Cuisinart Grind and Brew Thermal 10-Cup CoffeeMaker: A Good Buying Decision?

Author's Rating:

Pros: Quick, easy to use, a few neat extras

Cons: A little expensive

The Bottom Line: 
A very good coffeemaker.

Author's Review
My wife and I have had the Cuisinart Grind and Brew Thermal 10-Cup Coffeemaker since the end of the summer. Yet, we have only used it a couple of times as neither of us are big coffee drinkers. However, we got a heck of a lot of use out of it over the holidays. We found out that we have a pretty good coffee maker.

The first thing you notice about the Grind and Brew is that it is a very modern looking coofeemaker. The stainless steel casing has a few black accents to it and looks as trendy as you can possibly want. You also quickly notice that it is not as large as some of the huge coffeemakers that are sold these days. The Grind and Brew has dimensions of 10" x 9" x 16".

Despite it's compact size, the Grind and Brew has a few cool features that help it to stand out from other coffeemakers. First of all, there is a 24 hour programmable timer. The timer allows you to- for instance- set the machine to brew at 10:00pm and know that while you are taking your shower at 6:45am your coffee will be brewing. In other words, you do not have to worry about going downstairs and turning the machine on in order to have your coffee ready when you hop out of the shower. A great feature and one that we used this morning.

After a late New Year's Eve we decided that we would not set the alarm despite six guests. We figured that we all usually wake up around the same time anyway, so why not just set the timer so that there is coffee when/if the guests arrive downstairs before we do. The thought worked to perfection as two of the guests were watching TV and enjoying a fresh cup of coffee when we came down. Just as important was the realization that this machine has a warmer so that if everyone slept two later than expected, well, the coffee would still be warm. Best of all, figuring out these functions was easy- even at 1:00am on New Year's Eve.

The machine also has a bunch of "extra" features that you may find useful. There is a clock, temperature gauge, grind feature, water filter, self cleaning mechanism and monitor, and an auto shutoff. I am not sure why the clock is needed, but it is there in case you are too lazy to turn your head and look at the microwave or stove. The auto shutoff is important to make sure that accidents do not happen. But the coolest part of the "extras" is the self cleaning mechanism and monitor.

The machine "self cleans" itself in a similar manner to a toaster oven. We all know that this is not exactly "self cleaning". I look at it as more catching the crumbs and then allowing you to do the remainder of the work. Fair enough. What separates this machine is that the Grind and Brew has a "time to clean" monitor that will tell you that it is time to clean. A nice touch that I wish I had on other appliances. When the light does come on, I am going to assume that the machine is quite easy to clean since we gave it a decent cleaning after using it and the process was painless. The best part of the cleaning monitor is that you do not have to do anything- the machine takes care of everything.

The Grind and Brew will also work with both ground and not yet ground beans. This is important as so many people have come to love gourmet coffee and not just the standard beans that you used to purchase for next to nothing (Which brings me to a point regarding coffee beans. Those who buy Starbuck's and others beans and coffee are nuts. The mark up on coffee is quite possibly the most ridiculous mark up found with any product.). You can grind and then the gourmet beans with this machine as quickly as with any other. The process is a little on the loud side, but then again it is with any machine.

So, how about the taste and how much can I make? You can make anywhere from one to 10 cups and tell the machine how many to make if you decide to use the timer. And the taste? I was satisfied, but I am not the best gauge. A far better gauage is the company we had this weekend and they were all pleased with how the taste that the Grind and Brew produced. The coffee came out piping hot and what was not immediately poured sat on the warmer for a good half an hour and remained warm enough that you had to be careful not to scald your mouth. As far as I am concerned, the most important aspect of a coffeemaker is that those who drink the coffee are pleased with the speed and taste. I would also include having a modern looking machine as important.

The Cuisinart Grind and Brew meets all three criteria. The machine also has a couple of extras that are quite cool; the timer and cleaning monitor. The machine is a little on the expensive side, but then again most coffeemakers are too expensive as far as I am concerned. I am a big fan of this machine. Heck, it almost makes me wish that I consumed a little more coffee.