Cuisinart DGB-600BC Grind and Brew, Brushed Chrome | List Price: $235.00
Discount Price: $116.99
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Brand: Cuisinart
Binding: Kitchen
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
Bad Customer Service. Buyer Beware. Bitter Coffee [Posted on 2008-12-28]
Cuisinart needs to evaluate their customer service process. The resulting coffee tastes bitter. Not full-bodied like a cup of coffee should be. The taste is almost sour, bad, weak coffee. (bad for parties) A lot of beans remain in the grinder. I called Cuisinart Customer Service only to be told that "bad coffee taste" is not covered under the warranty and they refused to even REPLACE it. They offered cleaning tips, which I tried, and didn't work. (A vinegar bath for the parts, a baking soda bath for the carafe.) I've tried different beans,(from Peets to Millstone) filtered water, RO water, paper filters (both bleached and non-bleached) , I replaced the gold filter. Cuisinart will not take the coffee maker back because they say there is nothing wrong with it. In my opinion, if a coffee maker makes a crappy cup of coffee, and I as a consumer have tried everything to fix it, then there is something wrong with the machine. Cuisinart told me if I sent the Grind and Brew back to Cuisinart and there was nothing wrong with it, Cuisinart would just ship it back to me. Cuisinart Customer Service was very condescending. I've been drinking and making coffee for years, I splurged on this machine and I am disappointed. I now use a Bodum French Press with plain old tap water. It works great. Shame on you Cuisinart.
Wow, they still make this thing? [Posted on 2008-12-30]
I gave this two stars rather than just one since I used it for over 3 years until finally retiring it this Christmas. Prior to this model, I had another Cusinart grind and brew and was hopeful that Cusinart had addressed the issues with the previous model with this one. The most maddening problem with the previous model was it's tendency to overflow and have coffee run down your counters and into your drawers and cabinets. After a year with this model, I was happy to see that no coffee had yet left the brewer except when I poured a cup (boy, was that about to end!).
My main reasons for buying this machine in the first place was its ability to grind the beans in the machine and the thermal carafe. I'm the only coffee drinker in the house and I like to spread two or three cups over a morning. With a standard coffee maker your coffee is cooked after an hour, especially with a flavored blend. The Thermal Carafe was perfect for spreading out the coffee over the morning and having it taste great.
You need to place this coffee maker next to a sink. It needs a thorough cleaning after at least every other brew cycle. The steam from the brewing comes up into the grinding chamber and turns whatever coffee is left in the chamber into a paste. I found I could get away with a second grind cycle without cleaning, but after that it's impossible to grind any beans without cleaning and drying the grinder assembly. It's best to clean the grinder after it cools down and let it dry overnight before the next pot. I think I did that about 3 times over 3 years.
You also need to dump the machine upside down to remove any beans that may have fallen out of the grinding chamber when filling. If left in the little nooks and crannies of the machine, thanks to the steam, they tend to mold very quickly.
Yes, the machine does sound like a F-16 getting ready for takeoff every time it grinds. Yes, it will wake up your entire household. When getting up early and wanting a cup of coffee I found myself taking the machine out into the garage for the grind cycle, or even just heading to the corner store for a cup of coffee rather than waking everybody.
After about a year I started to notice coffee grinds in the coffee. Then a few weeks later it let loose and brewed the entire pot onto the counter and into the kitchen drawers. After cleaning up the mess the best I could figure was that the gold filter basket was getting clogged and wouldn't drain fast enough, so the coffee went up over the top and then the grounds clogged the bottom drain, forcing the coffee out the top of the brew basket. After replacing the gold basket, everything seemed ok for the next year until the entire brew basket assembly would pop out on its own, usually in the middle of brewing. This of course sent the entire pot of coffee back over the counters and into the drawers again.
My solution was to keep the coffee maker at the edge of the sink during the brewing process, so any overflows or popping brew basket assemblies would just send the coffee down the drain and not throughout the kitchen.
It does make a nice tasting cup of coffee, but I attribute that to the fact that in order for the machine to operate at all, you need to keep it squeaky clean.
This turned into a "man versus machine" battle over the past year. I was determined to get this thing to work and produce a pot of coffee where it belonged. I finally gave up this Christmas when my family bought me a Keurig K-Cup machine. No fuss, no muss, no moldy coffee beans, no paste in the grinder, no coffee in the silverware drawer. Thanks everybody!
Don't Turn Your Back on this Piece of Junk! [Posted on 2009-01-02]
This product has a critical design flaw that causes the main drip filter holder tray to pop open while the unit is operating. If you are not watching the machine like a hawk, the result is hot water and mucky coffee grounds spilled all over the counter. What a mess!
The problem is plastic hooks that wear out prematurely. The overall unit contains way too much plastic, and seems to have been designed by a team of artist "Industrial Designers" without a Mechnanical Engineer involved.
My advice, avoid ALL products from Cusinart. If you need an appliance these days, buying anything with an American/Chinese component is asking for trouble. My next coffee maker will either be German or Korean, at least companies from those countries still seem to have a "real" engineer involved in the design before shipping production to China.
Lousy [Posted on 2009-01-02]
Some what poorly constructed. Looks very fragile. Have not been able to get a good cup of coffee out of the machine. The coffee was very weak (1 bag of tea used several times would be stronger). You have to turn caraffe more than 90 degrees to get coffee out.
Great Coffe! [Posted on 2009-01-03]
After reading many of the vitriolic reviews this little machine has invoked, I was almost convinced to stick with my old Braun Aromaster.
My wife and I visited Lowe's to see the DGB600BC and the various Bunn machines. She liked the looks of the Cuisinart, so you can guess which unit we purchased.......
I was not overly optimistic about the purchase after seeing all of the nitpicky negative posts in this review forum, but after using this machine for a month or so, I have to say that it makes a very good pot of coffee!
The grinder is loud and doesn't grind fine enough for me(I like strong coffee), but the wife likes the autogrind feature.
PROS:
The Thermal Carafe: Outstanding, it keeps the coffee piping hot for a couple hours, if you warm it up first. No more burnt coffee from sitting on a hot warmer.
The Gold Filter Basket: I hate paper filters, this was another selling point for me.
Appearance: It looks very nice on the countertop, I love the black /stainless look.
Price: It was on sale, picked it up for $100.00
Programmable: Easy to set up and use
CONS:(these are all MINOR in my book)
More parts to clean: especially if you use the grinder all the time.
Grinder: Loud and grinds to coarse(for me)
Grinder has to be in place to make a pot of coffee
Final Comment:
I would definitely recommend this machine.
Our friends have had the same unit(in Red) for a year or so and report that it's been a good trouble free machine.
I hope this helps in your decision.
Paul
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