Cuisinart DCC-450BK 4-Cup Coffeemaker with Stainless-Steel Carafe, Black

There are just two of us so a large 10 cup machine is not practical so we bought this beautiful little machine for our kitchen. To date it has worked flawlwessly, everything the Ad professed. I wonder about the missuse some others have experienced that have caused them problems. We have had none of that.. I do wish there was a permanent filter available, I don't like the paper ones. But small price to pay for excellance

As a student, my coffee pot is my life-blood. I adore this little guy. I've had it for about a year with no technical problems. I will agree with the other reviewers that the caraffe will dribble if you don't pour quickly, and it does not stay hot long after the auto shut-off. However, this is rarely a problem for me as I am hardly ever still around 30 minutes later (must be nice!). My coffee is perfect every time, the machine is easy to clean, and it's compact and fairly stylish.

One other warning: it has a feature where you can pour a cup before it is finished brewing (the filter basket blocks the drip if you remove the caraffe), but I would not recommend doing this. When coffee brews, it does not brew at the same strength for the entire brewing cycle. The water that first goes through the coffee grounds encounter more resistance, thus spending more time going through, thus making the beginning of the pot a lot stronger than the the last of it. You really need to... Read more

I have had this machine for a little over a week now, and am overjoyed. I have owned more expensive "full-size" machines, and have always found that the quality of the coffee they make is quite poor when you are only preparing three or four cups. This cuisinart is a pleasant change on that score. The coffee I made this morning was flavorful and hot, and certainly better than what I can get at Starbucks or the equivalent. I'm a bit baffled by the negative comments I have read about the machine's design. I've had not even a little trouble with pouring, removing the lid, etc. In short, get this machine if you want high quality coffee in three or four cup doses.