New Coffee Maker

[sudsmaster]

In addition to the Titan garbage disposer I picked up tonite at Costco, I also got a Cuisinart thermal grind and brew coffee maker.

I bought one of the original Cuisinart grind and brew coffee makers about 10 years ago. I wasn't completely happy with it... although the coffee was good, the glass carafe couldn't easily be fit into the dishwasher without removing the lid, and eventually the lid hinge broke. The parts were hard to clean by hand and also didn't fit well in the dishwasher.

The thermal grind and brew is a big improvement. Much easier to clean up after a brew session, and easy to wipe dry (almost impossible with the first generation model). This particular model still uses as whirly grinder, which is just fine for standard drip coffee. Cuisinart has a newer, higher end model with a burr grinder, but I've read mixed reviews of that one.

This thermal model is not an especially new design - I think it came out in 2003. But it wasn't until recently that I decided to give it a try, as I've been getting a little tired of the jerry-rigged way I've been making coffee since I retired the 1st generation model.

Interestingly, the thermal model has a heat plate - it warms the bottom of the thermal carafe during brewing. The 4 cup switch doubles the heating to compensate for the lower temp of the smaller volume of coffee. I made a 6 cup pot tonite and used the 4 cup switch to see what happened. Well, the coffee was quite hot and toasty... which is what I wanted . I've seen complaints in consumer reviews that the coffee isn't hot enough, and I wonder why people don't just use the 4 cup switch to make things hotter. Oh well.

Now I'll probably be up all night after all this coffee... ;-)

 

[rp2813]

Rich, I'm waiting for more options to hit the market that offer a burr grinder. My Capresso burr grind & brew is OK but it has never exactly knocked my socks off. It's cumbersome to use and in my opinion the hot plate doesn't keep the coffee hot enough and the carafe itself has such thin glass I'm surprised I haven't broken it yet. I think Cuisinart has a better system. I guess it's a trade-off with a thermal carafe. A squatty glass carafe can go right in the dishwasher but I don't know if you can do the same with a thermal one, and even if you can, they all seem to be larger and may not even fit on most DW top racks.

My weekend morning coffee and newspaper is a sacred ritual with me and I'm willing to hold out for a machine that's going to brew up a truly satisfying few mugs worth.

 

[laundromat]

I had mine 6 months then it crapped out on me.I wound up replacing it with the Hamilton Beach model that has no coffee pot.You just hold the cup up against it.I also got a Q'art.coffee grinder you set the grind and tell it how many cups you're brewing.Both are over a year old and work great!

 

[rp2813]

A friend of mine has one of those Cuisinart dispenser type machines and really likes it. I suppose if you don't do a lot of entertaining and rarely have occassion to bring the carafe to the table, this type of arrangement makes sense.

My daily driver is on my desk at work. It's a B&D "Cup-at-a-Time" that does an OK job. I keep pre-ground coffee in small quantities in the break room freezer and it does help to preserve the fresh taste. Grinding my own beans at work would be a little over the top in the opinion of others in my office, I think.

 

[sudsmaster]

Cuisinart has a burr grinder model, but the reviews I've seen are not all glowing. One problem is that to avoid jamming the burr grinder, the grind is on the coarse side, which means people have found they have to add twice as much coffee as they otherwise might. Also, the machine tends to drop grinds onto the top of the carafe lid. Not sure how that happens, but that's what they are saying.

Like I say, this 2nd generation grind 'n brew, while not the latest, is IMHO a vast improvement over the 1st generation. I'm slightly disappointed that the thermal carafe is not a true vacuum carafe, hence the semi-hot plate under it, but it kept coffee hot from 6 am to noon today, not too bad.

 

[rp2813]

6AM to Noon works for me. I will maybe consider that 2nd generation model if something happens with the Capresso. It won't take much. I won't even pursue a replacement carafe if the current one gets broken. I don't like the fact that I have to get everything ready the night before and leave written instructions on how to get the coffee going if we happen to have a guest staying over who is an early riser. When I was gone for a week recently my partner couldn't figure it out, as he's not a regular coffee drinker. And grind & brew is supposed to be about making things simpler, not more complicated, isn't it?

 

[sudsmaster]

Yeah, the 1st gen Cuisi was also fairly difficult to figure out. On this model, the controls are all up front and near the top, and clearly labeled. You can turn off the grinder with one button, and twist a dial to start the brew manually. Another dial lets you set the schedule brew time and then tell it to do the next brew automatically. I might even use the scheduled brew feature. I admit it's kind of nice to wake up to hot coffee and not have to wait for it to brew. Of course the grinder is going to wake everyone in the house up anyway, but at least one wouldn't have to stumble around measuring beans, water etc first thing.

One thing I don't like is the change to square bottom Mr. Coffee style filters from the conical Melitta style of the 1st gen. But you can't have everything, and the square kind probably gives the machine a somewhat lower profile.

 

[petek]

We have the 1st generation Grind'n Brew. In fact the first one just broke a couple of months ago and I wouldn't have bought another, too fussy, cept the partner liked it and I found them clearing out at a liquidation place for $37 so I grabbed one. It does make good coffee and it keeps the coffee very hot... I just don't care for the messy grinding system always needing cleaning.

 

[cuffs054]

Gotta tell ya, I'm in love with my Keurig. Just got some more of the Hot Chocolate K-cups. That and a little Ameretto, HEAVEN! Damn good coffee too!

 

[oldhouseman]

Taste

I have never found one of the grind and brew machines that really had a good taste with the end results. The coffee always had a horrid taste. The concept is great but the end product was not coffee.

The price tag on the machines are a bad joke. They have a long way to go before I would consider one to replace my perculator or drip machine (prefer perculator).

 

[gansky1]

I was at Costco the other day and saw the new Grind & Brew. I was looking at the coffeemakers because I just picked up a lightly used Cuisinart drip unit without the auto-grinder last week. It's the first generation with the more squared design. I brought it home, gave it a thorough cleaning and put it on the shelf. I don't drink coffee as a rule, but have always thought that the Cuisinart machines were very beautiful so I couldn't let it get away - especially for free... It's part of the collecting illness, I suppose.

I have clients that have the Keurig k-cup machines and wouldn't pass one of those up either. Actually, I like hot tea and cocoa so I could probably justify it!

 

[sudsmaster]

Here's the model I got. $99 plus shipping on the website - $90 in the store.

http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product.aspx?Prodid=11240596&whse=BC&Ne=4000000&eCat=BC|103|28485&N=4009926&Mo=12&No=8&Nr=P_CatalogName:BC&cat=28504&Ns=P_Price|1||P_SignDesc1&lang=en-US&Sp=C&topnav=

 

[gansky1]

I like the look of that model - the earlier, more rounded ones with the grind feature looked difficult to maintain/clean and use. I have several clients with this model (or similar style) and have been using them for quite a while.

This is the one I picked up - once a little cleaning was done, it looked like new again. The Self Clean cycle was very interesting to see - intermittent heating/brewing to allow the vinegar to have it's way with the limescale.

 

[rp2813]

I have always liked the look of the Cuisinart machines but upon close inspection they did appear to present regular cleaning issues, which I think you can't get away from with grind & brew systems to a certain degree.

I can't recall for sure but I think I've seen KA machines with similar looks to the Cuisinarts but I don't know how well they perform. Both (if I'm right about KA) are on my list of potential replacements for the Capresso when the time comes.

As for the comments about grind & brew machines making horrible coffee, that has not been my experience. I don't own a percolator and haven't had perked coffee in many years. I tasted what a Norelco automatic drip machine could do back in the early 70's and never touched a percolator again.

 

[countryguy]

Gansky1,
I have the same coffee maker. It works great and keeps the coffee hot which is how I like it as compared to most other coffee makers. I have used it daily for about 3 years and the light indicating for it to be cleaned still has not come on.

Gary

 

[sudsmaster]

Some people like drip coffee, some people like perc coffee. My impression is that this 2nd gen model grindnbrew makes somewhat stronger coffee than the 1st gen. Perhaps it brews it a bit hotter to compensate for the thermal carafe. Or maybe it grinds the coffee a bit finer (more likely) than the other model, to compensate for the less efficient flat Mr. Coffee style filter vs. the conical Melitta style filter of the first generation model. I generally don't like extra strong coffee, so I'll be experimenting with adding a bit less beans than recommended and see if I like that result. But I think as it is the coffee this one brews is quite good and any slight difference is more than made up for by the much greater ease of operation and cleaning. Plus, there's no comparision between a heated glass carafe and a thermal carafe after the coffee has sat for a few hours.

 

[drhardee]

I bought a Procter-Silex "Brewstation Deluxe" ($80.00) from Wal-Mart Online last week, and had my first cup from it this morning. It has a few more bells and whistles than the plain-Jane P-S Brewstation it replaced, and I think it makes a decent cup of coffee (or 12), and there is no glass carafe for the blind husbear to break!

The brew strength control button on this unit features a setting for regular coffee, strong coffee, decaf. coffee (?) and 1-4 cups. I know what 3 of the 4 of these settings do, but the manual doesn't explain why decaf needs to be brewed differently from regular coffee. Decaf certainly doesn't extract any differently than does regular coffee! Any thoughts??

 

[drhardee]

Just realized that Hamilton Beach bought Procter Silex, hence the label change. Oh well, it's that coffeemaker.

 

[sudsmaster]

I understand that a grind and brew type of machine of undetermined origin has been chosen to accompany the cabbage rolls of Mrs. Vilve Yachke.

What more better endorsement can you be wanting?