Product Review: Cuisinart Grind and Brew Coffee Makers
Good Coffee, Bad Design!
Here's the worst problem: The grinder gets wet when rising steam from the hot water going through the grounds in the basket condenses inside the grinder. Then a varnish-like coffee sludge made of the ultra-fine coffee dust in the grinder dribbles down behind the carafe and onto the heater. I like the smell of fresh-brewed coffee, but scorched coffee sludge is revolting.
Any gardener will tell you that coffee grounds are great in compost heaps because they provide nutrients for the assorted molds and bacteria that break down garden waste into "compost". The Cuisinart Grind & Brew coffee makers, unfortunately, provide that same environment inside the coffee maker. The moist crevices filled with coffee dust are fantabulous places for common household molds to grow. I can't spray it with any cleaners because it might ruin the electronics, and I can't reach some of the crevices. Is that a big "yuck factor" or what?
Despite the complex interlocks the Cuisinart engineers devised to keep me from grinding my fingers, their coffee maker needs supervision during brewing. Coffee particles build up in the uncleanable areas of the latches and interlocks. Occasionally, to make your mornings exciting, the latch fails and the basket holder pops open during the grinding cycle, letting the grinder spew coffee particles all over the kitchen. Sometimes the basket holder pops open during the brew cycle and scalding coffee dribbles onto the countertop and floor. If you move fast and slam the basket shut it's less mess to clean up.
The grinder is the same on all three coffee pots. You can't adjust the grinder to fine or coarse, so you have to control the brew strength by changing the quantity of coffee beans you grind. The 12-cup model, unfortunately, only holds the same quantity of beans as the smaller models, so unless you like weak coffee you can't make 12 cups.
Cuisinart Grind & Brew Models:
- Cuisinart Grind & Brew DGB-300 Coffee Maker - This is the cheapest model. It does not have a timer.
- Cuisinart Grind & Brew Thermal 10-Cup Automatic Coffeemaker - Has an insulated carafe to hold the brew.
- Cuisinart Grind & Brew DGB-500 12-Cup Automatic Coffeemaker - The size of the grinder is a problem with this model, because it doesn't hold enough beans to make anything resembling strong coffee for a full carafe.
I found similar complaints from other review sites, so it's not just me. The Cuisinart Grind & Brew coffee makers are a design disaster. I like fresh-ground coffee, so I'm using a separate grinder for now while I look for a better design in a combination grind and brew coffee maker.
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9 Comments
Post a CommentTo allow the filter tray to slide out smoothly, I clear the slide areas by taking a large soft brush, dunking the brush in hot soapy water and brushing the rails with lots of scrubbing, getting the rails as wet as possible. It helps if you place the coffee maker near the edge of the sink, tipping the maker to prevent the water from sitting in the hot plate area. You can rinse using the brush with clean water. You cannot allow water in the upper section where the electonics are, but water around the hot plate area seems to be okay.
Mime pops out only because the latch under the button is not fully engaged sometimes. It's real easy to tell. Feel the button to see if it's in or out. It will be sank in if the latch isn't fully engaged. Just keep pushing the basket in more until the button snaps back out. I showed family members how to pay attention to the button, and more spills.
And yes, this machine is a pain to keep clean... One of the things happens which ultimately causes the basket to be hard to push in and causes the pops-out problem is that the rails that the basket rides on get dried coffee in them. To fix I just push the basket in and out a million times which breaks up the coffee in there and the coffee will start to fall out.
This machine will do funny things like shutting off and taking along time to make coffee if the dried coffee drips in the back are not cleaned at least monthly.
Read from the bottom of the contents, up. I do not know how to post a long comment, and this site removes my paragraph formatting.
My wife was horrified when I sought to fix this, because I originally planned to buy a giant C-clamp to hold the thing in place. I found one at a used hardware store, but I knew she would hit the ceiling if she saw this giant clamp encircling the Cuisinart, so I sought a simpler solution, which works for both of us.
Tad Cook
Seattle, WA
(continued) with the erasers vertical (referencing the way they will be placed against the coffee maker door) inside the 5 3/4 inch wide strip, and wrapped the strip round and round vertically with a couple of layers now covering the erasers.
The erasers stay inside the wrap, because they are rubbery and so is the shelf liner.
Then I place the wrap (which is now about 3 x 3/4 x 5 3/4) against the door, with the 3 inch side vertical, and hold it in place with the bungee cord, fastened to itself in the rear. I did it myself, but a third hand from someone else would help.
This hack probably isn't for everyone, but it works great for me, and seems to be an inexpensive permanent solution to the filter door problem. My filter door NEVER pops out, and I suspect I could even use more beans and water, as referenced above.
My wife was horrified when I sought to fix this, because I originally planned to buy a giant C-clamp to hold the thing in place. I found one at a used h
(comtinued, start at page bottom) But I found the ultimate hack (what the techies these days call solutions that my father referred to as "jerry-rigged") that solved the pop-open problem.
I tried rubber bands to hold the basket in during brewing, but this didn't work because the front of the door that holds the basket is actually recessed nearly 1/4 inch from the front face of the sides, so it could still pop out a little bit, enough to make a mess.
What finally worked was to use a 19-inch bungee cord, wrapped around the coffeemaker at the filter door level, holding something soft and at least a half inch thick against the front.
I cut a 5 3/4 inch wide strip, about 12 inches long of some perforated soft rubbery shelf liner that I found in a close-out bin at a discount store.
I enclosed several of those large Papermate Pink Pearl pencil erasers (about 2 1/2 x 13/16 x 7/16 inch) in the shelf liner, with the erasers vertical (referencing the way they will be placed ag
(continued, read up from the bottom posts): and forgetfulness, I forgot to put a filter in the basket. The grounds clogged the spring loaded mechanism that drains coffee into the thermos when the thermos is in place, and the basket fills up and overflows. Same thing happened a few times when I forgot to replace the thermos into the coffee maker.
No fault of the design, of course, just stupid user error.
Cuisinart was very generous about sending me a free basket and basket lid when I called, in case they were contributing to the problem.
But ultimately, as the latch mechanism wears down, there are no new parts available to repair this. When customers send an in-warranty unit in for this kind of repair, Cuisinart just gives them a new one, so if you own one that is out of warranty, your only solution would be to purchase a new one, a solution I didn't like.
But I found the ultimate hack (what the techies these days call solutions that my father referred to as "jerr
continued: with a Q-tip., which helped also. If you are finicky about making everything inside LOOK really clean, with no stains, this is probably not the product for you, although myself I have always noticed this problem with automatic coffee makers, which always collect coffee stains.
The instructions say not to immerse the coffee maker, but I have taken mine down to the basement laundry room, placed it in the sink, and sprayed the thing inside with a pressurized stream of water.
I let it dry for a long time before using it, and had no problem with the electronics, which are pretty well sealed from moisture, I suspect.
I bought mine refurbished, probably 6+ years ago, and with daily use I think the latch mechanism does wear down, contributing to the messy pop-out, which is a nightmare if I have set it to grind and brew coffee in the morning before I rise.
This makes a huge mess, similar to the times (twice over the years) when due to my advancing age and forget
I love my DGB-600BC, but have had the problem with the basket popping out. I talked to product support at Cuisinart, and their suggestions were helpful.
One suggestion was that I had the grinder too full of beans and was using too much water. Only fill the beans up to the line below the edge of the grinder, not up to, or over the top.
It is possible to fill it over the rim, since the clear top keeps all the beans inside, and this is a temptation for those of us in Seattle who love our coffee strong.
Also, using more water is a temptation when we want more coffee. Mine is marked for up to 10 cups inside the water cistern, and it is possible to use more.
But if I put in 8 cups, less steam is generated, and the door is less likely to pop out. By the way, these are 5 ounce, not 8 ounce "cups". So 8 cups will give me about 40 ounces of coffee, or 1 quart plus 1 standard 8 ounce cup.
The support person also suggested I clean the latch mechanism with a Q-tip., which helped a
You know what, I agree. We bought this coffee maker and it is really hard to clean. I'm not that thrilled with it.