Update: Unfortunately I have to downgrade my review due to poor quality. The original Cuisinart I had worked so well that after about 5 years I replaced it with a new one (I had broken the pot and water damage had caused the timer to malfunction). Well the new one lasted not 5 years, but more like 5 months. Now I thought the problem might be just a fluke until I ran into an express review that described my problem exactly: http://www.epinions.com/pr-Small_Appliances-Cuisinart_Grind_Brew_Thermal_10_Cup_Automatic_Coffeemaker_DGB-600BC/display_~reviews
"It worked great in the beginning, but after a couple of months, the "cup" that holds the beans seems to be jammed. Meaning that it cant be removed to be cleaned."

Since my first Cuisinart worked so well I assumed the second would. I further assumed that the bean cup would come free with just a little force. After a little "extra" force I did manage to free it, but in the process the violent jerk broke the little flap that holds the coffee back when you remove the pot (for those of us that are impatient). Currently, the bean cup is stuck again and I'm lookign for a new coffee maker.

BTW I'm pretty sure that Cuisinart, like many companies, outsourced their manufacturing to China in recent years which may account for the quality change.

Above is the update, below is my original review- if only cuisinart would keep their quality up...

Original Review
First off, if you look at my other reviews you may notice that they all contain "best" this or "best" that. Let me explain- I'm prioritizing the products I really love first- basically I want you to "feel the joy" of getting a great product- mostly because I agonize over many of these decisions myself.

With that said, let me say I LOVE this coffee maker. I've had it for about 2 years now, and I still get compliments from guests on its coffee quality. Now, part is that I generally feed it only the best beans, but a lot of it is just simply that it provides the fastest way from bean to brew around.

CLEANING
OK, this can be tough when you want to really clean the sucker up. Other reviewers have mentioned it, I'm bugged too, but come one, what coffee maker doesn't need cleaning? Yea, you sometimes need to clean the grinder, but I generally do that once a week by adding it to a smaller dishwashing load- yup dishwasher safe- including the gold filter- and I've got two years of cleaning to prove it. Truth be told I generally don't clean the filter on the average week day. I used to more often, but I really found this to be unneeded. The brew remains consistent even with a little grounds from yesterday lurking about.

I'm a daily drinker of coffee- I used to average about 8-10 cups a day, but frankly it is sometimes really hard to go from home to work and drink the coffee. We have a typical industrial coffee maker at work using Starbucks ground coffee. It is OK, but hardly as good as at home (Starbucks, Peet's, Seattle's Best, or even Safeway's bulk beans!)

MY COFFEE DRINKING EXPERIENCE
I'm not saying I'm a coffee connoisseur, but I have been drinking coffee since high school. I refined my coffee tastes at UC Berkeley as both mid term cramming college student, and as an espresso jockey at a campus Deli, and I've kept up the habit ever since.

MY COFFEE MAKER HISTORY
In high school my family used a Mr. Coffee, very poor, and in college I used a free Gevalia coffee (boy was that bad, but heck, I was on a budget). After college my wife and I had a Krups coffee maker with a gold mesh filter (my first time for that). The Krups was good, but the mesh filter lasted only about 6 months of use, and the coffee was only good, nothing to look forward to in the morning- just a device to get my fix. And after the gold filter broke the coffee went even further down hill.


Now, my in laws- they had a nice coffee maker. I'm not sure what the maker was, but it had a thermos- this is a nice feature. Truth was that the coffee was only good, but that thermos kept it warm even when we were outside at the mountain house throwing snowballs. Nice, but even my mother in law agrees that my Cuisenart is the better brewer.


SPECS:

The outside of the Cuisinart Automatic Grind & Brew Coffeemaker is pretty stylish. Its the same size as a normal coffee maker; however, now you don't need space for a grinder (except for espresso). The top flips open which means that you need have about 12" above the coffee maker to gain access to the water reservoir, the coffee grinder, and the grounds basket. I don't have the space for that in my kitchen so I slide it across my smooth counter top to gain access- easy enough and it has not caused a problem.

FEATURES:

· 10 Cup Glass Pot I have to admit on particularly early mornings I have topped off the in an extra cup to make an adicts dozen cups without a problem.

·Gold Filter can eliminate the need for paper filters. I have used this gold filter for over 2 years and it is still working without a problem (even after multiple trips through the dish washer). This is far better than the Krups gold filter faired. I also have not had any problems with grounds in my coffee.

· Automatic Shut-Off will turn off the coffeemaker so you don't have to worry about accidentally leaving it on all day. The shut off also has an ajustable range from immediately after brewing to four hours.

· Automatic Timer will allow you to place beans in the grinder and fill the water reservoir the night before. The timer is easy to set up, and has an added bonus that it will not allow you to turn it on if the lid is closed properly- this prevents you from thinking it is set and finding out in the morning that it is not. There is a lighted green indicator when the timer is on. I set it to go off before my alarm clock, so A) the grinder (which is a bit loud) will act like a snooze alarm, and B) when I finally do wake up the smell of fresh-brewed coffee fills the house.

· Low Cup Setting You can dial the brewer for less than 10 cups to keep a consistent brewing quality for when you want a lesser amount of coffee.
Flavor Selector to change the strength of the brew.

· Grind Shut-Off This feature is NOT to be used unless you absolutely must- perhaps if some callous family member gives you some grinds for Christmas and you want to return the favor by fixing him a cup of Chistmas love.
Brew Cycle Stop The usual cut off to allow you to grab a cup in the middle of the brew (sneak that extra strong "wake me up" cup); however, the water is still being poured into the basket, so don't take too long!
Brew Cycle Alarm A quick beep to let you know when your coffee is done.

· Coffee Temperature Monitor keeps the brewed coffee as hot (or warm) as you would like it after being brewed. This is really great if you don't put milk in your coffee, but you want to drink it fast!

WHAT I MISS:

As an espresso lover it would be nice to have espresso built in, but I realize that's not going to make it in a $100 coffee maker. And frankly, I probably won't ever give up my espresso percolator (I said I was not a coffee connoisseur, but I said nothing about being a coffee snob!)

A thermos. I love the built in thermos in my mother-in-law's coffee pot, for bringing the coffee pot outside.

Hey look, if I have to ask for espresso and a thermos, I'm really stretching. Basically the Cuisinart Automatic Grind & Brew Coffeemaker is a great way of making coffee.



Recommended: Yes