12-Cup Fully Automatic Coffee Maker

Update: Not too long after writing the review my coffeemaker started smelling very hot and quit making coffee (the grinder continued to work). I tried cleaning it and finally called the company since it is supposed to have a three year warranty.It does but I had to pay the shipping to Cuisinart and I had to pay an additional $10.00.... so for an already expensive machine it cost another $30.00 after just a little more than a year. The service person was very helpful and explained everything completely. One very important thing is to keep your "proof of purchase". Had I not had it the warranty would have been voided because the coffeemaker was already out of date according to the serial number! I bought it from Amazon and all of your purchases can be found under your account. The first service person at Cuisinart told me to send everything back except the glass carafe, the gold-filter basket and the charcoal stick filter but when I was ready to ship it back I called the service desk again and asked if I could keep the baskets and the hopper - she checked with a supervisor and they let me keep those items. I keep regular coffee in one and decaf in the other. The old baskets didn't work with the new coffeemaker - they look exactly the same but the ground coffee spilled out the side of the basket - something wrong with the alignment, I guess. After using the new baskets that came with the new coffeemaker it works slightly better but is still off. The grinder on the new machine clogs very frequently - I now clean it once a day and if I made more pots of coffee I would need to clean it more often. I can no longer recommend this coffeemaker or the company that makes it. When this one breaks I will have to find another way to make my coffee - too expensive and not a quality item....the coffee does still taste wonderful! I thought a long time about buying this coffeemaker because I had a bad experience with an electric grill from this company but I liked the idea of really fresh coffee - it just sounded so good. I made my decision to buy it after carefully reading the reviews and I have never regretted it. I love this coffee maker or rather I love the coffee it makes. A lot has already been written about it but I will add a few of my observations after using it for almost a year. First, it was a little difficult to understand - I read the instructions and actually watched the DVD that came with it which helped a lot. I no longer worry about lining up the basket holder and it's top - it is hard to see the arrows (I'm short) and makes only a few seconds difference as it lines it up itself. It has several settings that are wonderful features but you do have to make sure you have them set correctly if you change them - some people will set them and never change them but I tend to make changes in the amount of coffee I make during the day and sometimes the strength. The hopper at the top to store the beans is very handy. I like not having to get the container out every time I make coffee. When you take the hopper off to clean the grinder or to change the kind of coffee (decaf or reg) there will be some beans left in the chute but that doesn't hamper taking off or putting the hopper back on. Even though I clean the basket, pot, etc at the end of the day I don't usually empty the old coffee grounds between pots during the day - I'm not a coffee expert - I just judge if it tastes good to me. If you are rather lazy like me then you will have to remember to briefly open the swing-out basket holder and always close it firmly - otherwise it will beep at you and not stop beeping until you do or until you unplug it! It took me quite a while to discover this! Failing to put the lid on the basket holder or leaving out the basket or paper filter will result in a huge mess to clean up. A lot has been written about the need to clean the grinder chute but a reviewer kindly explained that this was easy and quickly done - I am agreeing with him/her. Finding the area to clean is one of the reasons I needed to watch the DVD but once you know the location it is just something to quickly do every few days. I just do it on a regular basis now.....I learned the hard way that it does have to be done fairly often because one day I made my coffee and got clear water - it went through the grinding process but was completely blocked. One other thing to remember is to take the top off the basket holder while you clean the chute so the ground coffee will go into the basket and then remember to put the top back on! It tends to be very fussy about everything being in place correctly - again I found this out the hard way. The grinder is loud, I guess - it is a grinder...I do warn anyone in the room with me before it grinds just so they won't be startled but I don't find it too loud. As good as the coffee is, I think it tends to use quite a bit of coffee beans. At first I tried making it weaker (adjustments of mild, regular, and strong) but I like it strong so I usually keep it there. To summarize you have to learn to put the coffee maker together properly and how to clean the chute and do it regularly - other than these easy things, just enjoy a delicious cup of coffee!

First let me say that I’m a Breville girl. I love their products. But their grind and brew, which is much more expensive, has enough really bad reviews that after research I settled on this Cuisinart. I love that you put in beans and water and hit the program button and voila in the morning the kitchen smells wonderful! You can’t be lazy with this one because it will tell you to empty the filter or clean the chute. All good things to protect your investment. NOTE: you must only put in as much water as you will use because it will take all the water that’s in the tank no matter what you choose as amount of beans or strength. The button on the front (2,4,6 etc) is ONLY for the amount of coffee you want it to grind. There is also a strength feature that you can additionally adjust to your preferences. There is a ‘no grind’ button so you can use already ground coffee (usually I’d say for flavored kinds) and you can use the permanent filter that comes with it or any #4 paper filters. I have the version with the glass carafe and that means there is a heating plate to keep it hot. That is programmable as well. So far I’m loving this coffee maker and hoping I will have it for many years to come!

Brief History - I had an old (not a Cuisinart) grind and brew type coffee maker for about 25 years. It did not get used regularly and finally when I began using it daily a part broke that I could not find a replacement for. The coffee that came out of it wasn't bad but the unit was incredibly loud (leave the room kind of loud) and very slow to brew. So I began to search for a replacement. I looked at all the grind and brew machines, narrowed the field by price and features and came up with a list viable replacements. Worth noting: I did check with consumer reports which was helpful for me to confirm the features I wanted. The negative reviews posted by far too many people do not treat this machine and likely many other machines fairly. There misleading criticisms left me with no clear or safe or comfortable choice and indecision for months. Finally a friend (whom I trust) convinced me to purchase a Cuisinart and what a great machine this is. For all the people whom claim this machine spilled coffee all over there counter I would say being conscious while operating any machine is always wise and if you were conscious then I suggest you try cleaning it once in a while! This machine is easy to use, makes pretty decent coffee and has worked flawlessly for me. I do rinse the pot, lid and basket components before each use. It just takes a minute, and I do dry these components with a paper towel. For me this is just common sense. The coffee brews quickly. The grinder makes some noise but is easily tolerable and is way less than my old machine. The only comment/criticism I have is brew completed alarm (the volume) I would describe as quiet - refined tones. So quiet that you are unlikely to hear the alarm from another room unless and are close and concentrating. For me the alarm volume is a NON-issue, first the brew time is pretty short. Next the unit has a clever feature (a stopper) to stop the flow of coffee out the basket when the pot is removed (remember to return the pot if you do this). I have been using this machine daily for about 3 months now and I am really happy with my choice.

Purchased new in Dec 2024 as a Christmas gift. It's only used once a day for four cups of coffee. It is loud when it grinds but we loved it. Then Feb.2026 one day it just stopped working. Display won't come on, it won't grind. We've cleaned it thoroughly, unplugged it, to no avail. For what we paid for this machine, we are extremely disappointed. We will look into getting refunded (doubtful), but otherwise would NOT recommend this product. Our $20 little Mr Coffee has lasted for years with no issues.

I'll start by saying that we bought this coffee maker on March 15, 2016 and on May 29, 2016 it stopped working. I don't know if I did something or what but I called customer service and they are sending a replacement (900 series) out right away. I just have to pay the $10 shipping and retyurn the inoperable one. Since the inoperation issue is most on my mind I will start with that but then do a review of the machine and experience overall. This is a very "smart"/Techy coffee maker. It has sensors and needs, and it tells you about them...and won't operate if you don't address the needs...the primary one being "Clean the Chute". So on Sunday, the "Clean chute" message popped up. I cleaned it and we were all back in action, delicious coffee. I thought I should make my husband aware of this need in case I wasn't around sometime when it had to be done (once every 4-6 weeks or so for us). Put on my smarty pants, showed him the little brush, how to do it, all was good. Then the next morning (Monday...a holiday) I got up and got the coffee going....water in, push the button, beans ground....went to walk the dog...came back expecting a nice cup of joe and...nada. Nada. Nada. Nada. I spent the next hour trying everything but the coffee maker would not brew. Would not warm up, would not brew. So I scrounged in the pantry, found an old paper filter, boiled some water and make coffee the old fashioned way. Holiday meant I couldn't call cuisinart till today.... So this morning I called and they are sending the new coffee maker and hopefully all will work fine. What I like about this coffee maker: - Makes excellent coffee! You can vary the strength based on a number of variables (how much water you put in, how many cups you tell it is in there, and what strength you're going for). We like a strong, robust cup and on our old maker we had to max out the settings. On this one we reel it way back....strength of 2, add more water than we're telling it) The coffee is absolutely delish - It's very easy to clean the basket - Settings are all clear - The designers really thought of so many details to make this an upscale techy coffee maker that tells you what it needs -- which frankly I appreciate because I never leaned the chute on our old maker What I'm not so happy with - It does use up a lot of beans -- but I think that's because it's making a strong cup. Once we reeled that back a bit it wasn't such a bean piggy but still does use more than our old one (capresso) - Very techy which maybe they didn't fully person proof? (I'm still not sure why it won't work) I would definitely buy this coffee maker again - but I hope I don't need to for many many years to come. I'm bummed that this first one failed but frankly it could just be some sensor that needs to be reset. It just seems like the correlation between me cleaning the chute and it no longer brewing is strong but I will never know. Customer service was great and I'm happy with the experience overall.

I've enjoyed the original Grind & Brew for 10 to 15 years or so, but it recently started acting up. It would only make a few cups (4 or so) instead of a full pot before shutting off. Not a big deal since I could just select "grind off" and fire it up again to get the rest of the pot. It was only a problem if I wasn't watching it or was running late for work. I figured it was the occasional drips and spills and such that finally took their toll on the electronics that were located below the pot and warming plate (not the best design). This model (so far) is much improved. Cleanings between brewings is much easier and I no longer need paper filters. The bean hopper is nice because I don't have to fill it for each pot of coffee like before. It's far from airtight, but it's a big time saver. Having the choice of three different strengths is also nice. I run mine at Medium with Starbucks French Roast and the coffee is perfect. The occasional cleaning is easy enough. Just be sure to open the hatch below the bean hopper and brush it out like the instructions and the DVD tell you to do and everything will keep on running perfectly. Daily cleanings are a breeze compared to past models because you now only rinse out the basket, the included gold filter and the crazy rotating basket lid. Just be sure to put it all back together correctly. No need to dry everything out like older models because the beans are no longer ground in any of these three parts. Some have complained about the basket not latching securely. Perhaps after extend usage, the plastic catch the secures the basket assembly can wear out. Knowing this, I depress the button on the left of the unit prior to opening and closing the basket to take the stress off of any plastic-on-plastic catches. I butt the unit into a corner when not in use, but have to pull it out and turn it sideways to see the water level when filling it. I wish the water level was visible from other angles. Also, the water reservoir is smaller than previous models, so be prepared to pour water cautiously and slowly to avoid making a mess. And I wonder if using filtered water from the refrigerator door or my PUR filter pitcher negate the need for the built-in charcoal filter of the coffee maker. The glass carafe is now much easier to pour from and clean. No longer do you feel like you're going to break the lid off every time you remove it to clean. It also pulls away from the unit to sneak a cup of coffee during the brewing cycle much easier than some of the older models. Much quieter than the original unit too, unless you use this thing as an alarm clock. The smell of the ultimate home-brewed pot of coffee will still wake you up even if the noise of the grinder doesn't. And yes, this is MUCH quieter than the grinder on my old Grind & Brew.

I'll start by saying this is a great coffee maker, it produces some of the freshest coffee due to the fact the built-in burr grinder ensures you're getting all of the flavor from freshly ground beans. I have very few issues with this particular, fairly expensive, machine - the upkeep I find to NOT be a problem as it is fairly simple and I like to keep products I own in tip-top shape. The issues I have come across I will list below: -The power cord is extremely short, it's roughly three (3) feet and that was not long enough for it to reach my counter-top outlet. Not a huge deal, but it definitely did not have me jumping in joy. -Control, this is where I start to contemplate whether or not I keep this unit or upgrade to the Breville YouBrew ($100 more). I'll start by saying that I am no connoisseur but it is something I am very into, I currently own a Saeco Vienna Plus semi-automatic espresso maker and a Technivorm Moccamaster. Back to the issue at hand, CONTROL. Cuisinart makes this out to be a machine for those who like to adjust their coffee to their tastes, including strength (measured by amount of ground coffee) and cup-size which is measured by the water in the reservoir. The water level is my issue, if you put in 6 cups of water and want to brew 4 cups (by adjusting the Grind Control knob to 4) it will blindly dump all of the water in the reservoir for brewing and grind the equivalent of 4 cups of coffee. I suppose this is not a huge issue, you might tell me to just reduce or increase the amount of water I use to taste. Truth is, this coffee maker produces relatively weak coffee unless you provide less water than the intended brew amount. It comes out watered down for the most part, I've even brewed (to the Cuisinart standard) a pot for friends and that was (without mentioning it) the general consensus. For those of you concerned about the control you can have over your coffee maker, I would recommend the Breville YouBrew - I have had some hands-on with this unit and you can customize water consumption and also strength. It's pricier, but you are definitely gaining more and since you're already looking at this coffee maker at this price point, another $100 is fair.

This was a bit more of an investment than I initially wanted, but if you are looking for a programable maker with a fresh grinding feature you will be pleased with this model! The burr grinder in this model does an excellent job and seems to be high quality. We've found the noise level to be moderate but not obnoxious. The larger bean capacity tray on this model (holds about a half a bag of coffee) makes regular morning use convenient while keeping the beans fresh. Controls are fairly customizable (from brew strength to easy programming of start time, and even length of time warmer plate stays on), but are relatively intuitive and simple to master (there is an included DVD that shows all operations/cleaning instructions for those inclined to see a detailed walkthrough). The included reusable filter provides a slightly french press feel to the brewed coffee which we've come to prefer over paper/bamboo disposable filters. As other reviews state, be sure to clean the chute weekly - you'll find this a quick and easy task after completing the first time. Overall, if you are seeking freshly ground coffee with the convenience of a programmed start time, this has been a great product for us after 2 months of daily use. The flavor of the brewed coffee is excellent, due in no small part to the quality of the grinder. A note on finding the perfect strength for your tastes: The strength controls, in conjunction with the 2 cup increments that you program the maker to grind for allows for a good degree of customization. Because you "tell" the maker how much coffee you want to make while being able to actually pour in any level of water, you will be able to customize/fine tune your preferred strength. For example, we've found programming at the 8 cups level on "strong" while filling at ~9.5 cups of water has given us our preferred strength (we had typically made 10 cups a day for the house previously).