Cuisinart DGB-550BK Grind-and-Brew 12-Cup Automatic Coffeemaker
Buy at Amazon for $80. Normally $185.

The Good

Grinder Included
Easy To Use (Program, Pour, etc)
Makes Good Coffee

The Bad

Blade Grinder
Grinder Doesn’t Hold Enough Beans
Lots Of Parts To Clean

The Cuisinart Grind And Brew Coffeemaker testing is complete and the results are in. There’s a few drawbacks, but overall I like this coffeemaker and use it daily.

Good

The good starts with the carafe. While I miss the thermal carafe of the Zojirushi Coffeemaker that I reviewed earlier this month, this Cuisinart carafe is easy to fill and almost never dripped or created a miss.

The water reservoir inside of the coffeemaker is easy to pour into and it has easy to read markings so I knew exactly how much water I poured into the chamber.

The Cuisinart comes with a grinder inside of the coffeemaker, so you don’t need a separate grinder. All you need to do is put the beans into the basket and it does the rest of the work.

If you want to use ground coffee or grind the beans separately, there is a setting that allows you to do that.

Cusinart supplies paper filters for this coffee maker, but it also comes with a gold tone filter. I used the paper filters once, but I haven’t looked back since then. I love the gold filter. It may take a couple seconds to clean, but I like it better than using a single paper filter over and over.

The machine is very easy to program. I didn’t even need the instructions to figure out how to set it. And for a guy that hates to ask for directions, that’s exactly what I like.

I like the idea of the 1-4 cup setting, but the coffee addict in me doesn’t see myself using it that often. However, for testing purposes I did give it a shot. It did seem to heat the water higher temperature, compared to other coffeemakers, bringing out more of the flavor.

I had zero problems with the brew and pause feature making a mess, in fact I’ve pretty much become addicted to using it so I can get that hit of caffeine even sooner.

And when it’s all done, it beeps to let you know that it’s finished. I don’t exactly need it because by then I’m usually hovering around the coffeemaker, waiting my next caffeine fix, but it’s nice to have.

Bad

The first real flaw of this coffeemaker was the grinder and basket for the beans. It’s a blade grinder and while it’s better than buying ground coffee, the blade grinder isn’t as effective at grinding the beans compared to a burr grinder which is much more precise.

The one thing that I really didn’t like about this coffeemaker was that the grinder basket didn’t hold enough beans. They recommend one scoop per cup of coffee, which makes some pretty weak coffee. I like one and a half or two scoops per cup. Twelve scoops barely fit into the grinder and when I tried to put more, it just wouldn’t grind all of the beans.

Then they provide a brush to clean out the grinder basket. It’s a nice concept, but in reality during the coffee brewing process, the chamber fills up with steam so the remaining dust attaches itself to the basket and cover. Then I have to take the grinder out and rinse it in the sink to truly clean it.

It’s not just the grinder, there’s just lots of parts to clean. It’s probably not more than cleaning a separate grinder and coffeemaker, but it does take a couple of minutes to clean properly after each use.

The grinder is also pretty loud. It’s slightly quieter than my other blade grinders, but it’s loud enough where I can hear it another room, even with the door closed.

Overall, I like the Cuisinart Grind And Brew. It made great tasting coffee and made making coffee a lot easier. It’s a major improvement over the cheap Mr. Coffeemaker that I was using before. I just recommend using it just for 6-8 cups of coffee. I’ve been using it just about every day since I took it out of the wrapping paper. However, if you want to spend more money, there is a higher end version of this coffeemaker that has a thermal carafe, a burr grinder and more space for beans in the grinder basket.

Disclosure: Thanks again to my friend and blogging arch nemesis Jen from Stiletto Sports for getting me this coffeemaker for Christmas. She didn’t ask me to review it, the only purpose of the gift was so that I would get rid of my aging Mr. Coffee coffeemaker and replace it with something a lot better.

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Cuisinart Grind-and-Brew Coffeemaker Review

by Mike on January 27, 2010 in Coffee Equipment Reviews,Coffee Makers

{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }

Melody January 27, 2010 at 10:02 pm

Mike I can’t believe you had a Mr. Coffeemaker before! Isn’t the bad part of this also that the coffee sits in a glass carafe on a burner getting burned? I would think that a Thermal carafe coffee maker would be better for better quality coffee. In our house, we’re sold on a Melitta pour over. Few parts, takes up little space, and it’s fresh by the cup.
As always, thank you for the many great blog posts.
Melody´s last blog ..The $1 off Starbucks Perfect Oatmeal card – A current promotion and a great deal!

Mike January 27, 2010 at 10:12 pm: I love that the Thermal carafe keeps it warm, but at my place it never stays in the pot long enough to cool down. For the hot plate ones, it’s the same thing. I drink it before it gets burnt or I end up turning it off so it doesn’t over heat it. Funny that you say that, I’m reviewing a Melitta pour over very soon.

Rose January 27, 2010 at 10:52 pm

I know two people with the older version of this coffee maker. And now that I read your review I will tell them not to upgrade to the most recent “grind and brew.” I always find gadgets that have gadgets to be a little sub-par. This coffee maker seems expensive to me, but I’m broke right now, so everything is expensive.

Thanks for your insightful review Mike. As always I will take your word for it. You my friend, are a trustworthy coffee resource.
I loved my Jarbee coffee this morning!! Thank you soo much.
Rose´s last blog ..Tattoo My Forehead

Mike January 28, 2010 at 9:37 pm: From the one time I’ve seen the older version, I’d say it’s an upgrade, but there are other coffee makers out there at a similar price point that might be better.

I try to be a trustworthy coffee resource, I can’t tell you much I enjoy doing the research for it!

Glad you got the coffee!

Extreme John January 28, 2010 at 9:15 pm

Wow I didn’t even know they made coffee machines that could do that kind of stuff, why didn’t you tell me this BEFORE I bought my coffee pot.

UNREAL!!

I can’t wait until my coffee maker dies again.
Extreme John´s last blog ..Extreme Tan and Smoothies 2009 Recap

Mike January 28, 2010 at 9:35 pm: I believe you bought a coffee maker without even letting me know! This would’ve been a great addition to the extreme kitchen!

Jason Coffee January 30, 2010 at 12:11 am

This is exactly what I thought about the machine when I first got it, I would have given it a 4 out of 5. But after having it for 6 months I have to say there are some hang ups to say the least. Two problems for me include the hopper being way to small and some hardware that is starting to breakdown after my daily usage. I went into more detail in my latest post.