eatingjuice


quality posts: 7 Private Messages eatingjuice

I have this exact coffee maker. Needless to say, I now buy my jo from Starbucks.

huntroll


quality posts: 1 Private Messages huntroll

Had one for years, works great. Because there are many parts where gunk can collect, it is essential to clean those areas. I'm thinking most people with issues just don't clean all the parts properly. Beans sit overnight in the compartment for grinding in the morning, the person who says that's going to lose the flavor the next morning? Well, maybe get some better beans?

All in all it's a nice automatic grinding maker for the price. It'll last years assuming that you are not a slob. And if you are? Well, I guess there's always Starbucks.

mikiyp


quality posts: 1 Private Messages mikiyp

Most of the complaints are about how difficult this is to clean. Are there any coffee grinder/maker combos out there at a similar price that are a cinch to clean?

gty


quality posts: 3 Private Messages gty

looks like it's saying "Ex-Ter-Min-Ate! Ex-Ter-Min-Aaaaate!"

clearcutandburn


quality posts: 1 Private Messages clearcutandburn

I've had one of these using paper filters, for about 3 years.

Pros:
It makes coffee.
It has a timer.
The Thermal Carafe keeps the coffee reasonably hot for a couple of hours.


Cons:
It makes weak coffee if you expect 10 cups. 6 cups is about the max unless you grind the coffee separately.

Hard to clean.

It wastes coffee - about .5 to 1 oz of ground coffee sticks in the grinder every time.
You must clean and dry the grinder fastidiously or it wastes even more coffee.

The filter basket springs open on random days spewing hot water.

The Brew Pause feature randomly fails spewing coffee and coffee grounds.

We keep this coffee maker in a tray to catch the random failures. We use the 4 cup feature to boost the flavor.


russianspi


quality posts: 0 Private Messages russianspi

I got one of these for my wedding. It was WAY more expensive than the one we had asked for, but it was a nice treat. The thing that I noticed right off the bat was that it made better tasting coffee than I expected, using the same coffee. I realized that this was due to the built in water filter (or "carbon filter", as the description calls it). Apparently, having really pure water makes a big difference in your pot of coffee. After a few months, the quality of the coffee started to decline, and I figured that it was time to change the water filter. The trouble was, I didn't know where to get one. I looked at many stores that sell the machines, and even tried parts departments from these stores, and no one had any idea where to find the filter. Eventually, I gave up. It still made coffee, and the built in timer and grinder were nice, but it was never the same without the water filter.

I've since moved out of the country and gave the coffee maker away, but some quick searching now turns up some replacement parts on the manufacturer's website (including 12 of those elusive filters for $34.95, and something called a "filter subscription" for $17.99).

Details on the product (including replacement parts and an option to buy the machine new for $129) are here: http://www.cuisinart.com/products/coffee_bar/dgb-650bc.html
and details on the filter subscription are here: https://www.cuisinart.com/products/waterfilters.html

eProvided8com


quality posts: 0 Private Messages eProvided8com

I already own One!

The Slowest Coffee maker I have ever owned!

Buyer Beware!

fairnymph


quality posts: 55 Private Messages fairnymph

I have a similar model - same brand and size but doesn't grind - and it is the best coffee maker I've ever used. I prefer drip coffee, and Cuisinart machines produce perfectly brewed, piping hot coffee without fail. My machine has operated flawlessly for about 5 years now.

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Corrado


quality posts: 130 Private Messages Corrado

Volunteer Moderator

I have different version of this, but the basic design is the same.

- Cleaning the grinder is something of a pain the first few times you do it, but it just becomes part of the routine.

- Basket filter doesn't help with the lack of boldness. It took me about a week to find the right balance to make a good pot of coffee (which meant using about 25% more beans than I should have to use).

- Increase in beanage = decreased maximum pot size. I can only brew about 8 "cups" in the 12 cup (glass) pot if I use the bean grinder. Anything else overstuffs the grinder and it doesn't work.

- If you use the grider, at some point every person who makes coffee in your household will forget to put an empty filter in the basket and you'll make a HUGE mess. You do that once and then you don't ever forget again.

- Coffee is quite hot; haven't temp tested, but I'm guessing that the water is better prepared for ideal extraction that many other makers.

- The grinder is loud and runs for way longer than it needs to. That said, I don't think it's any louder than any other coffee grinder.

- Though it is a 'bean chopper,' there is a screen that puts the grounds into the basket before it powderizes the coffee. You actually do get a pretty consistent grind from it.

If I didn't already have one, I'd pick this one up. I may end up doing it anyway just for 'parts' and the stainless carafe.

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HarveyH45


quality posts: 3 Private Messages HarveyH45

Refurbished doesn't mean the same as used. Products go back to the factory for many reasons. But I'm a little concerned about food related products, paranoid I guess. Might as well try and sell me refurbished condoms...

The grinder is a chopper-style blade, so you won't get an even grind, or a consistent cup.

I like my coffee strong, don't see anyway to make it right with this machine. Would guess most people would see an improvement, since it filters the water, instead of straight from the tap. Obviously need to clean it frequently, so no burnt leftovers. No paper filter. Fresh ground has a much better flavor. Coffee the day after the beans are roasted is the best.

iSpoiler09


quality posts: 3 Private Messages iSpoiler09

Have one of these at my office. Its ok, nothing special. My complaints about it is that the grinder is a little louder than your standard garbage disposal so be sure to remember to hit the "grind off" button. The pot itself is a little heavy and you cant see in it you really don't know how much coffee is left. Is it a big deal... only if its a communal pot that follows the "you kill the joe you make some mo'" rules. There is a bit of a learning curve on actually opening everything up to make a new pot and the basket filter is just kinda meh and I can confirm previous comments about the inside fogging up. All in all sorry Woot but I'm gunna have to say it... for the money not worth it and you're better off getting the free pot from one of those Gevalia deals.

arribasn


quality posts: 6 Private Messages arribasn

My inlaws had 2 of these go out in less than 3 years, I think they paid not much more than this new at costco.

pinksnowflake


quality posts: 0 Private Messages pinksnowflake

i have one of these coffee pots, they are great and the coffee pot keeps the coffee warm and fresh most of the day.

littlejon326


quality posts: 0 Private Messages littlejon326

We sell several of these at my work (Retail is $130 or so) and over the last four years I have yet to see very very few come back, and less so to see anyone dissatisfied. It doesn't have the hopper like the larger models but is very simple to use, makes great coffee, and the gold tone filter that it comes with ($20 otherwise) should last you the life of the coffee maker and save you some green by not having to buy the paper filters.

Only drawback is that it uses a blade to chop and grind the beans as opposed to a burr grinder which helps retains the flavor a bit due to only have to do a single pass and not continually whack and heat the beans up. (if you're a coffee snob, otherwise i doubt youd notice)

tomdog20


quality posts: 0 Private Messages tomdog20

Had these for years. Previous model with non-thermal carafe was a refurb with a 6-inch cord. Have had this model for about 2 years and love having hot, non-burned coffee hours after my wife has left for work. The loudness of the grinder is bothersome enough that we grind the coffee at Costco when we buy it. The previous refurb lasted 3 years before the grinder died and the plastic thingy that kept coffee from coming out without the pot in place broke off.
As for the carbon filters, I've gotten them at the surviving Linens N Things competitor with their common 20% off coupons. Also seen them at the blue home improvement superstore.

ckeilah


quality posts: 138 Private Messages ckeilah

I've had several Con-Air, Cuisinart, Waring, etc. products that broke and Con-Air, the parent company, basically told me to go take a leap off a high bridge with my broken device tied around my ankles. YMMV, but I thought I'd put my experience out there for y'all to chew on while you wait for shirt.woot.com to fail repeatedly....

Please do not increment my Quality Posts count. 69 is a good place to be. ;-)
MOD: We had to...we just HAD TO...

ckeilah


quality posts: 138 Private Messages ckeilah

I'm just here to tell you as a coffee expert, French Press is the only way to go. Burr grinder. Water at exactly 176F. Better coffee than any machine can ever make. Yes, you do have to actually press down on a plunger, which seems to be too much for this Jetson's Generation. "Ow! My typing finger is too sore to make coffee. Please coffee robot, make it for me." Enjoy your weak coffee tainted swill. ;-)

Please do not increment my Quality Posts count. 69 is a good place to be. ;-)
MOD: We had to...we just HAD TO...

showcaller


quality posts: 23 Private Messages showcaller

For those of you who have one of these things, how long does it take it to actually brew the coffee. It seems the trusty ol Mr. Coffee brews 12 cups the quickest of any of them. My wife and I have tried several as the carafes broke or whatever. We keep coming back to Mr, Coffee, which by now is probably old man coffee but he still puts out one hell of an easy to clean coffee maker.

happy wooting.

SuperChaos


quality posts: 2 Private Messages SuperChaos

I have had one for 3 years. I have a separate bean grinder so I do not have to clean the thing out very often. There is a button on the front for a "Grind Off" option. The carafe keeps the coffee hot for about 3 hours.

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iSpoiler09


quality posts: 3 Private Messages iSpoiler09

hahah YES!!! Triple T gets me on the main page. WOOOOOOOO!!!YOU KNOW YOU CANT BRING THIS WEEK ASS STUFF UP IN THIS HUMPY BUMPY.

DaveD1420


quality posts: 6 Private Messages DaveD1420

Ugh. Roast your own beans, get a burr grinder, and press pot it. You'll never look at coffee the same way again.

0x776F6F7421


quality posts: 3 Private Messages 0x776F6F7421
rpm1200 wrote:
Since it's out of warranty and I'm a huge electronics geek, I took it apart. There were stress cracks on the timer circuit board - the board HAS NEVER fit in the coffee maker correctly. I tried to fix the broken traces and improved it for a while, but it's still flaky.



Well, if you're a huge geek, I'd say it's time to build your own replacement controller

As to others' remarks about weak coffee, maybe buy stronger coffee? I guess that's why I think Starbuck's is good; people say that stuff is awfully strong.

After a week or two of having a jet engine starting up in the kitchen every morning, we began to sleep through it. And have ever since.

@Showcaller: Seems like brew time is 10 minutes.

hangoutright


quality posts: 0 Private Messages hangoutright

I have used one of these for 4 years, if you don't use the grinder it's a great coffee maker. The pot keeps the coffee hot for several hours. My wife wakes up early has her coffee, I sleep in and enjoy hot coffee from the same pot. Everybody is happy.

tuberboy


quality posts: 0 Private Messages tuberboy

I have owned this coffee maker for about a year. It works very well. You can use the basket filter, or regular paper filters. You can grind whole bean, or just put in ground coffee.

More cleanup than a standard coffee maker, but it all comes apart pretty easily, so you can just wash it all in the sink or dishwasher.

It is loud when using the grind first option. It does not sound like a Jet Engine. It sounds like a coffee grinder, because it is...a coffee grinder.

bogawoot


quality posts: 0 Private Messages bogawoot
clearcutandburn wrote:I've had one of these using paper filters, for about 3 years.

Pros:
It makes coffee.
It has a timer.
The Thermal Carafe keeps the coffee reasonably hot for a couple of hours.


Cons:
It makes weak coffee if you expect 10 cups. 6 cups is about the max unless you grind the coffee separately.

Hard to clean.

It wastes coffee - about .5 to 1 oz of ground coffee sticks in the grinder every time.
You must clean and dry the grinder fastidiously or it wastes even more coffee.

The filter basket springs open on random days spewing hot water.

The Brew Pause feature randomly fails spewing coffee and coffee grounds.

We keep this coffee maker in a tray to catch the random failures. We use the 4 cup feature to boost the flavor.



I'd sell it on Craigslist and never keep it.
If you want a recipe for the best, GREAT, strong, delicious relaxed early morning coffee? Here ya go.

1. Buy a $20 Kitchenaid cofee Grinder on Amazon.
2. Buy a $30 Generic Drip Coffemaker (with timer) locally so you can try it out until you get the one model that doesn't have failures or make a mess like the guy quoted above...Or buy a glass French press if you don't mind boiling water and cleaning up.
3. Buy cofee beans locally roasted less than 4 days ago (our local COSTCO bought a million dollar giant roaster from Starbucks and roasts beans every day...yummmmmmm ! ! !
5. Use only water from reverse-osmosis or the best purifier you can get.

Grind the night before, put water and grounds in machine and set timer to complete brew cycle 5 min's before you are ready to pour. Voi-la...AMAZING fresh coffee EVERY morning !

Do-everything machines are a mess and hard to clean. DON't buy this !

bikealounger


quality posts: 1 Private Messages bikealounger

I love this coffee maker. I have had mine for about 8 years! Used it this morning. Nothing like fresh ground beans and the thermal caraf keeps the coffee from "cooking."

jstept


quality posts: 0 Private Messages jstept
ckeilah wrote:I'm just here to tell you as a coffee expert, French Press is the only way to go. Burr grinder. Water at exactly 176F. Better coffee than any machine can ever make. Yes, you do have to actually press down on a plunger, which seems to be too much for this Jetson's Generation. "Ow! My typing finger is too sore to make coffee. Please coffee robot, make it for me." Enjoy your weak coffee tainted swill. ;-)



I second the comments about burr grinding and water temperature, but I strongly recommend a newer invention: the Aeropress. Coffee just as good as a french press, but much easier to clean. Also, uses small circles of filter paper (which can be reused several times) so no grit. It's really an espresso maker (1 to 4 shots), but I usually dilute 2 shots to Americano strength for a regular cup. It's a very well-designed device, and makes better-tasting coffee than anything else I've ever owned.

blonderepublic


quality posts: 1 Private Messages blonderepublic

Read the aforementioned comments, but I couldn't help pulling the trigger for my parents' Christmas present. -_-

It's actually a decent coffee pot. It's perfect for those who don't need their coffee so strong it's the consistency of syrup and tasting like acidic dirt... just plain coffee in a fancy maker, just like my parents like it.

Woot wins tonight.

bogawoot


quality posts: 0 Private Messages bogawoot
SuperChaos wrote:I have had one for 3 years. I have a separate bean grinder so I do not have to clean the thing out very often. There is a button on the front for a "Grind Off" option. The carafe keeps the coffee hot for about 3 hours.



Ok...so WHY buy this?

DON"T...buy a grinder and a inexpensive drip maker and use purified water.

Wildman63


quality posts: 0 Private Messages Wildman63
ckeilah wrote:I'm just here to tell you as a coffee expert, French Press is the only way to go. Burr grinder. Water at exactly 176F. Better coffee than any machine can ever make. Yes, you do have to actually press down on a plunger, which seems to be too much for this Jetson's Generation. "Ow! My typing finger is too sore to make coffee. Please coffee robot, make it for me." Enjoy your weak coffee tainted swill. ;-)



I'm with you... I roast my own beans (about twice a week), grind them in a burr grinder just before brewing in a French Press. No need for an insulated carafe... brew fresh just before drinking.

What passes for coffee by most people is swill. Some people actually drink instant (yuck).

Roast fresh, grind fresh and press fresh. Even store roasted beans lose a lot of flavor in a week. That lovely smell is the aroma lost before you drink your coffee. Green beans will stay fresh for months... roasted ones about a week and ground ones for a day or two.

blonderepublic


quality posts: 1 Private Messages blonderepublic

Woot's servers seem to be screwed up. No one has any status next to their name on the discussion board (i.e. colored block, number of woots, number of posts, etc).

Prob related to earlier posts about slow servers. Hurry up and fix it, woot, for we love thee.

alphaomegadeth


quality posts: 0 Private Messages alphaomegadeth

I, too, have this coffee maker and for the most part I like it. Hands down, the thermal carafe is the best feature. Keeps your coffee hot for hours after it's been brewed.

The comments about the grinder being loud and a drag to clean are true. Of course, I've gotten used to it and have my evening coffee prep routine down. I like the timer feature because manual coffee making is one less thing I have to worry about during the morning rush. I just fill my thermos and then hit the road.

I think someone mentioned that it takes a long time to brew with this particular model. If I recall, I think it takes 15 minutes to complete the brew process.

As far as the strength/weakness of the coffee quality, I couldn't really say for sure. Admittedly, I like to add a bunch of foo-foo stuff to my coffee, so I really can't comment on the taste quality of the coffee in its virgin state. But I do share my coffee with a co-worker who's more of a french press guy and seemingly prefers to chew his coffee, so needless to say, he likes it strong. He claims the quality of the coffee from this Grind & Brew is pretty decent. Of course I usually use bold blends like Starbucks Sumatra, so maybe that helps.

Haven't checked prices recently (I've had my coffee maker for 3+ years now), but it would be a rare occasion to find a new model (w/ thermal carafe) for under $100. I think I saw it for $99 once but it was some type of a pre-Xmas (black friday) doorbuster deal or something like that.

amaxis


quality posts: 0 Private Messages amaxis

Got one also - the thermal carafe is the bomb. Makes decent coffee. Noise never bothered me nor did I have a problem with the grinder steam-up thing. It is a bit of work to clean, which is the biggest negative to me. Owned it for 5 years, always works. For this price it's not a bad deal.

supermel74


quality posts: 0 Private Messages supermel74

I had one of these a few months back but it stopped working so I urinated in the pot before I returned it.

acidcasualty


quality posts: 1 Private Messages acidcasualty

Had one. The best and easiest way to clean it is to take out all the removable parts, set them in an empty sink, and attack them with the sprayer until you've blown all the coffee off. Takes about a minute, and then you just leave them to dry until the next day's pot.

Someday, on my deathbed, I'm sure I'll mutter something like, "I wish I'd spent more time on Woot waiting for Bags of Crap."

mmmbort


quality posts: 0 Private Messages mmmbort

We had one of these a few years ago. We bought it new, and paid an obscene amount for it.

Short review:
If you like bad coffee made with difficulty, this is your machine. It was, no contest, the single most hated appliance in my life.

Long review:
We very quickly found the things first problem - the grinder sits directly above where the hot water goes into the carafe. Steam rises into the grinder and converts whatever coffee is left into a sticky paste that's hard to remove. If you make another pot, you need to make sure everything is clean and dry, or the next batch of ground coffee will stick to any wet spots.

Second problem is the amazingly loud jet-engine like howl of the grinder. If you weren't awake before you pressed start, by god, you will be afterwards! It goes on seemingly forever, too.

It also made fairly weak coffee (though plenty hot), so we'd put in as much coffee as possible and then reduce the amount of water.

After we'd lived with this thing for a few months, it decided we didn't hate it enough, so it began to occasionally pop open while brewing. This would result in a half a pot of weak, gritty coffee in the carafe, and a half a pot of weak coffee all over the countertop and floor. It also left a horrible mess inside the machine itself, grounds everywhere in various nooks and crannies.

After one of these episodes, the electronics failed, and it wouldn't brew or grind until I tore into it and dried it out.

The "brew-pause" feature stopped working after a while, too, a not uncommon problem with any coffee pot, but this one failed earlier than most.

Towards the end, the hugely over-complicated hinge and latch assembly that holds the basket in failed entirely, and we resorted to holding the front closed with a piece of tape.

When we finally replaced it (with a cheap Mr. Coffee machine that works great), my wife threw it out before I had a chance to shoot it, light it on fire and dance on its ashes...

j647


quality posts: 0 Private Messages j647
djkid1974 wrote:These are FANTASTIC! Like the other person above, we've had one for like 4 years and it still runs fine. I have had a few minor problems with it but Cuisinart has always replaced any part for free. It's not under warranty but they have always done it anyways. You do have to break it down about once a month or more and give it a good cleaning besides just dumping out the old grounds. It builds up a little residue in a certain place which eventually leads to a problem with the grinding or brewing but it's a quick 3 minute fix by cleaning it. I recommend highly for this price! Ohhh.. best way to clean the pot is to fill it with water and add 1/4 of bleach and let it sit overnight.



vinegar works as well as bleach and isn't as caustic....or dangerous

inkwench


quality posts: 1 Private Messages inkwench

I have exactly this coffee maker, and have had it for a few years.

Previous to this, I had a few other Cuisinart Grind 'n' Brews.

As demonstrated by this long-standing product loyalty, I like these. Makes good coffee fairly reliably. Yes, the first few days you set the coffee maker for auto-matic turn on, it will wake you if you sleep anywhere close to your coffee maker's home site. Over time, though, you start sleeping through it. In other words, don't rely on it as your alarm clock--ask me how I know. [g]

And yes, it makes great coffee! If you use good beans--I suppose if your idea of good coffee is burned Starbucks with a lot of flavorings and cream and sugar in it, it won't taste good, but you've already trained yourself against good coffee.

Having said all that, though, I do agree with those that say the French press is better--I'm just too slothful to rely on that. In the next month or so, I'm swapping this out for a new auto burr-mill grind and brew--burr mills are decisively better, but way more pricey.

In inverse and not complete order. Rinfrescante. Pepper Bridge. Saxon Brown. Monkey Prize. Vina Robles. Ty Caton Tytanium (always!). Roshambo. Polyphemus. Donati Family. Poizon. Montinore. Kent Rasumussen. Mumm Napa. Boss Monster. Iron Horse. Albino Rhino. White Zeppelin, Buttonwood Farm, 8-Bit, Ty Caton Racchus, Twas!

Shereeinfl


quality posts: 0 Private Messages Shereeinfl

I really like this Cuisinart coffee maker, but I don't use the noisy/messy grind option. And to clean the thermos, fill it with hot water and a Cascade w/Dawn dishwasher packet and let it soak for a few hours. It sparkles.

LastApeMan


quality posts: 18 Private Messages LastApeMan
anddreus wrote:I own one of these. It's been in my house for 4 years now and still brewing great coffee. I recommend it to anyone.



did you get it free with another one when you subscibed to the mail offer?

Like my sister did.

I have one og these FREE - and so does my sister. FREE. and they were both brand new.

all she did was subscribe then she canceled afte a few months - cost her like 25.00 cause she actually bought some of thier beans.

now we just buy bulk beans in the store and everythings all good.

i bet these are returns from people who subscribed and then didn't realize they could keep them if they cancelled.

weird eh? anyway - i'd prolly be tempted to get one of these if i didnt have one. i didnt say i'd buy it, I'd just be tempted.

You know - like when your wife eyeballs me at the stop light. just like that. then I hit the gas. LOL

What Lies Behind Us and Lies Before Us are Small Matters Compared to What Lies Right to Our Faces.