Customer Reviews

Cuisinart FlavorBrew Thermal 10-Cup Coffeemaker, Black

5 star:		(27)
4 star:		(18)
3 star:		(15)
2 star:		(30)
1 star:		(43)

 

 

I normally buy only items that have many reviews and 4 or 5 stars. This coffee maker had only two reviews but I decided to take a chance especially since it could be returned within 30 days. Even though most thermal coffee makers had many good reviews, there were too many negatives for each. I am very happy with this on so far. I have not had any of the problems as with other types -- coffee is hot, stays hot for quite some time, doesn't leak, easy pouring and cleaning, the coffee is good with not plastice taste, carafe fits properly. It does beep when the coffee is done brewing. Compact size is nice. I have not used the timer and probably never will. The best part is that there is a 3 year warranty -- I hope it lasts that long!

This coffeemaker has a compact size (small footprint) yet brews a BIG pot of coffee! In fact, the Cuisinart Compact Coffeemaker has it all: programmable (even just 1 to 4 cups), filters the water, has a gold "rinse and re-use" coffee filter, a big thermal pot, and its easy to use. Now have coffee READY when you wake up - or brew it and let it stay HOT in the THERMAL carafe! Coffee does not sit there, and BURN, on a heating element! agf! We've enjoyed ours for years with no problems! Highly recommended.

I held off for a while buying because of lack of reviews. I received my Cuisinart Monday, May 18 - defective out of box. I received my replacement, Wednesday, May 20. Cannot beat Amazon!!!! I've brewed one pot with no problems. Very easy to program, make coffee, and pour coffee (lid does not need to be turned, just pour as the lid locks when removed from base). Need to learn to adjust amount of coffee...coffee is hot! Beeps when finished. Easy to fill with water. Coffee maker has 3 year limited warranty. Very, very nice coffee maker.

I spent about a week researching coffeemakers with the thermal carafe. I like strong coffee and have grown tired of my second and subsequent cups tasting burnt. What I really liked about this one was it has the features I need without bells and whistles I won't need. Specifically, I have my own grinder and didn't want to pay an extra $30-$40 for something I won't use. I shied away from the 12-cup pots because of so many complaints of overflow/bad designs. There were only a few reviews on this one and all positive, so I took a chance. I've had this coffeemaker for about a month now and have used it everyday.

Pros: I have had no problems with overflow (and I brew all 10 cups most days). Timer is easy to use and I've had no problems with it either. Thermal carafe does it's job and coffee is still pretty hot 3 hours later (if it's been longer than that, I'm typically done with it for the day). Coffee itself tastes pretty good (both the generic stuff and the more specialized coffee) without filter. It took about 6 cycles of the coffeemaker to get the new/plastic taste out of it - without using white vinegar (using that may have sped it up some). Design of the maker itself is decent: it's a reasonable height and should fit under most cabinets, top requires a quarter turn to tighten but is not difficult to get on/off, pours slower than a normal pot but that should be expected given the thermal design.

Cons: I knocked it a half star for a couple of reasons. It stays hot for 3 hours (in my experience), but it's still not quite as hot as its burner bretheren. Some thermal makers raise the temp of the water during the brewing process to make up for this (Bunn, in particular) and you don't notice a difference. The coffee definitely doesn't get cold, and yes, you can warm up the carafe before you start, but that's not practical for early morning use. It's not that big of a temperature difference, just noticable if you like really hot coffee. For the sake of taste later in the day it's worth the trade. Another reason I knocked it a half star was the resevoir design could be improved. The water pump is right up the middle so when you go to fill, you have to fill on the side or you'll splash water everywhere. Not that big of a deal, just a quirk. And as some have mentioned, the top hole is small making it a little more work to clean.

Overall, I'm happy with it and would recommend.

Nice machine in many respects, but the coffee is not very hot and not very strong. Even with two scoops of coffee per cup (double the recommended amount), the coffee is on the weak side. My guess is that the water is not heated to a high enough temperature. Called Cuisinart and got a real person right away, who was polite but had no solution. He said the product was rather new, and the company did not have much feedback yet on problems. Advised me to use the 1-4 cup option (which I had done) and to pre-heat the carafe (which would not fix the weakness of the coffee).

We were replacing a Krups coffeemaker and knew that we preferred the type with a thermal carafe. I'm very sensitive to burned coffee taste and find that a thermal carafe eliminates that problem. We do like a strong coffee, and with some tweaking, have found this coffeemaker delivers a great pot of coffee. We found that we need to increase the amount used from what Cuisinart recommends to about half again as much as they recommend. In other words, we use 1-1/2 scoops of the provided scoop per cup of coffee. The other big test for us with coffeemakers is how long they keep the coffee hot. Again, this coffeemaker delivers. Three hours later, the coffee is still hot enough that it doesn't require reheating (unless you like your coffee scorching hot). The system cleans easily. We pop all the parts into the dishwasher. Having the gold-colored filter is another great asset. Overall, a very satisfying purchase.

I shopped a long time for a good coffeemaker, because I drink coffee every day and have been so frustrated with the other machines I have owned. This has been as near to perfect as I have ever found.
-- The size is right for my limited counter space.
-- It is easy to use and to clean.
-- It works fast (a full pot in less than 10 minutes).
-- It beeps when it's finished, so there's no guessing.
-- The thermal carafe keeps the coffee hot for a long time, and it does NOT drip! (It pours a little slowly because the lid is so snug, but I'll take that in return for dripless pouring.)
-- With the thermal pot, there is no need for a hot plate, so it uses less energy over time.
-- The coffee is delicious!
Two things to be aware of: It is very important to get the grind right, since a too-fine grind will clog the gold filter right away. I grind my own, so it took a couple of tries to get the consistency exactly right. Also, it's easy to set the programmable start time, but trickier to set the correct time in the first place. Weird.

And props to Amazon for blazing fast delivery, as always!

We had a hard time selecting a coffee maker in our price range. We knew we wanted a thermal pot, and have had problems in the past with leaks while brewing and difficult pour spouts. This coffee maker is very easy to use,and the pot pours very easily, but we are not delighted with the taste of the coffee. We have tried it with the gold filter basket as well as with regular paper filters. We have tried using filtered water in addition to the filter in the basket, and we have tried removing their filter and using just our own filtered water. The taste is bitter. The best way we have found to counteract the taste is to use less coffee. We like it strong normally, but we have given up. Too many really bad experiences with coffee makers have left us settling for "OK."

Today, after nearly two years of daily use, this coffeemaker developed a loud vibrating noise inside while it brews. Since I wrote this original review, we have settled on a type of coffee that we think gives us the best flavor without bitterness. Overall, for the price we paid I think we got our money's worth out of it. Each time we buy a coffee maker, we have ended up going a little higher in price for the next one, hoping to find that perfect one that lasts and brews well. We are now once again going to move up a notch and see what we find.

I received this Coffee Maker last Friday. First of all, as another reviewer mentioned, I love the clean white/stainless steel look, and the small footprint. I have a very small kitchen and it fits easily on the counter. Second, it comes with its own charcoal filter to filter the water with, but since I use Britta water in my coffee maker, I did not install the charcoal filter that came with the coffee maker. And last, but not least, it makes great coffee. I pre-heat the stainless steel carafe with hot water while I am measuring the coffee and adding the water (remember to empty the carafe before putting into the coffee maker though).

Yes, the carafe does pour slowly because it is trying to keep the heat in, but not so slowly that I find it annoying. Since my second cup is my last cup, I just take the lid off. As far as it beeping too loudly, it doesn't bother me. That way if I am in the bedroom I can hear the coffee is done. The beeping is not nearly as annoying as my clothes dryer beeping 16 times!

For the price, and the fact that it has a 3 year warranty, looks great, is a Cuisinart, makes great coffee quickly, and is small for a 10 cupper, I give this 5 stars.

I'm wondering about the reviewers who say their coffee isn't hot or strong enough -- do they keep their coffee in the freezer? Because THAT affects how coffee turns out.... (Freshness also affects strength.)

I read all the reviews of this machine before I ordered it, to replace a Mr. Coffee (with thermal carafe) that crapped out on me a few days ago. I am also very familiar with a couple of Braun and Hamilton Beach coffee-makers, and I definitely think the Cuisinart trumps them all. It makes good, hot coffee, and keeps it steamy at LEAST two hours. It DOES pour more slowly than average, but I think that's a reasonable trade-off for retained heat. The lid could be difficult to open for an arthritic person -- that's the strongest caveat I can offer.

Altogether, I'm very pleased with my purchase. I've never yet been disappointed with a Cuisinart product.