After buying a succession of cheap coffee makers which broke down after a year or two and made mediocre coffee, I decided to upgrade to Cuisinart.
I don't agree with the negative comments about this product.
The clock is easy to program and it's clearly indicated that you should either use paper or gold filter (twice in the instructions). It's also easy to pour water in the reservoir if you use the carafe. You can turn the coffee maker to the left, and the reservoir opening is easily accessible. Its opening is by no means tiny, as a reviewer described it.
The center funnel which holds the filter is well situated and there is very little risk of dropping coffee grounds into the water reservoir.
The carafe is well designed, with a comfortable handle. It pours neatly, without dripping coffee all over the counter, something which always happened with my old Mr. Coffee.
You do have to realize the lid snaps down on top of the carafe. This is not explained in the instructions.
Most importantly, it makes an excellent coffee.
There is a 3 year guaranty which is more than I have seen for others.
So far, I have no complaint, and I am glad I bought this product for a great price.
Cuisinart DCC-1100BK 12-Cup Programmable Coffeemaker, BlackMy name is Ryan, and I'm a coffee addict... My habit ranges from 1 to 3 pots a day just to remain conscious. So you can understand the level of misery I have had to endure this past week as my 4 year old Gevalia machine met an untimely death during a recent lightning storm. I then began the hunt for a new machine. Basically, Amazon was my first stop since they have everything. I read all sorts of reviews, and finally settled on this one. I must say, this is by far the best machine I've ever owned.
In reading the reviews, I found a few gripes that I don't agree with, so here's my response to those:
1. The number one gripe I see is filling difficulty. The fill hole is much larger than my old machine. Some people said its too small and makes a huge mess. My first time, it did drip a little bit but if you leave the lid off the pot while pouring, works like a charm. Let me put it this way... I wake up in the morning with the jitters, like a fiend looking for some crack... If I can pour it without making a mess ANYONE can. And that's a fact.
2. Numero Dos: Programming difficulty. I'm no rocket scientist by any means, but I had this thing programmed within about 5 minutes. I had no problem understanding the directions. I believe most gripes in this area are operator error.
3. Basket issues: It doesn't stand up on it's own, true, but I don't understand how anyone could miss the basket. Leave it in the machine for pete sake! I hope they don't miss their mouth with that hot coffee! Again, If I can do it without making a mess, anyone can. As for choosing paper or mesh filter, paper of course filters better, but mesh makes it stronger and leaves a bit of sediment in the pot... each way has it's benefits depending on how you like yours.
4. Flip-top so large you have to pull it out from under the counter: True, but how lazy can you be... honestly? It's not that hard of a chore. You'd be hard pressed to find a machine that isn't like this.
I, like others, had some pre-conceived notions from negative reviews, but I found most if not ALL of those to be some pretty weak arguments. I guess some people have more problems than others when trying to understand directions and such. This machine is top notch for the price, hands down!
OH! And please look through all the comments, It's going on 3 years and I have given multiple updates as time has passed. I'm sure you will enjoy!
Hello fellow coffee drinkers. Like most of you I have looked long and hard for a good basic coffee maker. In the last 5 years I have gone through 4 new products and have been quite dissapointed in this whole experience. I mean how hard can it be to make a good coffee maker. I had the basic braun coffee maker for 10 years and loved it. However, two new braun coffee makers later I realized that quality had gone down the drain with the coffee grinds. Then I purchased a krups. I returned it to the store within two weeks as it stopped working. They gave me a replacement which lasted just past the warranty. (figures) Then I tried a GE combo grinder brewer. That was the worst mistake I could have ever made. The first sign that it was garbage should have been when the GE emblem fell off. It leaked. It spilled. I spent more time cleaning than brewing, and thankfully it didn't last as long as its warranty and I had no intentions of getting another one free or not.
I have had this cuisinart now for three weeks. It does everything it says it will do. It never leaks, spills or makes a mess. As per the other reviews I feel it could have a bigger fill area but it really is no more difficult to fill than any other brewer I have owned. (don't let that stand in the way of buying this) I also think it is very easy to program and will even keep your settings in memory if it is unpluged for a short period of time.
This coffee maker works perfect and I hope it lasts as long as the warranty and beyond.
Happy brewing.
This coffee maker makes great coffee, is fairly easy to use, and is true red. However...when ordering they do not tell you that it uses a small charcoal type filter that needs to be replaced every month or two (depending on use) and that these filters are far from cheap!
To make drip coffee, a machine has to do just two things well -- heat the water adequately, and disperse the hot water over the grounds. Oddly, most coffee makers fail at one or the other. This Cuisinart does both pretty well, which is why it is probably the best machine on the market right now under $200 (and the reviews at Amazon testify to that).
TEMPERATURE: The overwhelming majority of brands do not heat the water adequately -- if the water at the grounds is only getting to 175-180 degrees, you will have sour, weak coffee. Ideal temperature is around 202-205. Using a digital thermometer, I measured the DCC-1100 at 197 in the filter basket, which is quite good.
DISPERSION: The second task is showering the hot water over the grounds somewhat evenly. Many coffee makers just stream it in from a mini-faucet, so they overbrew the grounds in the center of the filter and neglect the grounds around the edges. Result is weak, slightly bitter coffee. The very expensive Capresso machine has this problem -- it heats water to nearly 200 degrees but delivers that water poorly. The Capresso, which costs close to $200, makes mediocre coffee (at least it did for us). The Cuisinart isn't perfect in this regard but it does have a "shower head" design that disperses the water pretty well.
One other tip, which applies to all drip machines: Don't start with cold water. Room temperature is good. You can do this by running the tap partly warm, or by pouring the water the night before and letting it get to room temp. It gives the heating element a much better chance of getting the water to a good brewing temp. - Coffee Maker - Coffeemakers - Cuisinart - Cuisinart Coffee Maker'
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