Customer Reviews

Cuisinart DGB-700BC Grind-and-Brew 12-Cup Automatic Coffeemaker, Brushed Chrome/Black

5 star:		(67)
4 star:		(26)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(14)
1 star:		(23)

 

 

I purchased this coffee maker around Christmas and was a little concerned over the prior reviews that stated it uses too much coffee. The chemist in me had to do the experiment.

A standard issue coffee from Starbucks was ground to a standard medium grind for coffee makers of this type. The coffee was measured on a 1 gram precision scale according to the specification on the Starbucks coffee bag (2Tbs per 6oz cup) to make 6 cups of coffee. The coffee grinds weighed to be 54 grams. The same coffee beans from the same bag were ground in the coffee maker set to 6 cups and strong. The coffee grinds were then measured on the same scale and wouldn't you know...it was exactly 54 grams.

For my coffee beans this machine on the 6 cup setting produced the following:

Strong = 9 grams (2Tbs) of coffee per cup of water
Medium = 8 grams (about - 1 3/4Tbs) of coffee per cup of water
Mild = 7 grams (about - 1 1/2Tbs) of coffee per cup of water

I can't imagine that one couldn't find a setting to their liking when you consider you have increments of 2 cups with 3 settings (strong, medium and mild) each.

After considerable research for the absolute best coffee maker in the world, I decided to purchase the Cuisinart Grind and Brew DGB-700BC. It has a burr grinder. This one has the 12-cup glass carafe and it has a warming plate. Reviews on the stainless steel carafe have stated there is no warming plate. It seems the glass one does and the thermal one does not. It works perfectly and is very easy to program and use. It comes with a DVD which simplifies the process even more.

It can also brew ground coffee. Just turn off the grinder before pressing the on/off button and it's ready to go.

As for noise, I don't consider it too noisy. After all, it IS a coffee grinder and I expect to hear it when it grinds the coffee.

The hopper holds a half-pound of beans which is enough to make coffee several times (if you're using the mild setting).

The retail price is $199, but many places have it routinely for $169. I purchased mine at Kohls for $159 and they had a "scratch off" sale going on and I got an additional 15% off at the checkout.

I highly recommend this coffeemaker.

I have owned a couple of grind and brews in the past with mixed results. Our first was a Mr Coffee back in the 1990's. It made great coffee, but was messy, and broke frequently. We also had the first Jura Capresso model about 6 years ago. I liked it, but my wife felt that no matter what the settings were, the coffee was bitter. Recenly we had been using a Krups stand alone machine, that makes good coffee, and a stand alone Krups burr grinder. Since our Krups burr grinder was getting finicky, and the coffee post was getting old, we decided to give the DGB700 Grind and Brew a try.

My initial take, is that it makes an excellent cup of coffee, better than my last Krups machine. I am still experimenting with the settings, but so far I am very pleased.

You do need to follow the directions. The key points I have found, is to make sure that the basket parts are dry. This means a quick rinse and dry between pots if you are making more than one.
I also have cleaned out the chute where the ground coffee goes into the basket. It's very easy, and although mine was not clogged after about 6 pots, I did see where the grounds were building up in there a bit. My stand alone burr grinder had the same issue, but the new Cuisinart pot is actually very easy to clean in this area. Just remove the bean hopper, open the chute, push the lever over, and push they grounds into the basket area. (put a filter in first). Actually now, I just clean the chute each time. It takes less than a minute, and I think that this is the one main issues that some people are having.

Also, I have lined up the arrows on the top of the basket. Easy to do, and it avoids some of the negative comments on other reviews. Finally, if you use paper filters, make sure that the top of the plastic basket is going INSIDE the top of the filter.

My wife likes her coffee mild and smooth, but flavorful. My settings to make 12 cups, are 6 Cups on the grind selector knob with Mild or MED on the brew strength selector. The brew has good smooth flavor, and is not bitter. I also drink a lot of iced coffee. I will simply up the strength when I make coffee for that.

Again, so far, so good. I think that following the guide and keeping the machine clean and dry should produce good results.

One last thought... other Grind and Brew brands (Jura Capresso) make a major point about NOT storing beans in the freezer. Actually, I have done this for years, but after doing a bit of Google research, I find that it's better to just keep the beans in an airtight container, and only open what you will use in a couple of weeks. We are doing that now. I do notice that this sees to make the beans less oily, so that may also be a key to why some people get clogs.

I will post a follow-up after I have had the machine for a few months.

OK.. update as of 3/12 the unit is still working well. I do clean the chute after most every pot, but this is easy, and only takes a minute. Again... I strongly suggest NOT storing your beans in the freezer. The research shows that freezing the beans can force oil to the surface of the bean, which can contribute to clogs. I will say that this pot makes excellent tasting coffee.

I recently had the pleasure to be a guest at a private lodge in upper New York state that left very very little to be desired. Among the outstanding features of this place was the dining experience which took place four times a day....you could not have wished for better food, service, or drink.

The first time I tried the coffee I thought it was the best coffee I have ever tasted in my 81 years.....and I have tried many different kinds of coffee all over this planet. I went directly to the person in charge of the kitchen and the kitchen staff and asked the obvious question: " Where in heaven did you get your coffee and how did you make it taste like coffee should ?". After looking at their faces with these blank expressions I realized they were not holding back with their "secret" coffee formula....then all of them came forth and said: " We have no secrets and will be glad to show you what we use to make our coffee here".

I was shown a Cuisinart 12 cup coffee maker that grinds the beans with each "batch" of coffee and they had used it many times over the past year or so that they have had this machine in place. Then I went to my next question: "What secret coffee do you use and can I get some ...some how and some where??? The reply was a simple statement: "we only use a coffee that we buy at the local food market called " 8 O'CLOCK " brand ...their Brazilian Beans. Needless to say, I could not believe my ears. Also, the fact that they used "pure water" to brew their coffee-not city supplied water-and that goes without saying: "use pure water for coffee".

So upon return I contacted Amazon and ordered the Cuisinart coffee maker that has the built in grinder plus I got myself a supply of 8 OCLOCK coffee beans and some real good water. Guests at my home all end asking "What kind of coffee do you use and what do you brew it in?"....Nuff said...Thanks, G Miller

PS: like any machine...this one needs care and cleaning from time to time but its no big deal...great coffee taste!

This is a truly horrible product. The coffee channel is horizontal and will plug after one or two uses if not cleaned before every use. This takes about as much time as using a separate grinder with a conventional brewer would. After about 15 months of this inconvenience my wife and I spent a ahlf hour tracking down a smell of something burning in our kitchen area only to find the Cuisinart hot to the touch and beginning to smoke. It didn't actually burst into flames, but I would certainly never leave this appliance unattended. I appears to have burnt out the heating element, and I am in the market for anything but a Cuisinart product.

I would not recommend this product to anyone. It is a flawed and potentially dangerous product.

After about 1.5 years of using this coffee maker, today it started burning. I had NOT been making coffee. All of a sudden I smelled smoke in the kitchen and realized it was coming from the coffeemaker, unplugged it, and took it outside. I'm just glad I was home at the time. I won't be replacing this with a Cuisinart.

This coffee maker works great. There is one important tip that I don't think was stressed in the instruction manual. There is a "Grind" arrow on the lid to where the coffee filter is and this must point to the arrow to the base of the filter holder, or your coffee will be too weak to drink and the coffee grinder sounds like it is dying.

Given the steep price, I was nervous about buying a Cuisinart Grind and Brew after reading reviews of past models, so I did a lot of research before deciding on this new model. The burr grinder/bean hopper system seems to be an improvement over previous models, plus it's super convenient - you don't have to clean the grinding assembly daily, nor do you have to add beans daily! Cleaning is easy and not an issue on this one, even using the permanent gold-tone filter.

After a week or so of daily use, I've found this product to be very satisfactory and have had no problems. I chose the glass carafe w/ warming plate over the stainless thermal carafe because I didn't want to have to pre-heat the thermal carafe and feared it might not make hot enough coffee without that extra step. I've been very happy with the glass version... the coffee temperature is great - nice and hot - right after brewing. I don't let it sit too long on the burner (<20 min.), but I like my coffee pretty hot and this delivers that right away.

As far as coffee strength, I've been satisfied with that as well. I've brewed almost all my coffee so far on the Medium strength setting and adjusted the water a little bit to tweak that. I like my coffee in the middle of the spectrum, I think - not that strong, but not weak and watery either. I'm a coffee enthusiast and must have it daily, but I'm not the kind of really "serious" coffee drinker that is extremely difficult to please - the taste and strength have both been good, in my opinion.

My only complaint is that the dial for the # of cups only has increments of 2 cups, so I either end up with too much (4 cups) or not enough (2 cups) for my 3-cup travel mug. Originally I wished the warming plate temperature was adjustable, as on some other Cuisinart models, but I no longer think that's necessary

I just purchased this unit and I am greatly pleased with it this far.

Pros:
1. The ability to store sealed beans.
2. The quiet operation of the grinder.
3. The quickness with which it brews.
4. The clean, not bitter, taste of the roast.
5. The fact that the coffee brew is hot.
6. The controls are easy to understand.
Cons:
1. They need a back light on the clock/control panel...it's hard to see.

I had their previous model which worked fine for about 2 years. At that time the coffee started to overflow the basket. Cleaning it only fixed the problem for about a week. This time I am using only bottled spring water since my water is "hard". A neighbor told me he had the same problem with the older model until he switched over.
I like the ability to determine the strength of the brew which I have set to medium.

This machine clogs up rapidly when using coffee beans I call cuisinart and this is what the gal told me you have to clean the coffee shute after ever use. Not what I cause very practical had a European machine that ground the bean and it was never cleaned after 3 years worth of being used everyday. I consider this a bad machine and a bad company.