cleaning brush. At first, it seems like a cool little accessory, but the brush end is not practical for cleaning out the chamber that the ground bean travel through on their way to the filter. We end up using the handle of a plastic spoon to clear the passage.

3) The thermal properties of the pot are nice, but pours about as well as my two year old...drips here, drips there, and often the coffee runs down the side of the pot.

4) Finally, the straw that turned me completely off of this machine: Lately, maybe once or twice per week, the coffee does not flow correctly from the filter chamber to the pot. Approximately two cups of steaming brew end up on the floor and counter. Yes, the pot lit is clean and placed correctly into the machine, just like we have always done.

The machine is good in concept, but poorly designed.

Owning the last generation of this Coffee maker, I was impressed with my daughter's new 10 cup Burr-grind machine. At Amazon, I found the 12 cup, with a Thermal container. Bought it several weeks ago and could not be more pleased. I have rarely written a product review, but three things motivated me this time. One, the couple of bad reviews I read, two, my extremly positive experience with the Cuisinart company, and how much they have improved what has been a good product over the last several years. One, the automation of the bean feeder saves time and guesswork. The grinder is superior and needs far less cleaning. The thermal container keeps coffee hot for 6 hours and you can take it with you in the morning, as I do at times, to another house. Two, when you call Cuisinart, you quickly get a human...one who knows the products. I sought a replacement several years ago, no questions, almost two years old, got it sent all free within a week. The coffee tastes great and you use a little less beans. What's not to like.

We have had a cuisinart grind and brew coffee pot for about 12 years (3 or 4 other models) with great satisfaction. This model makes terrific coffee, when it actually makes coffee. This is roughly 25% of the time. I clean it as shown in the instructional DVD every 3rd or 4th use, and continue to end up with a pot of water instead of coffee every 3-5 days. We had ours replaced and had the exact same problems with the replacement (which took 2 months to arrive???)

The pot is a hot mess. We had one other cuisinart with a thermal pot and it worked well. This one has coffee dripping all over when it is brewing and we all pour about as well as a two year old with a full gallon of milk. I spend more time cleaning either the machine or the mess it makes then enjoying the coffee. We are very disappointed with the coffee maker and the lack of customer service from cuisinart. As always Amazon handled the problem by going above and beyond to resolve our issue and take the return in house even though it was past the time for a normal return.

Choose a different model or different manufacturer.

My main complaint and the deal breaker (I sent back) is that the warmer plate turns off after the brew cycle finishes. Even though this is a "thermal carafe", it is metal and thus sucks the heat out of the coffee. If you like your coffee really hot then you will not like this coffee maker. Also, you cannot adjust the fineness of the grind so the only way to get stronger coffee is to increase the setting for the number of cups (in 2 cup increments only).

We have owned this machine for about a year. This is the second one that we have owned. The first one had an issue with grinder canister. The canister would lock in place and could not be removed for cleaning. We ended up tossing that one and then moving to this machine. After about a year, the grinder stopped locking in and will now not function. Second, the coffee pot top clogs very easily (even with weekly washing) and overflows the pot and out on to the counter top and floor.

We are looking for another coffee maker now and we will not pick Cuisinart.