We got the original version of this product for a wedding present 9 years ago and it just finally died... and we are thrilled to find a replacement!!! We LOVE LOVE LOVE this coffee maker! I read the other negative reviews and wonder if people expected this thing to be self-cleaning or something other than what it is when you have dry grinds near a water source... but we got exactly what we wanted and expected and we LOVE it!!!

I wanted a new coffee maker for a very long time and finally got around to buying one. I liked the idea of having the grinder and coffee maker combined into one unit, so I chose this cuisinart, which works fantastic. I have enjoyed it immensely and would recommend this coffee maker to anyone who enjoys freshly ground cofee. It was worth the extra $$ to buy this model.

This is a pain in the neck. And I'm not prissy. I am a chef and am used to all kinds of things in the kitchen. THis thing is so annoying. OKay first, the grinder is SO loud and goes on for SO long that you will actually HATE to make coffee.. There is no control to stop the grinder so even though the grinds are in the basket, the stupid thing keeps grinding with that loud noise. Then when you try to pour it, you are holding the carafe upside down to get the coffee out - which, if you are only making a couple of cups will not be hot enough unless you rinse the carafe in hot water first (stated in the instructions).. Next, cleaning is a pain. Now, maybe you just have to get used to all those pieces and all those wasted grounds stuck in the grinder shoot.. and we've tried for a few months but I'm running out to buy another coffee maker today. The coffee, however, is delicious. Seriously yummie.. so think about how much time and patience you have for good coffee..

All the complaints are true, although I wouldn't exaggerate that badly!

The carafe is great at keeping the brew warm, but lousy at letting it pour out. Built in grinder sounds like a 747 taking off at full throttle. End of brew cycle it burbles and gurgles like a geyser about to explode.

Bottom line even with a gold-tone filter or paper filter and using the french roast, varying the grind(w/external grinder), the coffee is way too weak tasting for me.

Don't bother with it....I'm going with a manual siphon brewer.

Makes great coffee. In the grind & brew mode, can be a pain to clean. The thermal caraffe keeps coffee hot for hours while retaining fresh brewed taste. Would definately buy again.

I just wanted to chime in on this product, I have owned it for roughly 3 years now and there ARE a couple of tricks to be aware of. First and foremost it doesn't have a warming carafe plate as one reviewer was discussing her 70yr old father pointed out. I found many of them didn't when I bought this one (some do though). So it relies on an insulated Carafe to keep the coffee warm. The upside of this is you don't have to worry about leaving it on and 'burning' the carafe. The downside is you have to include one step in the coffee prepration to help it keep hot coffee. The instructions state that you should place very HOT water in the carafe and leave it there while your're preparing the coffee maker and this HEATS the carafe so it keeps the coffee hotter longer. It does not make (in my opinion) SUPERHOT coffee. This doesn't work as well when you use the programable feature to have it make coffee automatically in the morning (as the obviously the water cools down overnight).
Another reviewer was remarking on the difficulty in cleaning and the 'clumping' of the coffee beans in the grinder. Simply put, this is because of condensation in the grinder (this may be fairly normal) which then can cause the beans as they're being ground to lump together just a little bit. If you completely dry the bean grinder 'bin' after cleaning and before you put beans in it AND grind and brew your coffee right away this is really a non issue. You might see more of this when you place Hot Water the night before to use the early morning programmable feature because the hot water creates condensation that makes the grounds stick together just a little bit. If you completely dry the grinder bin out first and make the coffee right away every morning there's really no clumping at all.
Also someone mentioned the strength of coffee and the amount of water needed for the carafe. I do like strong coffee and tend to 'heap' the beans into the grinder bin and it the coffee comes out just fine (it might also depend on the type of coffee used). Also if you want to change the consistency of your coffee you can use the paper filters for for a more 'grainy' cowboy style coffee (if you're not afraid of grounds) you can use the gold filter as I do. One major drawback is that ANY grinder is LOUD...this one sounds like a jetfighter taking off from an Aircraft Carrier, but I think its impossible to make a completely quiet yet completly efficient grinder. This might the only real drawback.
I have to admit though, w/out spending hundreds, more this coffee maker is one of the better grind and brews that I have seen. Overall cleanup (I believe) is pretty easy, I mean no coffee maker is 100% self cleaning. We pregrind our coffee in the evening, hit off, then set it to use the programmable feature every morning to make coffee automatically and it does a good job.
Its also held up pretty well we replace the charcoal filter regularly but its been very durable. So no issues on that end. Of course the best feature is that you can use either whole bean coffee or regular coffee and we've found some very good types of whole beans.
Bottom line: brews coffee well, fairly loud grinder, easy cleanup (I think), definately makes better coffee is you quickly clean, dry and brew all together first thing in the morning at once, not superhot coffee (putting hot water in carafe helps this-see above), no heated carafe plate, very reliable, low maintenance, sturdy construction. Excuse any typos unfortunately no Spell Check from Amazon.

I put this coffee maker on my Christmas list last year and was excited to try it out because a friend had recommended it. After a year of cleaning up counters covered with leaking coffee, cleaning up grounds that exploded when the basket compartment frequently popped out, and struggling to remove the grinding bin that often became stuck, making coffee became an activity to avoid at all costs. The coffee was good, but process of brewing it was a chore I dreaded. I could not leave the room until the process had ended and I was sure the basket bin wasn't going to pop out. No more! I'm hoping Santa will bring me a new coffee maker this year. ANYthing is better than THIS!

This machine does make a good cup of coffee however there's a good chance of overflow due to coffee grounds clogging the works. It happens nearly 50% of the time and it's no fun cleaning up a scalding hot mess. We have ordered Cuisinart GTF-B Gold Tone Coffee Filter and hopefully this will put an end to the mess.

We've had this coffee maker for a while. Once it a while the basket containing the ground coffee pops part way open while brewing. The result? Hot coffee and grinds all over the coffee maker, the counter and the floor. A ten minute cleanup. Not a pleasnt surprise when you come down for your morning coffee. We've resorted to taping the basket shut while looking for replacement.

I have to weigh in with the other customers who find this machine hard to use, hard to clean, brews no better than a $9.00 white plastic number from Family Dollar, gunks up with grounds in the grinder, leaves grounds in your cup, never dries out on it's own and the grinder part steams up even when you don't use the grinder so you have to clean it all the time even when you don't use it anymore 'cause you're sick of it, has a carafe that pours in a little trickle and won't empty. So sorry I bought this. I thought I was buying a top-of-the-line machine for my coffee-lovin' husband, but he hates this machine more than I do. Don't buy it. It's overpriced junk.

I can't believe how much I spent for this horrible machine. The internal grinder needs to be THOROUGHLY cleaned with each use or it clogs. Furthermore, the trip mechanism that directs the brewed coffee into the carafe also needs to be cleaned constantly; If you don't---you'll have coffee and grounds diverted from the carafe and all over your counter top, floor, etc. Loads of fun. Also, even when working properly, the grinder is too small to accommodate enough beans for the ten-cup carafe, unless you like coffee weaker than I do. I'll never buy a Cuisinart product again.

Other reviewers have had different experiences with this coffee maker. We bought one 3 years ago and have returned it to Cuisinart 3 times over that period because the bean grinding basket gets stuck in place and you can't remove it for cleaning. The good thing is that Cuisinart graciously replaced the unit each time. The last one was a brand new unit in original retail packaging. The others may have been repairs. They admitted to a design problem the first time it was returned. They will no longer honor the warranty even though they shipped us a brand new product.

As for performance, our experience has been that the coffee maker provides a good hot "cup of joe" although it is weak for my taste. The beans are not ground fine enough nor can you get sufficient beans in the hopper to provide a really hearty cup of coffee. It is easy to disassemble and clean either manually or in the dishwasher. However there are lots of nooks and crannies where coffee grounds can hide in the main unit. These are not so easy to clean. It is convenient to have the beans ground fresh each morning so that a hot cup of coffee is waiting.

If you can live without the automatic grinder, my favorite coffee maker is still the Capresso Automatic Coffee Maker with a thermal carafe. I use a separate bean grinder to get a really fine grind. The pot and lid are very easy to clean with no channels that collect sediment over time. The best part is that you have full control over the grind and hence the richness of the brew.

This coffee maker is awesome and has been so for 6 years. Alas, it has started to leak so rather having it repaired I figured it best to buy another. Wanting to shop local,I returned to the store where I had purchased this one and found that they no longer carried it because of the 'problems' everyone (sic) was having. Well here I am on Amazon.com to buy another one (a lot cheaper, I might add)and have read the whiney reviews. I guess I was just lucky since in six years I have never experienced any of the problems reported. Maybe because I run the grinder parts through the dishwasher every night, maybe because I use quality beans, in any case I have had no problems whatsoever, and am now going to buy another. My brother also has one and has had none of the mentioned problems, but then he has only owned his for 5 years.

Excellent, I like the all in one feature of grind, brew and store in the thermal carafe and even automatically turns off the unit!

I love this coffee maker. The timed feature is really a convenience for those who are really foggy before that first morning cup. The only down side is the additional pieces to clean if you grind fresh daily but it's worth it!

While the design is not perfect, I'll admit that it is the best coffee maker I've ever owned. We've had this coffee maker for 2 years, and no major problems. Finally at the point where we need to replace the grinder blades, and this is a cheap repair thru the Cuisinart website. Love the programming function that allows you to fill the beans, fill the water, and awake to the aroma of fresh coffee. Definately the machine for someone who loves the bells and whistles.

The carafe keeps coffee hot for an hour, warm for 4. I agree that the grinder part is a bit messy to deal with, but not terribly so. You WILL need to clean the coffee maker each time you use the grind and brew feature. You can always turn off the grinder, but then you have to deal with the mess of transferring the coffee from a grinder to the brew basket. Pick your poison here. If Cuisinart can address the problem of gunked coffee grounds on the screen from the grinder to the brew basket, I'd pick up another one of these in a heartbeat.

This machine works great. I love having freshly ground coffee in the morning. The only complaint, we did not receive the starter kit.

After placing an order for this Coffee Maker, I started reading reviews. I was afraid of what I was going to get! I read a lot of bad things about it! Man, the people that wrote negative reviews on this maker were so wrong about anything negative they wrote!!!!!!! As far as clean up time, it is no worse then any other coffee maker, just has 2 more pieces to clean (grinder & grinder lid). As far as not keeping coffee hot, I made a pot at 5:00 a.m. and at 2:00 p.m. had a cup from the same pot and it was still hot and still tasted good! So, I just don't understand the fuss I read about this item!!!! Buy with confidence!!!!!!!

We've been using this product for a while now, and recently, the lid to the coffee pot has 'failed'. The water does not flow thru the lid fast enough, causing everything to backup and leave a big mess on the counter - nearly every single time.
I recently ordered a new lid from Cuisinart - $8 plus shipping.
I've cleaned the lid by soaking in vinigar and running vinigar thru the brewing process a couple times, but while some coffee particles came out, the thing still leaves a mess on the counter.
If you have been using this product for a while, be forwarned!

My boys got this coffee maker for my husband and I for Christmas and we love it!
I don't know what people are talking about when they compain about sludge, steam and dust. Yah, you have to clean it, but come on, are we all that spoiled today?! I just wipe out the inside and wash the removable parts in warm soapy water. Easy; people!
You can't beat the flavor of the coffee. I used to brew Dunkin Donuts coffee in my old pot and it just tasted like any other coffee to me. When I grind and brew Dunkin Donuts coffee beans in this pot it tastes like the real thing! Everyone comments on how good my coffee is now!
The coffee stays warm long enough for us. The less left in the pot, the quicker it cools, but we love the fact that the air can't get to the coffee and make it taste stale.
I would recomend this pot to anyone who doesn't mind a little bit of clean up time...and when I say clean up time I mean, maybe, 2 or 3 minutes.

No complaints, but one thing you should keep in mind:
If you're used to the classic "dump grounds here, dump water here, flip this switch, wait" coffee maker, be prepared for a bit more maintenance. Nothing difficult, but you need to clean the grinder between each use and remember to swap the water filter once a month. Also, it's a lot easier to forget things that are obvious on a simpler machine. For instance, if you leave used grounds in the basket and add new beans to the grinder or fill the reservoir without emptying the carafe, you'll have quite a mess on your hands (I wish I could say this hasn't happened to me).

I'm with Robin from the Caymans...we have had this coffee maker for 2 years now and I love it! We even bought an extra thermal carafe to have on hand for family gatherings and parties so that we could have one decaf and one regular. The grinding mechanism, to be honest, is a bit hard to clean and we have gone back to just using the handheld grinder, but the thermal carafe keeps OUR coffee warm for at least 4-5 hours, no problem! I would buy this product again in a heartbeat!

I have owned the Cuisinart Grind and Brew for almost three years. I loved the way it ground the coffee. It kept the coffee not extremely hot but hot for long periods of time. I had been experiencing problems with the unit leaking the last few months. Some days it would not leak at all and others I would wake up to my entire counter covered in water or coffee and none in the thermal carafe. I looked on Amazon.com to see what kind of pricing was offered and read the reviews, both good and bad. I then went out and bought a new Cuisinart Grind and Brew. I brought the new one home and saw the warranty was a three year warranty. I began thinking about the reviews I read about the leaking problem. I then e-mailed Cuisinart and explained what I had read on the Amazon reviews and some of them experiencing problems like me. I suggested maybe it was a manufacturing defect. After exchanging a couple of e-mails with Cuisinart, they had me mail in my old leaking unit and sent me a brand new in the box unit. I paid ten dollars shipping and handling. From the time I mailed my unit in, I had the new one on my doorstep in less than a week. I highly recommend the product and the company.

This will be the second one we have bought (wore the first one out) and we love it. I have also given it as a gift, which was appreciated as well. I can only think that whoever is doing the complaining either isn't cleaning or using it properly. The only negative I have is that the grinder is loud, but we have learned to work around that.

When I bought this coffeemaker, I really liked the concept of being able to grind and brew in one machine. However, this coffeemaker is a huge disappointment. Steam from the brewing makes the grinder wet, creating an absolute mess. The machine is a nightmare to clean. So much so, that I've given up on grinding coffee and only use pre-ground coffee, so that I can bypass this portion of the machine. At the end of the day, I could have purchased a regular coffee machine for under $20 instead of the $100+ I spent to only use the brewing option.

This machine was given to us as a gift a few years back. Since we've never had a grinder we were quite taken with it, but after reading the reviews from other people, I realize that it leaves some to be desired.

1. The grinder is loud. I'm thinking that's really not something you can get around, but it is louder than my vacuum cleaner.
2. Too many parts to clean and places I can't seem to clean. It gets coffee everywhere, I'm constantly having to wipe this thing down. It leaks coffee onto the counter as well.
3. There is a steam issue in the part where the beans go, making it a mess to clean.
4. Closing and opening the part where the filter is is often hard to do. Harder now with age. I've had it open on me during operation.
5. I'd prefer if I didn't have to push "grinder off" to operate this machine.

As far as strength of coffee, I put a enough coffee grinds/beans in there so that's never been an issue for me. It's served it's purpose, but I'm going with a different brand with a lower price tag and seemingly less issues than this one according to reviews.

Thsi coffee maker is the worst product I have seen in a long time. They "Cuisinart" should be sued for false advertising. This coffee maker is not easy to clean. If you do end up buying this you will be spending more time cleaning this than enjoying coffee. I wish I had read some reviews it would have saved me the frustration. I contacted Cuisinart and after the fourth E-mail they responded and said they would allow me to exchange the coffee maker for the same one. Why would I want to get the same poor design. This coffee maker is consistant. When I say that, I mean it consistantly has big chunks of coffee still in the grinder, with unground beans then combine that with the heat vapor from the hot water vapor, it absolutly makes the biggest mess and is really hard to clean. I am not overacting. I would not even give this hunk of junk away. It went in the trash. I felt I had to save someone from the pain I went through. THUMBS DOWN!!!

I'm puzzled at the 5 star ratings as this coffee maker is disappointing. I had a Melitta Grind & Brew (that I got 1/2 price) that made awesome coffee (I think the line was discontinued b/c the plastic latches kept breaking - I just used electrical tape to hold the top down and it lasted almost 2 years). After experiencing the simplicity of use and awesome coffee from this appliance, I searched for a replacement and this time wanted a thermal carafe. This Cuisinart was the only coffee maker that fit the bill. Until I got it home. It does an extremely poor job of grinding the coffee - leaving large chunks of beans - so the coffee is weak - even when I filled the basket to the maximum amount of beans allowed. There is no adjustment for how fine or coarse you want the beans - which for an expensive machine like this is inexcusable. I took it back after day two and since I couldn't find another coffee maker that both had the grind & brew feature AND a thermal carafe, I settled for the awesome Hamilton Beach Brew & Go (see my review) which has a thermal carafe. I just grind my beans at night in a basic Braun grinder, set up the coffee maker, and just turn it on when I get up (or use the timer). Don't waste your money on this expensive and useless coffee maker.

I bought this for my husband after he experienced an earlier model at our family's home and fell in love with theirs. This one has been even better, as it has the thermal carafe, which keeps the coffee hot at least 4 hours after brewing in our experience. It's easy to clean and use, even for someone who's not technologically inclined. And the coffee is yummy! We've used whole bean and ground coffee, and this does well with both, and brews very quickly in either case. I love the fact that it beeps at you if something is wrong, like someone forgot to put water in the machine, or one of the compartments isn't closed correctly. It makes it much easier to figure out why there isn't any coffee. I would definitely buy this again.

You might be tempted, Cuisinart typically makes great products. But, unless you actualy ENJOY cleaning your coffee maker for an hour every time you make coffee, and unless you LIKE having coffee grounds floating around in large quantities in your cup, this is NOT the machine you want.

In fact, it's so bad that after about 4 brewing cycles, you'll pack the stupid thing up and give it to some poor, unsuspecting friend or family member, who, after about 4 brewing cycles, will realize why you gave it to them. Then they'll cuss you, and pass the coffee maker off to some other poor sap. Eventually the damn thing will make the rounds and get re-gifted back to you, and you'll be exactly where you started.

So, to save yourself, your friends, and your family a whole lot of time and heartache playing hot-potato with this stupid machine, take my advice... PICK OUT A DIFFERENT COFFEE MAKER!!!!!

By the way, every time you make coffee, you will swear the machine is going to explode. It makes the most violent, disturbing sounds I've ever heard come out of a healthy piece of kitchen equipment. Seriously. Horror-movie quality sound effects...



NOTE: this is a true story, up to and including the re-gifting part... when I got the damn thing offered back to me, I had to post this review. CAVEAT EMPTOR! (or TEMPUS FUGIT or QUID PRO QUO or some other goofy Latin phrase))

If you are not fresh grinding your coffee beans you are missing out on a treat. The carafe does hold coffee hot for 3-4 hours, clean up is a breeze and coffee tastes better fresh ground--GREAT product!

I love this coffee maker!! I can't believe all the negative comments from reviewers. It sounds like these people were not using the machine correctly nor treating it properly--I wonder if they read any of the directions and tips??? I did, and I have had absolutely no problems with anything. It also sound like the people were too lazy to wash the parts and were complaining about noise-this is one of the quietest coffeemakers I have had that had a built in grinder-it is not noisy-and also-you have to wash the parts in every coffee maker-what's the big deal???? It sounds like these people are big whiners and lazy at that. If they didn't want to deal with grinds, then they shouldn't have bought a coffee maker that has a grinder in it. I find it wonderful--and most importantly, it makes WONDERFUL COFFEE!! The coffee we have been making tastes like we bought it from Starbucks-the best!!!!!! Also-the people that were complaining about weak coffee obviously did not do the math and calculate the right scoops -they must have flunked in math. Also, you don't have to go by the manufacturer's suggested scoops-this is just a guideline-anyone that knows anything about coffee knows that you have to experiment witn it and adjust according to your own tastes. I found that the 1 1/2 scoops that the manufacturer suggested work great-anyway, I would highly recommend it-don't listen to the whiners!!

...miserable excuse for a coffeemaker.

The reality might not be so awful if the promise wasn't so compelling.

This product dangles the vision of cheerfully and simply prepping your machine and awakening to the heavenly aroma of piping hot coffee brewed from your freshly ground beans. Stroll into the kitchen & bring the carafe into your office or den to leisurely and luxuriously sip away your day in blissed out yummy java-land.

Dude. This is a fussy little machine. It takes more stroking and prepping and tweaking and messing to get anything accomplished than a trophy wife. If you are seriously OCD or have a perverse sense of satisfaction in being a 'slave to the grind', then this may be a dream come true. If you don't fit the lid of the carafe in *just so* it isn't really sealed (and the top will pop eventually pop off of the widget/gasket sealy thing). If you don't meticulously rinse and brush and dry each piece before each pot, you'll end up with a sludgy, backedup brackish mess. If you overfill with beans or underfill with beans or fit the filter in wrong or the H2O in wrong you'll have icky coffee and even *more* cleaning and fussing to do.
Even when you perform each step with the fanatical precision of a Geisha Tea Ceremony, the basic design of this coffeemaker guarantees disappointment. Hellllloooow?? Steam from hot water + fine grounds from coffee beans = goopy mess, wasted beans & inconsistent coffee quality. Good luck getting your full 10 cups out of this carafe. Good luck determining how much coffee is left in the carafe at any given point. And who in R&D thought that the equivalent decibles of a DC10 takeoff set a standard for a small appliance?

Bottom line is that I purchased this device with the anticipation of a convenient, quality, copious coffee experience...After 4 months of putting up with extra time noise and hassle to make coffee, the damnable thing finally committed turbojet suicide last night...apparently, the stupid 'clicky shut' filter door unclickied during the commencement of the grind phase...the resulting diaspora of grinds and hot water across the kitchen and shoved back up and through the machine itself must have finally proven too much for its delicate constitution. Even after a full ritual of cleaning, brushing with the fussy brush, etc. it does nothing but pathetically blink its digital display.

Good riddance say I. It will be a long time before I grumble about grinding beans and pouring them into the filter of a large capacity, reliable coffeemaker with my own two hands. And perhaps the overnight exposure of the grounds when I preset for morning coffee isn't as much of an issue as I'd made it out to be. There are worse things after all...things like this POS coffeemaker.

I have been using my new 'Grind and Brew' machine for about 2 weeks now and realy like its ease of use. It's features are nice and also quite simple to use and remember. Overall one of the main reasons for my purchase of this type and brand of coffee maker was the thermal insulated carafe. It really does what it says it will...it keeps the coffee hot! Not only does it keep the coffee hot for at least 6 hours...but it does so without compromising the taste of the coffee. It makes an excellent tasting coffee because the brew water temperture is hot and that is key in any good coffee.

This was my dream - grinder, coffee maker and thermos all in one.

After reading reviews here I was scared of the mess and the number of parts.
I asked a friend who had one about all the parts and she said that it wasn't bad
because she threw all the parts in the dishwasher. This works if you
run your dishwasher every day. But I still lusted over it and bought it.

I've decided I like this coffee maker but it isn't perfect.

It is a good choice if you like the fresh ground taste and can handle:
1. The noise - noiser than my seperate coffee bean grinder
(fortunately it isn't loud enough to wake up my household but who knows about yours....)
2. Can clean it up promptly (otherwise it is a pain)
3. Don't need it ultra strong (there is a limit on how much coffee you can put
in). I grew up on Peets coffee and I like it strong and this is weaker than I like it
but ok. Alternatively you can just make 8 cups of coffee and for me
with a full hopper it is great.
4. Can handle a slightly longer preparation process than with a machine that
takes ground coffee. (There is more assembly to make that pot.)
If I skimped on cleaning the pieces even if I didn't use the grinder it
just wasn't as good.

If you buy this coffee maker close the filter door before the top hopper.
It is so airtight that otherwise it doesn't close well.