Customer Reviews

Cuisinart DTC-850 Programmable Thermal Carafe Coffeemaker, White

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(8)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

My wife and I always enjoy a delicious cup of hot coffee when it has been brewed. We also enjoy the same delicious cup of coffee an hour of two later. This is exactly what we benefited from when we purchased Cusinart's DTC-850 Thermal Carafe Coffeemaker.

The thermal carafe allows fresh hot brewed coffee to remain in the carafe for hours without becoming evaporated coffee. A glass lined carafe just like a thermos. Taste wise, this surely surpasses the standard coffee carafe sitting on a hot plate method.

Nicely styled from top to bottom, the DTC-850 functionally performs flawlessly.

When finished brewing, the coffemaker turns itself off automatically since there is no need for a hot plate to remain on. There is no hot plate. Basically, the coffeemaker is on only long enough to brew the amount of coffee based on the cups of water you placed in the water reservoir. Of course you can turn the unit off yourself when the brew cycle is complete. If not, five nice chimes have been built in to indicate its turning off.

Eight cups is the maximum number of coffee that the thermal carafe can hold. Cusinart controls this by not allowing you to overfill the water reservoir with more than what the thermal carafe can hold. You can imagine what would happen if you could fill the water reservoir with more water than the thermal carafe can hold. Coffee all over the counter!.

Since we enjoy a great cup of coffee, this is a great coffeemaker. No more brewing a pot of coffee an then pouring the coffee into a separate carafe to save it.

I would highly recommend this coffeemaker with its cone shape filter basket, clock, programmable start time, thermal carafe and of course taste.

This machine gave out within 6 months of purchase. The pause and serve didn't work which caused coffee to pour out onto the base and over the side. Because the timer and clock function is on the bottom, the liquid caused a short of the electrical systems. It started with just the clock going crazy, but ultimately, all the electronic functions gave out. No one can fix these machines besides Cuisinart, so we just decided to buy another. Would never buy another Cuisinart machine, nor a coffee maker with the clock and electrical functions on the bottom.

The Cusinart DTC-850BK makes great coffee (and I do know great coffee!). The timer works well and it is wonderful to wake up to freshly brewed coffee. The coffee stays hot in the carafe for several hours. I've made coffee in the morning and had hot coffee in the early afternoon. It is also nice being able to pour coffee while it is still brewing.

Areas that I would recommend for Cuisinart's improvement:
1. The overflow hole in the back of the machine. It overflowed water once for me then I learned. I think just making the carafe bigger to accomodate those of us who try to overfill the water to make as much coffee as possible would have been a better option than the overflow hole in the back.
2. An explanation about how to put the filter in properly. Some coffee makers require that the paper filter is folded on the bottom and side to fit properly. I did not see an explanation of this in the instruction manual but knew it from a previous coffee maker and from reading the filter package. I'm sure this simple explanation would save some frustration for new users that don't know.
3. Water level placement in the front instead of on the side. It's a little difficult to read. Maybe if it were wider and in front, it would be easier to read.
4. Water reservoir. This is not really a problem, but an area that I've seen better designs. The Black and Decker has a removeable reservoir (our old machine) which is easily cleaned and filled. The lid on the reservoir for the Cuisinart is the whole top of the machine. I have the Cuisinart coffee maker housed under the kitchen cabinet and I do need to pull it entirely out in order to put water in it.
Other than that, it seems to work well. I haven't had the experience that other people had using the machine (not yet, anyway). And, again, the coffee tastes great.

Well, we purchased this item on Saturday and for four days we had great coffee! I like my coffee hot and this product brewed it quite hot and the carafe maintained the temperature very well. The best home brewed coffee I've ever had - no kidding! Then on the fourth day, after the coffee had been brewed and had been sitting for about an hour and a half - kablooey! The thermal line exploded and coffee drained out the bottom all over the counter top.

Fortunately I didn't have to deal with Cuisinart, I just returned to the store where I had purchased it and I got a refund. Now I'm cogitating over what brew system to try next. As good as the coffee was, I don't think I'll buy another time bomb. Now looking for a system with a stainless thermos.

We got this coffeemaker for Christmas and were just thrilled wtih it. The coffee was great, and boy, did it stay warm all day. The programmable feature was great too. We've had thermal carafe coffeemakers before (other brands) and thought this was superior. This weekend, though, I had just put the empty carafe in position, ready to brew the next morning, when I heard a loud "pop." It turned out the thermal lining to the carafe exploded - in a million little shards. Cuisinart's customer service was not on until Monday, and today when I called, they asked all the questions about how I might have mishandled it (no, I didn't put cold water in a hot carafe or anything). Then they told me I could mail everything back to them - the working machine, the shards, the carafe with the broken lining - at my expense, with an additional check for $10 to cover their return trip, and they would decide if they thought it was their fault or mine - and if mine, they would tell me to pay up still another $40 for a new carafe! Paying $20 for an exploding carafe under warranty, or worse, $60 ($20 to ship round trip and $40 for carafe)if they claim it's my fault, is unacceptable. We've never had a thermos break before, after over ten years with a Black and Decker - I must say I was most disappointed in Cuisinart and think we'll switch brands.

We purchased this coffee maker (black) a year ago. We have already returned it once to Cuisinart and it just broke again. The first machine made coffee that had a very strange "plastic" after taste. We sent it back after attempting to clean it various ways. They sent us another one that had the same after taste but to a much lesser degree--it also didn't happen with every pot. Anyway, we kept it and used it daily. It has quit working now and we are looking for another brand--don't want to go through the hassle of sending it back to Cuisinart. We were very disappointed with this maker--had very high expectations because of the brand name.
On the other hand, we did like the idea of the carafe. It kept the coffee hot for 2-3 hours. Wish it had been 10 cups though.

This coffeemaker has several design flaws, and I am just about ready to throw mine in the garbage!

Problem #1: About 10-15% of the time the "Pause-n-serve" feature does NOT work. You remove the carafe to pour a cup of coffee while brewing is in progress, and the hot coffee continues to pour out, and goes all over the place... You have to have two cups ready, one to pour coffee into, and another one to catch the dripping hot coffee...

Problem #2: About another 10-15% of the time, the coffee grounds somehow jam up, the hot liquid starts to back up, and eventually it overflows....

Problem #3: Standard coffee filter do not seem to fit this coffeemaker. The small cone filters are TOO small, and the large cone filters are TOO big... The correct size filters is NOT mentioned in the manual....

Problem #4: The top does not always easily screw into the caraffe. It is sometimes hard to get the threads lined up exactly, so that it doesn't screw on properly..... it takes 3 or 4 attempts to get the threads lined up.. Aggravating...

I have spent lots of time trying to fix these problems, but I am now convinced that these are structural design flaws, and not correctable by the user/consumer. I have coffee "failures" with this maching on such a regular basis, that I am ready to throw it out... When it works it is great, but it fails so often that I highly recommend NOT staying away from this product!!

Mark J. Perry, Ph.D.

The coffee only stays hot in the carafe for approximately 1 1/2 hours. My previous thermal coffee maker (Black & Decker) was much better. That coffee would remain hot for at least 4 hours! Also, not happy with the "Auto" timer remaining on. There should be an indicator light letting you know that the Auto timer is active; otherwise, it's too easy to forget to turn it off. A few times the coffee maker brewed in the morning and there was nothing in it -- just because I forgot to turn the timer off! On a positive note, it definitely looks great on my kitchen counter.

Keeps coffee hot for 6 hours...try 45 minutes at best.

This is the worst...coffee maker I have ever had. I bought this for my office 4 months ago, and it has already stopped working-for no reason at all. It also has many design flaws. The carafe itself is extremely hard to clean, and coffee tends to collect in it. It also has a hole in the back where you pour water in so that you don't overpour. If you happen to not be paying attention, water spills out everywhere. Also, the buttons are very flimsy, and the machine itself is made of...plastic, giving it a general [bad] look...