pippadaisy's Full Review: Cuisinart DGB-500 12-Cup Coffee Maker
I have two problems. One is my borderline psychotic search for the perfect cup of coffee and my spoiling after time spent as a barista in a café that used a local roaster. I don't want to drink a cup of coffee that doesn't have its beans fresh ground, but I also have a second problem; I'm lazy. I hate getting up in the morning, and even more, I hate getting up only to have to go through 800 steps to get a cup of fresh ground coffee.
Even though I'd read several scathing reviews of the Cuisinart Grind and Brew Coffeemaker DGB-500BK, I was still convinced that no other coffeemaker would do, and my parents were nice enough to replace my hated Krups Crystal Arome Time Plus Coffee Machine with my new love, the Cuisinart.
::: Features List :::
Any coffee maker that promises to not only brew your coffee in the morning, but also fresh-grind it beforehand is going to come with more bells and whistles than you can shake a stick at, and the Cuisinart Grind and Brew Coffeemaker DGB-500BK is no exception. It comes with a charcoal filter for removing the taste and odor of chlorine from water for a great cup of coffee, and an integrated grinder that grinds to the perfect consistency for an automatic drip coffeemaker. The carafe capacity is 12 5-ounce cups, and the grinder allows up to 14 scoops of whole beans, with the recommendation of 1 scoop per cup of coffee.
The Cuisinart Grind and Brew Coffeemaker DGB-500BK comes with a measuring scoop, a cleaning brush, and a gold filter, as well as a few paper filters if you decide not to use the gold filter, and a control panel worthy of a spaceship. A 24-hour digital clock is provided for the timer, as well as options for a no-grind brew (for using pre-ground coffee) and a 1-4 cup brew for smaller pots.
Using the Cuisinart Grind and Brew Coffeemaker DGB-500BK is as easy as pouring the water into the reservoir, making sure the filter is in place, adding your whole beans, and then either starting the brew cycle right then, or setting the timer for an automatic start. The Cuisinart Grind and Brew Coffeemaker DGB-500BK also features a brew stop function, so if you just can't wait for your first cup of coffee, you can pull the carafe out and pour a cup with no spillage.
::: Um, How Does This Work? :::
I'm not normally afraid of new kitchen appliances that don't have cast iron involved, but I really had a rough time getting started with the Cuisinart Grind and Brew Coffeemaker DGB-500BK. Before you can start a brew cycle, all the pieces of the coffeemaker must be in place, even if you are running a no-grind cycle. This doesn't sound like such a big deal, but the grinder has two pieces: the bottom grinder mechanism and the clear plastic top, which both fit inside the top of the coffeemaker. If both aren't placed correctly, the coffeemaker will begin emitting a constant beeping sound until the pieces are all in place. Five minutes of beeping while you figure this out can turn any former barista into a blithering idiot, and when we first got the coffeemaker, my husband often had to come rescue me from my confusion.
Once I had the whole "all pieces in their proper locations" mantra down, I moved onto the timer, which I also struggled with for a while. There are so many buttons on the control panel, and none of them seems self-explanatory. The Program button not only displays the time set for automatic brewing, but also needs to be pressed to turn the feature on. It took me several mornings of loud howling when my coffee wasn't ready upon my arrival in the kitchen in the morning before I broke out the manual again to retrain myself in the art of having coffee ready when I woke up.
Once I figured out all the intricacies of actually getting coffee out of my Cuisinart Grind and Brew Coffeemaker DGB-500BK, I was able to actually assess how well it works. I'd seen other reviews that complained about the noise of the grinder, especially first thing in the morning, but we live in a ranch with my youngest two's bedroom kitty-korner from the kitchen door, and it doesn't wake them. I didn't find the grinder any louder than my previous stand-alone grinder. There is a grinding sound and then a whooshing sound, which my sister has compared to an airplane taking off, as the coffee is moved from the grinder to the basket, but I still don't feel it's that loud.
In terms of brewing, I'm a bit disappointed with the filter basket, which has the traditional flat-bottom basket rather than the preferable cone-shaped filter basket, which I feel makes a better cup of coffee. The coffee quality isn't something I'll sing hosannahs about, but it's certainly a great cup of coffee, and it's only made better by the fact that my beans aren't pre-ground and losing flavor all night long.
Clean-up isn't as horrible as I'd read either. So long as I do it immediately after grinding, I don't have to do much more than rinse out the grinder pieces and leave them to dry on a paper towel. When it comes time to set up for the next morning's coffee, they are usually dry and ready to go. Every so often (for instance, if I use flavored beans), I might actually need to use a sponge to wipe off some of the residue, but that's a rare occurrence. Every so often, I toss the carafe, filter, and grinder pieces in the dishwasher, just to make sure that any oils are removed periodically as well. The grinder pieces do, however, have to be cleaned every day, as any coffee residue can cause the grinder to clog.
::: The Final Cup :::
Any do-it-all product is going to have a few sacrifices made in quality of one function or another in order to get everything in one small package. The Cuisinart Grind and Brew Coffeemaker DGB-500BK hasn't sacrificed much at all, and if you want fresh-ground coffee without having to wait for it, there's no better option than the Cuisinart Grind and Brew Coffeemaker DGB-500BK. Well, unless you can afford to hire your own barista to come to your house every morning at 6:00 AM.
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