Customer Reviews

Factory-Reconditioned Cuisinart DGB-600BCFR Grind & Brew Coffeemaker, Brushed Chrome

5 star:		(82)
4 star:		(37)
3 star:		(16)
2 star:		(19)
1 star:		(35)

 

 

Ok, ok, I have read the reviews. A friend gave me this coffee maker after she had the same experience as other reviewers. She had messes on the counter, floor, etc., and practically threw it at me. Well I've had it for a year now and it's been perfect. I have a feeling that the users who had problems didn't push the filter door in firmly enough. It has to "click" in place. The only problem I've had is that my guests drink up the coffee too fast and I end up making another pot.
As far as cleaning... most of the time I just rinse off the parts and let them dry. Every now and then I dump the parts in the dishwasher. How difficult is that? Also, since the coffee maker doesn't have a hot plate, I preheat the carafe with hot tap water.

Maybe we just got lucky with ours. We bought one of the reconditioned ones about a year ago. We use it nearly every day, sometimes more then once a day. I really wanted a coffee pot with a grinder built in, and one that used a metal carafe was required. I was sick of always having to clean up the grind mess on the counters from our other coffee grinders we have used in the past. I have had both the single type and the burr grinders. After time they always made a mess with spilled grinds, and my husband wasn't very good about wiping them up.

We haven't had any issues with this grinder leaking or spilling. As long as you are careful and make sure the lid is closed on the carafe, it seems to pour okay. The carafe keeps the coffee hot for a couple hours, and if I make coffee in the evening, it will still be warm in the morning. (this is not something you can say for a pot with a heating element. We stopped using those years ago b/c i couldn't stand the taste of burnt coffee, which would happen in about an hour)

This pot is nice, because it keeps the grounds from spilling on the counter, which usually happens if you have to transfer them from a grinder to a pot.

The only real issue is the cleaning (and why I didn't give it 5 stairs), the hot steam from the pot will go up into the grind mechanism, causing the dry grinds to get moist and clump together over time. You have to clean out the grinder every 2 pots or so (run under hot water, etc).

I have noticed that it stays clean longer if you open the top of the pot after brewing, and remove the clear plastic top of the grinder so the heat and moisture comes out. This will dry out the grind mechanism, which helps a lot.

i dont often add a review, but after reading all these negative reviews, i had to put in my two-cents' worth.

I've had this machine for 3 years, and another family member for 5. That itself says alot. I'm an avid coffee drinker and work the machine at least 5 days a week (once/day). So this thing is obviously pretty reliable. and i didn't read all of the reviews, but i did not have any problems with filters popping out randomly or anything else.

But when I did my own reseach on this before purchasing, I remember reading about 2 faults, which remain true:
1) the grind is a bit coarse. The only thing this affects is that you have to use a tad bit more of your coffee beans to reach the same level of coffee flavor. non-issue.
2) have quite a few pieces to clean. In fact, have 2 pieces for grinder, 3 pieces for filter/basket/lid, and 2 pieces for thermos lid/thermos. I personally think the freshness and aroma of the coffee is worth this little extra bit of cleaning, but others may differ. if it solved this problem by having less pieces, it would have gotten a 5.

Having said that, i'm off to go buy another machine for another family member.

As an avid coffee lover, I purchased this after seeing it at a friend's house. I love the smell of freshly ground coffee and the taste of coffee made in the Cuisinart. Its thermal carafe keeps the coffee hot and full of flavor for well over an hour, without using a heating element which can spoil the taste of coffee in 15 minutes or less.

I have owned the refurbished unit for about 4 months now, and have never experienced a problem with it opening or spilling coffee during the brew cycle (something which some earlier reviewers mentioned). I can only assume that there were some units that had this problem earlier and Cuisinart has since corrected the design. The refurbished unit did smell faintly like coffee right out of the box (it had been used at least once)but a couple of cycles with plain water and a thorough cleaning of the carafe and all removable parts took care of that.

As I intimated above, the coffee made on the Cuisinart has a robust, fresh flavor, which really lets the individual characteristics of various brands of coffee beans stand out. It offers a "1 to 4 cup" setting which pre-heats the water so that a small pot will be just as enjoyable as a full one. And if you happen to have some pre-ground coffee, you can bypass the automatic grinder and still get excellent results. But this coffee nirvana does come at a cost... maintenance.

There are 4 removable parts that must be cleaned after each use, the grinder and grinder cover, basket and basket cover (plus the optional gold-colored reusable metal filter should you choose to buy one of these - it's not included with the refurbished model). The ground coffee gets into the nooks and crannies of these parts, so it can take a couple of minutes with a sprayer to get them clean. But they can also be cleaned in a dishwasher (top rack only), at least occasionally, so you can just pop them in overnight if hand-washing is too much trouble.

Oh, and for new buyers, here's a tip: if you accidentally hit the "on/off" button while cleaning the unit and can't get it to stop beeping, this occurs when the grinder is not in place. Simply depress the little white button inside the grinder compartment with a fork tine, or temporarily replace the grinder and cover and the beeping will stop. We spent a few minutes of frustration unplugging and plugging the unit in until we found the culprit.

Even with the slight extra work of cleaning and maintenance, I'm rating this 5 stars as it's the best coffee maker I've owned to date and worth the effort.

I waffled (note my tag line - I research until I get decision paralysis!)... and this didn't have great reviews. BUT... the refurb price was great, and the usefulness of the grind and brew is perfect. It WAS the right choice. (I was grinding my beans every morning... and most recently, also doing a "heat the water to 193 degrees on the stove and pour-over" system while I "Decided" which coffee maker to buy). Frankly, I'm saving up for a good espresso machine, so I didn't want to buy a top-of-the-line coffee maker in the interim... but I did need one that kept the coffee warm, not baked,and was easy to use.
I'll note here that my DH is VERY handy, and he figured out how to snap all the parts together (yes, they do have to latch and click firmly into place) to keep from getting drips and overflow. But once I "got" it, I have had NO problems. The timer goes off, the grind starts, the coffee brews... and by the time I get downstairs in the morning, I am greeted with the best coffee I've had at home. (and I had a Melitta, a Krups, a Braun, and a Bunn over my many years of drinking...). I'm satisfied. There are flaws - the carafe doesn't actually empty completely but that's the tradeoff for the way it retains the heat for at least two hours (all the longer 10 cups last me!).
You have to read the directions, and you have to recognize that it does require compliance with the "click it-fit it or it overflows" rules. BUT well worth it! (And, I CAN set it up the night before and it does NOT leak - which my Melitta and Braun both did!).

After reading the many reviews on the DGB-600BC I was worried about my purchase. I have now used the coffeemaker and put it through many cycles/cleanings. I have found the coffeemaker to be an excellent product and it makes a great coffee. Clean-up is easy provided that it is done soon after brewing.
It is obvious that many of the reviewers have the culinary and mechanical aptitude of a chimp and should revert to making coffee in a 2 gallon can over and open fire or stay out of the kitchen!

I spent several hours researching coffee makers with built-in grinders and finally decided on this one. I was still very skeptical of purchasing it because of the many negative reviews about this model and others being difficult to clean. But since the price for a factory re-conditioned model was relatively low, I decided to give it a try.

Although factory re-conditioned, the coffee maker looked brand new. I read the manual and preceded with the setup instructions. It wasn't complicated and after about 25 minutes, I made my first pot of coffee. It would have been quicker but you first need to brew a pot with water only to clean out the internals.

My fist taste made me say "Wow, that's a damn good cup of coffee!" We use high quality beans and the coffee tasted every bit as good if not better than any fine restaurant or coffee bar.

I quickly disassembled the coffee maker for cleaning. There are four parts to clean, the grinder cup, grinder lid, filter cup and filter lid. With some very light scrubbing, I had them all cleaned in less than 2 minutes. This was very easy and definitely not worthy of all the negative remarks I have read.

I have owned this coffee maker for about a month now and still love it and am very happy with the purchase.

A few final notes:

* I recommend you clean it immediately after every use. If you let it sit for a couple of days, you will need to scrub a little harder and it will take you twice as long... still only about 4 minutes.

* Ask your friends about this coffee maker. In the first two weeks, I discovered that 3 of my close friends had the same model and loved it.

I HAVE TWO OF THESE COFFEE POTS (ONE FOR FLAVORED AND ONE FOR REGULAR) AND AFTER THE FIRST TIME IT OVERFLOWED I DISCOVERED THAT THERE IS A LITTLE BUTTON ON THE BOTTOM OF THE FILTER BASKET THAT PUSHES UP WHEN THE COFFEE POT IS INSERTED. COFFEE GROUNDS CAN GET STUCK IN THERE AND CLOG THE FILTER CAUSING THE OVERFLOW. MINE HAVE NEVER OVERFLOWED SINCE THIS DISCOVERY. ALWAYS PUSH THE BUTTON UP AND MAKE SURE TO CLEAN OUT THE COFFEE GRINDS AND YOU WON'T GET THE OVERFLOW. IT BREWS FAST DELICIOUS FRESH GROUND COFFE.

This coffee maker has been excellent so far- a discounted price for a full value- Grinds my coffee well, timer-preprograms it- No complaints. Price was 40 dollars cheeper than department store!!

It seems most people have enjoyed the crispy hot Java this machine produces after automatically grinding up those fresh beans, Italian Roasted to a perfect dark caramel color and brewing out a steaming hot pot of coffee, perfect for this time of year! I however have owned this coffee machine for a month and cannot tell you if the coffee smells like the charred remains of a car tire, or the pristine air inside an authentic Italian bistro. What I can tell you is my experience so far.. This machine did not function when I received it, I immediately contacted Cuisinart Customer Service, who advised me that they can't tell me anything until receiving proof of purchase (original mailed copy only) and the machine. Once they could validate that it was in Warranty, then it would be 7 days and a new coffee machine would arrive that works! So not one to be without coffee, I set up a FedEx pickup and two days shipment to Cuisinart, after much griping with customer service they agreed to wave the return shipping fee for depriving me of coffee for a week. I hung up the phone smiling and happy congratulating myself for buying a product form a company that understood customer satisfaction! 7 days later... nothing happened, 10 days, nothing... Follow up call time... After arguing with the call center, finally I had to ask for a manager who advised me that there is no stock, and they cannot repair a refurbished unit, I would just have to wait for stock to come in, call back later. So after 3 more follow up calls, one hangup, one (we'll call you right back). Now I am 30 days with out coffee, and my subsequent follow up call to the customer service was handled by a seemingly pleasant but not understanding agent who cleverly advised "if it wasn't' working when you bought it why didn't you return it to the store!". Of course the only reason I didn't do that is because this same customer service line advised me to return it to Cuisinart direct.... This was followed by a very apologetic manager who assured me that there is no stock, there may be stock in a few more weeks, but who can tell, and that is if there is stock, I am on the list to receive another machine! After explaining that I will be opening a BBB case for my pain and suffering from caffeine withdrawal, she did offer to send a request to expedite my shipment if there is ever stock. I am quite certain that this is just a stall tactic so that by the time my replacement unit arrives the 90 day warranty is expired.. So my advice, if you buy this have a backup machine on hand, and if not, request gift certificates to local Italian Bistro as a Holiday gift, that is if Star bucks hasn't run them out of town yet.