Cuisinart DGB500BK Grind & Brew

I''ve been using this coffeemaker daily for about 9 months. I''m not completely satisfied with it.

The positive: It does what it''s supposed to do, most of the time.

Cons:

It''s a real pain to clean. There are six parts to clean after every pot of coffee. The worst is the two-piece grinder assembly. Due to the complete absence of venting and valving, by the end of the brew the entire grinder assembly is soaking wet from condensed water vapor. This means it is coated with a fine mud of pulverized coffee. The grinder assembly has plenty of annoying nooks and crannies; cleaning it means standing there with a few paper towels, jamming them into the crevices to get the old coffee out. After that, you have to clean the filter holder, the filter holder lid, the pot itself, and the pot lid. The pot lid is annoying, requiring two hands to remove I usually drop it once a day or so.

Fit and finish. Once you''ve passed the plastic parts through the dishwasher once, they never fit quite right again. About once a month, the filter holder pops out during brewing, spilling hot coffee all over my kitchen counter and floor; the cleanup from this invariably scatters wet grounds everywhere.

The machine ships with one tiny charcoal filter. Once it''s done, where do you get another one? I don''t bother; I just use Brita-filtered water to begin with.

The hot water jets out onto one spot, drilling a hole in the grounds, and then quickly fills up the flat-bottomed filter holder, floating the grounds and making a soup which then slowly drains. This isn''t the optimal way to extract coffee.

Bottom line it does what it''s supposed to, most of the time. Bad design, however, shows itself in the areas of cleaning, brewing, and operation (including occasional kitchen disasters.) I''m in the market for a different unit.

After being a long term Krups owner (my Krups carafe broke after 12 yrs of dutiful service), I recently purchased a 12 cup Cuisinart Grind & Brew. I always thought my old 10 cup Krups made a decent cup of coffee when using freshly ground beans. I initially shopped for a replacement Krups.

To me, the newer Krups models seemed flimsier than my 12 yr old model. The round carafe seemed problematic (and i''ve read that it is problematic.)

So I eyed the Cuisinart. I selected this Grind and Brew model because i was tired of getting coffee grounds all over my floor every day. It was a terrific decision.

Cuisinart has made the total "set it and forget it machine." At night I put my whole beans in with water that Cuisinart kindly filters and in the morning I get a fantastic cup of coffee.

I ONLY MENTION THIS ONE POINT: The machine has a "1-4" cup setting that will make sure the coffee is HOT when making small amounts. The manual says use this feature when making 4 or less cups. I use this feature every day when brewing my regular 6 cups. The coffee is and stays piping hot.

The machine seems to have many parts but it''s quite easy to clean. The charcoal filter in the water reserve is a plus. And the automatic shut off can be adjusted 1 4 hours.

The manual is easy to read and understand. I''m completely "machine phobic" but found the Cuisinart Grind and Brew easy to program, operate and clean.

I''ve used this machine for several events so far and have gotten rave reviews for taste and quality of the coffee.

I hope to have this machine longer than my Krups!! I LOVE IT.

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This is a great machine if you enjoy weak coffee. My wife prefers a strong cup however, and she seems barely satisfied with the results I am getting by filling the hamper with dark-roasted beans to make only eight cups of coffee. In theory you can make 12 cups of coffee with this machine, but they are 12 rather weak cups, which is fine for many people, myself included.

There is a bit more cleaning involved in setting this contraption up every night to produce freshly ground beans in the morning than there is when you grind your own beans the night before. Although I am not a particularly fastidious person I find I enjoy the process however. At the risk of stating the obvious: the reason you buy this machine is so the grinding happens automatically immediately before the coffee is brewed, first thing in the morning, before you''ve had your first cup of coffee. If that isn''t worth a little extra effort each evening before going to bed, or if you don''t mind getting up and grinding beans and brewing your coffee first thing in the morning, then there is no reason to buy a "grind and brew" machine in the first place.

You certainly would not want to buy this coffee maker for use in an office kitchen, for example, or anywhere else where you might want to make more than just one pot early in the morning.

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We''ve owned this machine for about 1 1/2yrs and bought them as gifts for two couples last fall. Having run this same coffeemaker over 400+ times, I would like to rebut some of the complaints often seen here.

[Electrical problems} None of us have ever had or heard of the hot plate problems I saw mentioned. It could have been damaged at any point of the shipping & handling process. As for the "friend" having the exact same problem, if the problem is so prevalent then why are they getting a new replacement from Quisinart?

[Cleaning] I hate to break the shocking news but..... you do have to clean your coffee maker. Yes this unit has a few extra parts. That''s because it has more functions, which is the reason we bought them in the first place. Every part is removable or accessible and therefore, cleanable. One reviewer in particular complained vehemently about the cleaning and then mentioned switching to a vacuum pot which has even more parts than a grind & brew!?

[Components] One most often mentioned is the slide out filter basket. It is on a rail system that can get gunked up when moisture and bean dust combine. So here''s a simple solution: vegetable oil and a Q-Tip. Apply it to the rails and voila! It slides out like a dream for 1 1/2yrs and counting.

The reasonable price, extra features & functions and its space saving design make for a sensible choice if a grind & brew machine is what you are in the market for. If a coffeehouse quality cup of coffee is what you want, you''ll have it.

I just get the feeling alot of people are just too busy to be bothered by having to clean and maintain. If that''s the case and you were smart enough to research first, don''t but it.

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I carefully read all the Amazon reviews for this machine before I purchased it last month. I was sold on the grind & brew concept and I ignored the complaints that the grinder was hard to clean and also produced a mess that was the result of the steam getting back up into the grinder. I wish I paid attention!

After one month, I am returning the machine to Bed, Bath & Beyond tomorrow. I faithfully cleaned the coffee maker every night but was unable to effectively clean out the mechanism that releases the basket. After just a few weeks, the coffee mess clogged up the drawer slides, making it almost impossible to get the coffee basket out. I read in other reviews here of people using steak knives to try to clean it out, since the mnufacturer failed to make this job easy. This is an inherent design flaw in the coffee maker and it should be pulled from the market. I emailed Cuisinart about this problem and they have failed to respond. I did look into the Melitta Mill & Brew coffee maker, and according to the Amazon reviews this problem is not evident. In fact, most of the reviews there are 5 stars.

I just ordered the Melitta Mill & Brew tonight and it looks promising that I will not have the same nightmare I experienced with Cuisinart. Heed my words, you will regret buying this model!