If coffee is a "must-have" for you, but you are pressed for time in the morning, then the Cuisinart Two to Go Coffeemaker TTG-500 is the product for you.

In the morning as I am trying to get my two preschoolers and myself out the door, I just barely have time to make a cup of coffee so this model which drips the coffee directly into either one or two travel cups, makes it easy to grab and go. With this model, there is no pot to clean, and I do not have to worry about pouring the hot coffee into a travel mug while two children are vying for my attention.

We have another coffee maker, which grinds the beans right in the machine just prior to brewing the coffee. That one makes delicious coffee, but also makes for a big mess to clean up. In this Cuisinart model, the water reservoir is well separated from the coffee grinds, so that the paper filter with the used grinds can just be picked up and tossed in the garbage with no trace of grinds left behind.

I have found that the Two To Go Coffeemaker is so much easier for me to use and clean than my larger one, that most days when I am only making coffee for myself, I use this one. Just because it is a travel mug, does not mean that I cannot use it to "travel" around the house while doing chores or playing with my children. In fact, the cool to the touch outside and the cover make it better than a standard mug if children are playing nearby.

The mugs themselves hold 14 ounces each and the lids are snug, so that coffee does not leak out around the rim. Other pluses are that there is no handle on them, so that they should fit into most cupholders in cars and they have a band of rubber around the middle of the stainless steel outer coating for easy gripping. Cuisinart does not recommend using the dishwasher to clean the mugs.

There are no fancy features on this coffee maker - just a simple button to press to turn it on. After it finishes brewing it shuts itself off. Since it is designed to brew into travel mugs, there is no warming plate for it to keep hot.

One thing to keep in mind with this coffee maker is that it makes less coffee than a standard model, and therefore it uses #2 filters, which are smaller than the standard ones. I have easily found them at my local supermarket.

The Two To Go Coffeemaker has a list price of $80 on www.cuisinart.com, but we paid $50 for it and most other places that I have seen it also have had it for about $50.

I would recommend the Cuisinart Two to Go Coffeemaker TTG-500 to anyone who is on the go or someone who only needs to brew one or two cups of coffee at a time.



Recommended: Yes