Cuisinart Fully Automatic Burr Grind & Brew 12 Cup Coffeemaker Review

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(More customer reviews)Review for: Cuisinart Fully Automatic Burr Grind & Brew 12 Cup Coffeemaker
First a heads-up... the product's picture shows a "black" carafe which might lead you to believe it is a thermal carafe. This is not the case, it is actually a glass carafe filled to the brim with coffee. As such, be forewarned that this product does not include a thermal carafe (I was fooled, but it's interesting to note that Amazon suggested I include "thermal carafe" when "tagging" this review.) Instead, it ships with a glass carafe and features a hot-plate that has a programmable auto shut-off.
My disappointment with the carafe aside, this product has worked marvelously (received it three weeks ago.) It houses a burr grinder as opposed to a cheap blade grinder. It cleans up very easily compared to my old "Melitta MEMB1 Mill & Brew" (less than two minutes to rinse the carafe and filter-chamber/cap; after drying it's ready to be loaded with a new filter in less than 30 seconds.) The bean-hopper has a good seal to it, although I am unsure as to whether the clear plastic used offers UV protection (I would prefer to see a shaded plastic used to protect the beans inside; but I suppose the clear plastic offers a better design-element and the functionality of being able to see the level of beans inside.) And, in terms of the most important aspect, it makes great tasting coffee! (My girlfriend still marvels daily at how good the coffee is.)
Having owned and operated a coffee shop a few years back, I thought I might emphasize the importance of buying a burr grinder vs a blade grinder (for those of you who are interested and new to the art of making gourmet coffee.) First, burr grinders do not produce nearly the level of heat that can be produced by blade grinders. Heat denatures the delicate flavors of the beans (which is also why I was disappointed by having a glass carafe that sits over a direct source of high-heat.) Second, burr grinders ensure that each particle of ground coffee is consistent in size; meaning flavor extraction can be truly optimized and achieved with consistency... The flavor of your coffee is based on the contact time between the beans' chemicals and water; varied sizes of particles means the chemicals are exposed to water for varying amounts of time, and the chemicals have varied distances to travel to escape the fibers of the bean particles. A blade grinder results in variably-variable sizes of particles... meaning variable flavors escaping the clutches of the bean fibers. If you are planning to spend the extra money to buy high-quality beans, it is important to both preserve the chemicals inside (destroyed by heat, light and oxygen) and to extract them in a reasonable manner that enables isolation of the chemicals responsible for "good" flavors.
If the science of coffee interests you, Scientific American had a great article written by Ernesto Illy in June 2002, titled "The Complexity of Coffee." At only 6 pages, it's a pretty quick read and well worth the time. Here's a link: [...]

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Cuisinart DGB-600BC Grind and Brew, Brushed Chrome Review

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(More customer reviews)Ye gads. I forgot all about the fierce partisanship amongst purchasers that this wee little machine invokes. Last year, I dutifully combed through all of the reviews and was almost pursuaded to look to another machine. Thank the stars I was not. Like many, I was won over by the lure of (1)the thermal carafe, (2) the auto grind&brew feature, and (3) the shininess. I also trusted the Cuisinart name and had been previously pleased with the Brew Central. I noted, however, that many writers were highly displeased with (4) the noise and (5) the mess. So, after a year, here are my experiences:
(1) The thermal carafe rocks out loud. Yes, pre-heating the carafe seems to keep the coffee hotter for longer, but on the crazy work-mornings that I use the auto-grind&brew function, I do not pre-heat and find no need to, as I am out of the house at light speed. Note that the coffee is still scaldingly hot. People seem irritated/perplexed at the slowness with which coffee is dispensed from the carafe, as well as the steep pouring angles necessitated by the carafe. I am not at all disturbed by either; however, a relative in need of immediate coffee discovered that one can get faster pouring by just removing the lid. Which defeats the awesome vacuum-packed thermal hotness, but seems a likely remedy for those with a fundamental aversion to slow pours. As far as weird geometry issues, I have nothing to offer.
(2) The auto grind&brew is very convenient. It has always worked flawlessly for me and really amazes and pleases guests who may rise before residents.
(3) It is damn shiny.
(NB: I have a lot of stainless in the kitchen and, through trial and error, have found that the Method stainless steel cleaner keeps it all damn shiny and keeps me from going stark raving from the constant buffing and rubbing).
(4) The noise? Really not that unusual for a coffee bean grinder. I did not notice that it was any louder than other grinders. If the "grind" portion of the auto grind&brew is waking one too early, I would imagine that one could either pregrind or use ground beans and just skip the "grind" function. While it is intriguing to imaging a space age machine with stealth grind mode, I would urge potential buyers to neither expect silence nor let lack of silence keep you from buying this machine.
(5) The ire over the mess was what nearly kept me from purchasing this maker. And I completely forgot about the issue until just now when I re-read some of the reviews. I guess that I don't understand what "mess" they mean. There are seven parts to this thing that I clean: carafe/lid, filter/basket/lid, and grinder base/lid. I rinse the carafe and filter with hot water and clean the rest with hot soapy water. It all takes approximately 2.5 minutes. I never have to clean the rest of the machine. I usually tilt the top-loader lid open to let condensation out after brewing is done. I occasionally wipe the inside of the machine down with a damp cloth. I have replaced the water filter a couple of times. But altogether, clean-up is not that big of a deal. Maybe others are not getting a tight enough seal on the the grinder parts?
SUMMARY: I have had this machine for over a year and have never had a single problem with it. It makes delicious, hot coffee. I was almost deterred by the problems that others have had with it, but am glad that I opted to take my chances. I gave it four, rather than five stars because so many people have had problems with it. Even though I have not experienced these problems, the negative feedback must nonetheless be taken into consideration.
cheers!
~currer bell

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With its sleek Italian styling, brushed stainless finish and "loaded" feature package, you'd expect nothing less than a fabulous cup of coffee. And you won't be disappointed! From filtering the water, to grinding the beans, to keeping your brew hot, not to mention having it ready and waiting for you first thing in the morning, this handsome machine does it all, and then some.

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