rgathright's Full Review: Cuisinart DGB-550BK 12-Cup Coffee Maker
After my experience last month with the Cuisinart DGB-600, I thought there was no way I would own a similar model. Yet here in my kitchen at home sits the Cuisinart DGB 550! The coffee maker grinds my favorite beans automatically for me. Every morning at 5:00 AM, I hear the sound of a grinder as the preprogrammed brew starts up. While the coffee maker does occasionally leak coffee, I have learned to only put a preset amount of beans in and the problem went away. So what does this brewing contraption really have to offer, read on and see.
Is home grinding worth it?
So you have the latest Starbucks coffee beans, paper filter and Brita filtered water in the Cuisinart all set for the perfect brew but how does it taste? Great, the coffee came out very warm and the good morning aroma was there as well welcoming me to the day.
The advantages of grinding coffee beans are numerous. Your overall goal is to prevent getting a stale set of coffee grinds in an effort to get the most flavor from the beans themselves. Ever notice the vacuum sealed coffee grinds at the store? This is done to seal in the freshness, however once the bag is opened those grinds rapidly lose their flavor. On the other hand, beans rarely come in vacuum sealed bags. Beans have a longer shelf life and are going to bring out that fresh taste over a week after opening.
Physical Size And Usage
The case of the unit is a rectangular oval shape measuring 7.5"W x 7"D x 15"H and weighing in at 7lbs. Please premeasure a place for this coffee maker because you also have to lift the top cover to get to the coffee grinder. With the room for top cover clearance, you can add 5" to the height for a total of 20". All four sides have a thin brushed metal plate attached to the outside of the black plastic core. The only other metal pieces are the thermos, the blade of the coffee grinder unit and the heater element which appears to be either iron or steel. The stainless steel carafe can fit 10 cups of coffee but you can fit another ˝ cup if you want to stretch it. The carafe can keep your brew warm for at least 4 hours. The coffee maker also comes in an all white color scheme. The product's Amazon ASIN is B001B35J2Y.
Normal operation is rather simple; pour some coffee beans into the grinder. Pour 12 cups of water into the unit. Then place the metal screen filter or add a paper filter. Finally, hit the On button and wait approximately 12 minutes. You have several other options on the menu though: 1-4 cup, Program, Hour and Min. The 1-4 cup option will let you brew just 4 cups of coffee. The Program feature will let you set a specific time to automatically start brewing within the next 24 hours. After the coffee maker completes it’s programmed brew it will turn off completely. Hour and Min obviously are used to set the time and program settings.
The problem with the poster child for Murphy's Law is the clean up. The plastic cover for the grinder must be cleaned after each use because the beans become a paste when the steam from the brewing process rises into the interior of the unit. If you neglect to clean the coffee maker for a week you can expect to came back to find mold growing in the grinding cup! Luckily the glass pot is dishwasher safe so cleaning is a straight forward process.
Water Filter
The water filter is a little pouch filled with material that fits inside the water reservoir.
I could not tell a difference between two brews of coffee with the water filter and without. To save money and reduce the amount of plastic I consume, I happily removed the filter. However if you choose to replace your filter, the model number is DCC-RWF.
Metal Coffee Filter vs. Paper
The DGB-550 comes with a metal screen filter basket. The basket is reinforced with black plastic strips and has a small collapsible handle. Coffee brewed in the metal filter has a strong taste and small particles of coffee were in the bottom of my cup. The carafe also has particulate residue and as a result makes cleaning even harder. Paper on the other hand filters out the residue. You do not have to clean the metal filter, carafe or individual cups because of paper filters that is a welcome respite!
Power Consumption
I used a Kill-A-Watt energy meter to measure the amount of electricity consumed for one pot of coffee.
81 Watts were used to grind the beans.
1065 Watts was the peak used during the brewing process. The spike occurred for a minute when the heater element first started. Overall, the DGB-550 by Cuisinart took .12 Kw-hours to brew one pot of coffee. Since the coffee maker cycles on and off to keep the pot warm, you can expect to consume more electricity than the Cuisinart DGB-600 which has an insulated carafe and does not periodically come on and off.
Product Comparison
The DGB-550 and DGB-600 look very similar but the cleanup and taste of the coffee is a world apart. The DGB-600 can only brew 10 cups and does not automatically reheat your carafe. Additionally the lid sealing system tends to leak from time to time. Strange as it may seem, a glass pot, reheating and 12 cup capacity are a perfect combination in the DGB-550 coffee maker.
Product Website
The official website for the DGB-550: http://www.cuisinart.com/catalog/product.php?product_id=778&item_id=966&cat_id=3
On the website, you can find a handy warranty sign up page. A complete list of replacement parts and online shopping cart for instant order placement. The user guide is also available for download in Adobe PDF format.
Summary
An automatic grind, programmable, water filtering coffee maker is an irresistible buy for any java drinker. At a price of just $100 for my DGB-550, I am happy with the superior product I received. I really enjoy this version of the automatic grind series offered by Cuisinart. You should get the DGB-550 to have the same refreshing taste in the morning!
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