Customer Reviews

Cuisinart Grind&Brew Thermal 12-Cup Coffee Maker

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(15)

 

 

After several years of use, we broke the carafe on our Melitta coffee grinder/brewer, and were unable to replace it. I had been quite happy with the Melitta, even though a cheap plastic part on the top broke repeatedly, and I had to use tape to hold it down in order to make coffee.
I did extensive searching on-line to find a replacement, and, with great misgivings (due largely to a few reviews which said it would not make strong coffee, settled on the Cuisinart DGB-900BC.
I am happy to say that using my usual mix of French Roast and hazelnut-flavored Columbian beans, together with a bit of chicory (for New Orleans-type coffee), and the "strong" setting on the coffeemaker, produces coffee that is quite strong enough for my taste... and in fact stronger than the Melitta made with the same mix.

I am very happy with this new machine.

We had a Melitta grind and brew machine for about three years and liked it because the coffee could be brewed quite strong. When it broke recently we decided to try something that we thought was a step up from the Melitta -- the Cuisinart. Unfortunately, the coffee it brews it not as tasty or strong as the Melitta gave us. We've turned the brew knob up to strong, we've tried to "trick" the machine by using less water but indicating more cups and we've used only bottled water hoping that would enable us to elicit the most coffee flavor. Alas, the Cuisinart device looks better than it gives. If you don't love strong coffee this machine is probably just fine -- and it is very good looking.

I don't get the point of having a combination grinder/coffee machine that is more work than just having a stand alone burr grinder and a stand alone coffee pot.

Initially I had good results. I cleaned it as instructed - once per week (or 7 to 10 uses). About two weeks after we purchased the coffee pot, we started having issues with the pot. At first, it kept getting confused about the position of the device that controls the flow of water/grinds into the basket. The machine would sit there beeping and confused. We looked in the manual and followed all the directions exactly. Still no luck. Eventually it figures it out.

Today we got urine colored coffee and discovered that somehow moisture got into the grinding chute and started to cake up the coffee grinds. Mind you, I clean the darn thing more than required by the manufacturer. And there is no way we caused this issue.

It went back today.

Pros: Great tasting coffee (when it works), excellent thermal carafe holds heat in for many hours, built in water filter (coffee is 98% water)

Cons: Grind mechanism is seriously flawed and gets clogged too easily - even when following directions, water reservoir is a pain to fill, carafe pouring mechanism is very unusual, no direct control of grind coarseness

About once every two weeks I have a "bad coffee day" in which my machine just gets persnickity. I am usually guaranteed that I will have to make at least two pots before it gets it right. OK, so I've had this machine at my vacation home for about a year now and here's what I've learned:

1. The paper filters are much more convenient than the metal basket. I just throw the paper filter (preferably the unbleached kind- better for the environment) into my garden and then all I have to do is rinse the basket and wipe with a sponge. Saves time and my septic system from the coffee grounds.

2. Don't forget to use a filter of some sort in the basket or your counters, cabinets, floors, walls, etc. will get coffee makeover. I am talking from experience.

3. Make sure you clean most of the removable parts before each use. You only need to clean the coffee bean holder every so often (I do it when the beans start to run out). You don't need to do a soap and water cleaning on the other parts but you should wipe them down with a rag or sponge under running water. It only takes a few seconds. Once a week or so toss everything into the dishwasher.

4. Make sure you have enough beans in the holder to brew the amount of coffee you want. As I said above, when it gets low is when you want to do your thorough cleaning.

5. Make sure that you put the carafe in fully and correctly. If there is one BIG criticism I have about this machine is that it's very easy to misplace the pot and give your kitchen a nice coffee tattoo. This most often happens when I am in a hurry and really don't have time to be cleaning up a big mess.

6. Clean the chute. You have to clean the chute regularly. Here are a few tips I've learned to make it easier. First, put a filter in the basket when you do this (I like to do it after I've done the "dishwasher cleaning" of my parts, but before I brew the next pot) but don't put the lid on the basket. That way the grounds will fall directly into the lined basket and if you do this often, there's no reason why you can't just leave them in there while you brew the next pot (your coffee will be a little stronger). Cleaning the chute only take a few seconds.

This is the 3rd incarnation of a Cuisinart grind 'n brew coffee maker I've had. The first was the one with the glass carafe where you had to put the beans in each time you brewed. There were 5 different parts that needed to be soap and water cleaned after each use, and quite frankly, I didn't notice a great improvement in quality of coffee for all the extra work. The second was just like the first except it had the thermal carafe. There was a vast improvement in quality, but again, so many parts to clean made me reluctant to use it. Also, unless you know exactly how to measure unground beans, you pretty much are stuck making a full pot of coffee. This last one has been a great improvement over the other two. I can make just a cup of coffee for myself in the morning or I can make a whole pot and everything in between. Yes there is a bit of labor to it, but considering where they've come from this machine is a vast improvement over the others and I can't stress enough how good the coffee is.
I've read the other reviews and the main things I hear people complaining about are that the pot doesn't pour fast enough and that the coffee isn't hot enough. I don't have a problem with how fast the coffee comes out of the carafe. It is a little slower but the difference is from a 3 second pour to about a 12 second pour. However, if that is unbearable I don't see why you can't just take the lid off of the carafe while you pour? It will come out just as fast as the glass carafe that way.
As for the temperature of the coffee, I am not sure how to address that as I've never found that to be a problem. When I do use the timer feature, I preheat the carafe at night before I set up the coffeemaker and the residual heat still assures that you are starting with a carafe that is not cold in the morning. Generally I don't use the timer and get my coffee immediately after it's done brewing. I also don't preheat my carafe. When I get my second cup in the morning it's still plenty hot so I'm just not sure what all the fuss is about. Of course I don't really like my coffee scalding hot either so maybe it's just a matter of preference.

I would also like to point out that I have recently remodeled my winter home and put in an $1,800 Miele coffeemaker that is built in and plumbed. It can make espresso, cappucino and cofffee with the push of a button. However, that has more parts to fuss with than this Cuisinart and talk about frequent cleaning! It does make the best cup of coffee I've ever had, but it's not all that much better than this unit at a fraction of the cost.

The bottom line is this-- if you want a really, really good cup of coffee you either have to go to a coffee shop and pay for it (and often I find their beans much inferior to the ones I use) or put up with the inconvenience of the home machines. As far as I know, no one has come up with the perfect machine yet, but this one does make a most excellent cup of coffee.

So when deciding whether or not you want to buy this machine I would say you would need to ask yourself what's more important- quality or convenience. If you are a coffee fanatic as I am, it will be quality and this machine does come through. If you love coffee but are time challenged and can't be bothered with all the extra steps then I would say that this machine isn't for you.

Got the Cuisinart Grind Brew as a wedding gift and it was (still is) one of my favorite presents. I have to have fresh-ground beans and it's a lot easier, neater and faster than dealing with a separate grinder and transferring the coffee over. Pretty easy to clean. Coffee tastes good, although I definitely use more coffee than I did when I did the grinding myself. I'd estimate 30 percent more to get the same strength.

About half the time I use it, though, it doesn't automatically switch from grind to brew as it's supposed to. I'm pretty sure the problem is that a rubber piece on a lid that goes over the basket -- the circular contraption that rotates to re-align everything when the machine goes from grind to brew -- doesn't have enough clearance. So, when that piece turns, the rubber gets caught, interrupting the transition to brewing.

I've taken to deliberately pushing down slightly on the basket door when I close it, to give the contraption a little more clearance. It sometimes works, but sometimes doesn't.

When it doesn't, the machine either beeps or just keeps rotating in futility, never able to get set in the brew alignment. So I have to turn off the machine, hit the `grind off' button, then turn it back on. Then everything is fine.

For me, this problem isn't a deal-breaker.

The main attraction for this coffeemaker is not having to transfer grounds every morning. And in that respect, it works fine.

As for the complaints that it's hard to understand how to use it, I think most people will get it just fine.

And about needing to clean out the chute every week, it takes about one minute.

And for wanting more control over the amount of coffee that's ground, just fiddling with the number of cups works fine.

Hope this helps some.

Makes a GREAT cup of coffee, but you have to work a bit to find your own desire as far as strength---but it's worth it. I like STRONG coffee, so by trial and error, I have ended up buying Strong Starbucks coffee beans, put the setting on Strong on the coffee maker, and I set the grind control 1-2 cups MORE than the amount of water I pour in to make. Technically, I can never make a full 12 cups because I always have to put less water, but the coffee is SO delicious I don't mind!

Okay, my wife was ready to send the machine back. Then I found the solution to our clogging problem. Simply clean the chute after each bin is empty or near empty. What happens is this: a bridge of ground coffee residue forms on the inside walls of the chute, spreading out to meet in the center. When this happens, the machine makes a clogging noise, and if the machine continues to run, the residue turns into mud and is hard to clean. If you lift the bin after it is empty, or almost empty, then you'll see only a small opening left. Just use the cleaning brush to remove the residue while it is still dry. It takes only seconds. I also -- with the machine unplugged, of course -- reach in the chute with a finger and make sure the walls of the chute are cleared of residue; I even touch the burrs to be sure I have cleared it thoroughly. And even that only takes a few seconds. Also, it helps to remove the filter section after each brewing, preventing the moisture from rising up into the chute each time. Since I've been using these procedures, I've had no clogging problems at all. As for strength, people say that my coffee is too strong for a lumberjack, and I have to use the "Med" setting, because "strong" is too strong even for me. I buy Starbucks French Roast beans by the 2 1/2 pound bags from Sam's Club or BJ's. The Starbucks brand cup I use holds two cups of liquid measure, or a total of 16 ounces; so I use a 2-cup measuring container to put water in for a single cup, and that works fine for me. As for carafe coffee durability, I once drank a cup of coffee that had brewed three hours earlier, and it was still quite warm and quite enjoyable. My only criticism is that I wish the cover for the filter came in two pieces, one for grind-and-brew and one for brewing only; having to line-up those two arrows each time is bothersome, especially since I never only brew. And if you don't line up those arrows, bad things happen. Otherwise, now that I have the cleaning system down pat, I have fresh-brewed coffee each time, and I have no clogging problems. Life is good. (Larry Hand, Woodstock, Georgia.)

good choice...works well and the taste of fresh ground coffee is great
love the carafe...no more burnt coffee taste and stays hot for hours

We replaced our old Melita G&B that we had for years with this model. I was attracted to the bean storage that would hold several pots worth of beans and the stainless carafe. The machine worked like a charm with cleaning the grinder area every 4-5 days (after every 2nd storage bin emptied)for about a month or so and then the plugging began. We began cleaning every other night and it worked OK for about another month or two then the plugging began...so we started cleaning every day and it worked OK for another 3-4 months and now apparently something in the little trap that opens during the grinding has completely quit working because it plugs solid with every use and does not brew anything but lighter discolored water. We now use our counter top grinder and only use it as a brewer.

When it was new it made great coffee with all the functions. It now makes great coffee if we grind it separately. The carafe is difficult to get the last cup of coffee or so out of but that is not a huge issue. It does pour slower but here again that is not a huge issue. I could live with all that if the grinder worked like it is supposed to.

One other note is that while it makes pretty hot coffee (around 180 F)I prefer mine a little hotter, however my wife thinks it is fine as is, so that is a matter of personal taste.

We have owned this machhine for about 10 months. I am a research geek when it comes to buying a product. I read a lot of the reviews on this product and figured others were just not willing to do the recommended weekly maintenance and went ahead and bought it thinking I would do better. I did the maintenance as described and then went above and beyond the prescribed maintenance but still wound up with a failed machine.

I am currently trying to find the receipt and if I do I will try to get Cuisinart to replace the machine with the non binding 12 cup model. If not We will continue to use the machine as a brewer only unitl it dies and then purchase a different brand with brewing only.

Bottom line...The machine is a very good if not quite great brewer (would be great with a little hotter brew temp and better pouring ability of the last 1-2 cups) but save your money on the grind and brew feature....take the difference in cost and purchase a decent burr grinder and grind separately.

Have had this unit for about 18 months. Overall I have to say it was a poor investment. The design was suspect from the start. The chute from the grinder to the filter is too horizontal and traps the ground coffee. It is not particularly convenient to clean out and has to be cleaned often. Eventually, I got over that issue.

However, over the last 6 months it has started to fail to operate properly after it grinds. The filter has a cover with several different slots in it. One for grinding and one for water. The unit rotates this top to the proper orientation for each function. Our unit has started to fail to be able to find the spot for the water. If you stand and push the filter door closed it works. IF you do not, it spins endlessly and will not function.

I have contacted the company and will wait and see if they stand behind there products. I am not holding my breath and will definitely never buy one again if they do not. Even if they replaced it, the new unit would have to work much better for much longer for me to regain confidence in this product.