Cuisinart 4-Cup Coffee Maker with Stainless Steel Carafe: Product Review

You've heard the advice to save money by making coffee at home instead of buying it at Starbucks, right? I figured this was a no-brainer (although I still have coffee out once in a while as a treat), but didn't have a coffee maker, so I bought some instant coffee.

Blech! This lasted a while, but I kept going back to buying coffee drinks and sodas because I just wasn't enjoying the instant coffee.

So when my mother asked me what I wanted for my birthday, I immediately said "A coffee maker!" I knew I wanted just a small one, too, as I'd probably be making only a cup or two at a time.

My parents selected the Cuisinart 4-cup Coffee Maker With Stainless Steel Carafe, purchased from Bed, Bath and Beyond. This coffee maker is the perfect size for me, and very easy to use. It's a standard drip coffee maker, just in a smaller size. You put in a paper filter, add two tablespoons of ground coffee per cup (scoop included), add water to the reservoir, make sure the carafe is in place, and turn it on. Within a few minutes, the coffee is brewed.

I did have trouble getting the latches open at first. The top of the coffee maker opens so that you can add the ground coffee and water, and I did have to figure out that yes, it opens in the front, and push a little harder than I though to get it open. Inside, the filter basket has to be set exactly right in order for the lid to close.

I also had trouble opening the carafe. The carafe opens in the side opposite the spout, and it's a little hard to figure out exactly how to lift it. In fact, the first time I used the coffee maker I got annoyed with it, started the coffee anyway, and then discovered that there were additional items packed inside the carafe. Oops.

However, once I figured these things out, I was able to make a cup of coffee. I found that I really did need to measure the coffee exactly with the scoop in order to make a good cup of coffee. I also found that I needed to pour water in until it was a little bit above the one-cup line in order to get a full cup.

Other handy features: this coffee make has a Brew-Pause feature, which means that you can quickly remove the carafe while coffee is still brewing, pour yourself a cup, and put it back to continue brewing. If you're a drinker of multiple cups and can't wait a minute more for your first cup, this might be helpful. The coffee maker also automatically shuts off after 30 minutes, so if you forget to turn it off, you are less likely to set the house on fire or burn out your coffee maker.

If you're in the market for a small coffee maker, the Cuisinart 4-cup should fill the bill.