My cheap-'ol coffee pot that I've been using for the last year and a half was recalled- so I took it back. Perfect excuse for a brand new- top of the line coffee pot. My last one was a "General Electric®-branded 12-cup digital coffee makers"- so the quality and taste is a huge improvement. This thing is a beast, and so far I love it! I really wanted the Cuisinart DTC-975BKN, but there was NO way I was going to wait close to a week for process/shipping, or spend 50$ extra for next day delivery. 0 for a coffee pot marked at 0? No thanks. I was really hoping to find a Cuisinart coffee maker somewhere in a store. Living out in the middle of the country, it's at least a 1 hour drive for that. Oh well, better then a weeks wait. So we went to Best Buy and there were quite a bit. The one I was looking at next to the 12 cup thermal one was there (Cuisinart DCC-1200BW) but it's not a thermal. My husband spotted this one, and liked it. He wanted me to have a thermal one- knowing that I chase after my 2 year old all day and my 6 month old is a constant distraction... it takes a while to get back to my coffee, and I didn't want cooked coffee any more. It has the grinder, which is a ++ because sometimes I like to buy the beans (I switch around).
I did the required preps for it per instructions, and then made my first brew. Only 4 cups because it was 10pm and I breastfeed, I wanted a new fresh pot in the morning. NO problems. The coffee was steaming hot. For the 4 cups, I used 3 scoops with the spoon that came with it (seems smaller then my usual scooper). The coffee was PERFECT. I didn't have spills, I didn't have leaking from the carafe. I don't really see where the problems are coming from that everyone is complaining about.. the lid is very easy to get evenly twisted on the lock position... the last 2 years I've been washing bottles and then sippy cups, so it's not hard to wash the carafe for me. After we drank the coffee, I went in and rinsed off the required appliance pieces. It's not hard. I even hand dried them with a paper towel so I could prep the machine for the morning brew. Seriously, when I purchased this 5 dollar machine I was preparing to keep it cleaned at all times. It's just how it works. If you want something to work well, you have to keep it clean. You keep it clean, it'll work. It's a few minutes out of my day, not bad at all. It's like my camera, I didn't purchase a 1k camera and 1k lens and two other lesser valued lens and expect them to keep performing well without cleaning and maintenance. It's part of the price of having a top performing machine.
My second brew this morning I tried making the 10 cups, no problems with leaks and stuff, it was set up last night and I used 6 scoops from the spoon that came with it... and as some of the others have said, the coffee was a bit bitter and watery. My fault, I didn't expect to get the correct coffee to water ratio on the first real try. The programming worked perfectly, btw. So I drank the coffee anyways. 2 hours later into the morning, and the coffee was still hot enough to burn my lip. 4 hours later, and it was hot enough to make my tongue still numb from the heat. Fantastic!
I then made a 2nd brew, just to get an idea of coffee to water ratio that would work for me. I put away the tiny scoop that comes with the coffee pot and pulled out my larger one again. 3 scoops from that thing with 8 cups water and the brew is STRONG! It could be used with less beans then this, and taste fine, but I like it strong. So if I were to go for 10 cups, I would use the 3-4 scoops from my normal scooper. You just have to mess around with the amount of beans and such. There is no watery taste to this. I also put the 1-4 on even though I brewed 8 cups. I figured, I like stronger coffee, it wouldn't hurt for it to keep the water in the filter basket to make it a bit stronger even with the more cups. Apparently, I did something right.
I'm totally impressed with this coffee pot so far. I'll come back and give an update when I have it longer.
For those complaining about the noise...seriously? It's a GRIND and brew, what did you expect? Grinders are loud, this grinder is quieter then the external grinder I have. I haven't used beans in it yet, but I've turned it on to see how it works. I'll have pumpkin spice coming my way, so I'll know how the grinder works soon. Can't wait!
Product Features
- Grinds coffee beans and brews coffee at preset time
- Charcoal filter eliminates chlorine and odors from tap water
- Brushed stainless steel, double-wall insulated thermal carafe keeps up to 10 5-ounce cups of brewed coffee
- Grinder removes for easy clean-up; brew-pause for mid-brew pour
- Measures 15 by 8 by 7-1/2 inches, 3-year warranty
Product Overview
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.
Love me two times - Tony C - Bronx, NY United States
I liked this coffee maker so much that when my older version stopped working, I had to buy another one. My first one lasted almost 5 years.
Great Coffeemaker - CoffeeLover -
Overall I have been really happy with this coffeemaker. The best things about it are the grinder and the wire basket it comes with which makes the coffee taste great. It's also compact enough to fit in my apartment kitchen, and saves me from having to have a coffee grinder on the counter too.
The only thing I don't like is the noise of the grinder. It is way louder than my old coffee grinder. It kind of sounds like a cross between a jet and a police siren. I always feel like I'm annoying my neighbors when I turn it on.
All in all though, I would recommend it. Who needs neighbors when you have delicious coffee anyways?
Grinds My Gears - Chris - New York City
I received this machine as a gift, so I'm elated that I didn't have to pay for it. The things that I hate about this machine are pretty much what everyone else here is saying, like epic cleaning procedure, the nasty condensation issue and jarringly loud grinder that could embarrass a 747. Mine has also overflowed (four times) for no reason. Sure, it's nice to look at with all that stainless steel, but there are so many stupid design elements on this thing that could have been avoided had the designer been forced to use it for a year before releasing it to the public.
1. Lesser Cuisinart models have an outside gauge to show the water level. With this model, one must use a flashlight to see inside the incredibly dark reservoir.
2. Pouring in whole beans is a delicate maneuver. If you're not careful, you will drop whole beans inside the water reservoir and in the black hole surrounding the grinder mechanism. Good luck fishing them out - if you can spot them in the darkness. A split cover (one for the water, one for the coffee grinds) would have made more sense here and possibly avoided the condensation issue.
3. This machine will not operate unless all the stupid grinder parts are in place. It would be nice if you could take out the gummy grinder, pulverize it with a hammer, run the pieces over with your car, burn them, and then use the machine with pre-ground beans.
4. Even after holding the grinder under scalding hot water, you'll still need to wipe out the gummy mess with multiple paper towels. The condensation makes putting on a second pot a real hassle. Not good for entertaining.
5. I really wish coffee makers would be honest about cup size already. 10 "cups" only amount to about four 12 ounce cups, because the cup size is only 5 ounces. Who the hell drinks 5 ounce cups of coffee? No one.
6. When I recently bought whole beans by mistake, I was forced to use the grinder. I'm sure I gave my two cats a heart attack when I turned the stupid thing on right after feeding them.
7. I have managed to alleviate the grinder basket popping open by ditching the black cover.
8. Recently, it has developed a strange leak where I have a small puddle of coffee UNDER the machine after brewing. I think the stainless steel carafe itself might be leaking. This machine will be the death of my butcherblock counter top.
I think this model should be recalled and destroyed. Really. Launch them all into the sun so that they can never return.
If you want to impress someone you secretly hate with an expensive looking gift, give them this thing.
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*** Product Information and Prices Stored: Sep 15, 2010 05:40:08
