Grind & Brew

I've been thinking about getting a new coffee maker with the grind and brew feature. A simple coffee maker will do, no need for espresso, cappuccino, etc. (although I would take it if necessary).

Also, I'm a fan of the thermal carafe.

Any suggestions?

I sure do like my Capresso machine - my favorite wedding gift received five years ago.

http://capresso.com/prod_makers_s.html

The burr grinder works well, the pre-programmed settings are reliable, and the resulting product is as good as the beans you start with. If my machine ever conks out I'm immediately buying another one.

There is also a thermal carafe version:

http://capresso.com/prod_makers_team.html

I have had a Cuisinart grind and brew for a few years. It is OK. Unlike the Capresso, the grinder part only holds one pot's worth of beans. You have to refill it for each pot. The inside of the thing gets pretty steamy, so any leftover coffee dust turns to mud in the grinder. There are also a lot of parts to clean. However, it has held up pretty well (it gets a lot of workout). It makes very good coffee and the thermal carafe keeps it hot for an amazingly long time (if it is the first pot of the day, you should rinse the carafe with hot water).

My mother, who gave me the Cuisinart, replaced hers with the Capresso coffee team. She says the Capresso is the best cofffee machine she has ever owned (and the most expensive). I think it makes fantastic coffee (better than the cuisinart), and it is easy to setup, program and clean. The grinder on the left side grinds the coffee into the filter, then the spring loaded filter basket flips to the right above the coffee pot. That way, the grinder doesn't get steamed up like on the Cuisinart. My mother (who is very frugal) thinks it was well worth the hefty price tag.

I have a Grind n Brew with the Carafe. I like it enough. You have to clean and dry the grinder daily, but if you have a dishwasher, it's not a big deal. My biggest complaint is that we love strong coffee, so I never make a 10 cup pot. In my opinion, the hopper only holds enough beans for an 8 cupper, and that's if I over fill it.

I bought mine as a refurb for $75 from woot.com. It had a problem where the basket would pop open and hot coffee/grounds would spill everywhere. This was a common problem with the first incarnations of these. (My grandparents had the same thing happened - Cuisinart replaced it.)

I called Cuisinart, who encouraged me to exchange it with the shipper. If you've ever dealt with woot, you'll understand they are a closeout house, and while they are reliable, they don't really take things back. I whined enough that Cuisinart gave me an RMA and I received a brand new machine in 2 weeks.

I would buy it again. The timer works well (and the grinder will wake you out of the deepest sleep). I love the carafe - the coffee doesn't get a cooked taste and the coffee it brews is very good. I think the extra charcoal filter helps with that.

kafein wrote:It had a problem where the basket would pop open and hot coffee/grounds would spill everywhere. This was a common problem with the first incarnations of these. (My grandparents had the same thing happened - Cuisinart replaced it.)

Funny, when I called Cuisinart about the same problem, they told me I needed to clean out the catch with a q-tip. I told them I thought the spring was weak, but they insisted I try to clean it, which I did. I'll be darned if that didn't fix the problem. But now the top pops open, which stops the brewing cycle (but at least coffee grounds and hot water don't pour onto the counter). It seems that the plastic is a little warped. Mind you, the thing has brewed 3-4 pots of coffee a day for 4 years (about 5000 pots). I do like the carafe. You can carry the pot of coffee around with you and it doesn't get cold (in case you couldn't tell, we are big caffeine addicts here).

I previously had a Melitta G&B and recently replaced it with a refurbished Cuisinart Thermal due to a broken latch which forced me to place a heavy object on top of it in order to use the timer.
Both make good coffee but I do prefer the Cuisinart thermal simply because the Melitta would shut off after an hr. With the Cuisinart I can set the time and know the coffee will be hot without sitting on a burner.
It's available today at Amazon for 64.99 refurbished @ http://tinyurl.com/29tkf5