Cuisinart DGB-700BC Grind-and-Brew 12-Cup Automatic Coffeemaker, Brushed Chrome/Black

I purchased this coffee maker around Christmas and was a little concerned over the prior reviews that stated it uses too much coffee. The chemist in me had to do the experiment.

A standard issue coffee from Starbucks was ground to a standard medium grind for coffee makers of this type. The coffee was measured on a 1 gram precision scale according to the specification on the Starbucks coffee bag (2Tbs per 6oz cup) to make 6 cups of coffee. The coffee grinds weighed to be 54 grams. The same coffee beans from the same bag were ground in the coffee maker set to 6 cups and strong. The coffee grinds were then measured on the same scale and wouldn't you know...it was exactly 54 grams.

For my coffee beans this machine on the 6 cup setting produced the following:

Strong = 9 grams (2Tbs) of coffee per cup of water
Medium = 8 grams (about - 1 3/4Tbs) of coffee per cup of water
Mild = 7 grams (about - 1 1/2Tbs) of coffee per cup of water... Read more

After considerable research for the absolute best coffee maker in the world, I decided to purchase the Cuisinart Grind and Brew DGB-700BC. It has a burr grinder. This one has the 12-cup glass carafe and it has a warming plate. Reviews on the stainless steel carafe have stated there is no warming plate. It seems the glass one does and the thermal one does not. It works perfectly and is very easy to program and use. It comes with a DVD which simplifies the process even more.

It can also brew ground coffee. Just turn off the grinder before pressing the on/off button and it's ready to go.

As for noise, I don't consider it too noisy. After all, it IS a coffee grinder and I expect to hear it when it grinds the coffee.

The hopper holds a half-pound of beans which is enough to make coffee several times (if you're using the mild setting).

The retail price is $199, but many places have it routinely for $169. I purchased mine at Kohls for $159 and they... Read more

I have owned a couple of grind and brews in the past with mixed results. Our first was a Mr Coffee back in the 1990's. It made great coffee, but was messy, and broke frequently. We also had the first Jura Capresso model about 6 years ago. I liked it, but my wife felt that no matter what the settings were, the coffee was bitter. Recenly we had been using a Krups stand alone machine, that makes good coffee, and a stand alone Krups burr grinder. Since our Krups burr grinder was getting finicky, and the coffee post was getting old, we decided to give the DGB700 Grind and Brew a try.

My initial take, is that it makes an excellent cup of coffee, better than my last Krups machine. I am still experimenting with the settings, but so far I am very pleased.

You do need to follow the directions. The key points I have found, is to make sure that the basket parts are dry. This means a quick rinse and dry between pots if you are making more than one.
I also have cleaned... Read more