I have a perfectly good Cuisinart DCC-1200, but after spotting the 2000 at a local store I couldn't stop fiddling with the floor model. Well, my wife was lurking as I was fiddling and with my birthday coming up - and my affinity for coffee - she thought she'd found the perfect gift. Boy was she was right!
Now let's be honest, carafe-less designs have been around forever - Farberware's stainless steel coffee pots are staples in offices and at parties - they just haven't been this much fun. I'm not going to repeat everything that's already been written, but suffice to say the 2000 is a unique coffee maker. Does it make coffee better than my 1200 did? No, not really. But it does keep it hot longer, without the bitter, burnt taste that would often accompany the coffee from my 1200 when left on the warming plate for over 30 minutes. I normally have two cups every morning (not the puny 5-ounce "cups" that every coffee maker seems to think is the norm for whatever reason), but I've found myself having about three (maybe not a good thing?) since getting the 2000 because that third cup, about 1-1/2 hours later still tastes great. That wasn't happening with the 1200. Sometimes I'd try the third cup, but the burnt carafe taste made it unfortunate.
One of the complaints I'm reading here is that you need a separate container to fill the 2000. I can't be the only owner that owns a Pyrex 2-cup (or more) measuring cup can I? I just fill it up once, twice - gasp! - three times and pour it in while watching the water level on the side. Honestly, it's not that hard. Cleaning is no different from any model with a carafe. But instead of washing the outer carafe you remove the inner "carafe" to rinse it out or give it a thorough cleaning. That's the only difference. The coffee gauge is kind of silly and inaccurate and I rarely ever look at it, but it adds to the allure of the 2000.
I'll be keeping my 1200 at the ready for my sister to use when she comes over to make her dreadful flavored coffees so they don't contaminate my new toy. But until the next great design advance comes along to which I can't say "no," I'll be enjoying the 2000 to the fullest. It's neat, it's fun and it makes great coffee. Cuisinart DCC-2000 Coffee-on-Demand 12-Cup Programmable Coffeemaker, Brushed Metal
This is really a great coffee maker. The negative reviews all seem to be fixated on the fact that you have to pour water into the reservoir, and the unit doesn't come with a container for this purpose!! Is Cuisinart the Devil? Should I call my lawyer and file a class action suit? What is wrong with people today? Is is really that difficult to procure a plastic pitcher of some sort, fill it with water and then transfer that water into the coffee maker? I think not, and I do it one or two time a day myself without covering my kitchen counters with water. If you are not able to pour water from a pitcher into the reservoir of a coffee machine, I really do not think that you should be trusted with a hot cup of coffee either.
The coffee tastes great, never burnt. It is easy to program and clean and does not take up a whole lot of room. It also comes with one of those re-usable, permanent gold filters which many companies sell separately for about $20. My girlfriend can operate this thing easily, and she has a hard time figuring out the remote control for the TV. If she can program this unit, so can you. As to the other negative comments I have read which describe a powerless, malfunctioning unit, I have had no problems whatsoever with mine. Hope this review was useful, thanks for reading it.
We just purchased this coffee maker. Very unique design in that it uses no carafe but a tank inside the coffee maker to store the brewed coffee. You then press a lever to dispense the coffee. My wife has a habit of breaking the glass carafes and so this should avoid this problem in the future. The plastic tank holds the brew basket as well as the coffee and both are removable for cleaning. Full featured with LCD clock, auto start, and adjustable warming time. The most expensive coffee maker we have ever bought but it is well built and most importantly it makes great coffee.
UPDATE
Have to downgrade my rating to 1 star. While it made great coffee, the coffee maker kept failing. After going through 2 units we gave up and bought a Cuisinart DCC 1200 (with a carafe). We've had it almost two years and so far so good.
Cuisinart has known problem with this coffee maker. The lid builds up condensation and when you open it, it runs down the back and eventually your timer/brewing mechanism will go out. Multiple reviews have had the same problem. Granted, when I called Cuisinart, they are willing to replace it. (Immediately reached a customer service rep on a Sunday afternoon). But I have to pay the shipping out and include a $10 check for return shipping, and in the meantime, I am a month without a coffee maker.
Oh... and by the way, the customer service rep was immediately aware of the problem, so it is a known problem to Cuisinart as well. When I asked the customer service rep if I could replace this machine with a different machine since it is a known defect, she said no, you can only replace like machine for like machine. I guess your only hope is they will discontinue the product.
If you are unfortunate like me and only read this review after you have already purchased the product, my suggestion would be to open the lid just a small amount to hopefully prevent the condensation from running down the back and keeping it in the grinds basket. Then after the condensation has run off, open in the remainder of the way to remove the grinds or add water.
It's quick, quiet, clean, and looks good too.
Filling it up is EZ, especially if you have a sprayer hose thingy on your sink. Otherwise YES you will need another container (preferrably one with a spout) unless you're very adept & not clumsy. If you pour around the top sloppily it WILL get the counter wet, as others have noticed. The tank that holds the finished coffee does come out & you could use this as well but I think it would be kinda awkward, haven't tried it.
It does come with one water filter that supposedly is good for 2 months. Or just put your own filtered water in there & skip the filters all together.
The timer & clock is easily setup. It brews quietly with little gurgling and finishes with a few low non-obnoxious beeps. It's weird how quickly it sets up, I find myself standing there a few seconds afterwards trying to figure out what I forgot to do because it's that zippy of a process.
There are no swinging baskets to fiddle with - the top lifts straight up to give you access to the water area, the inner "pot" that holds the brewed coffee, and the two baskets for grounds. The larger square one is for using paper filters - this one must stay in the machine. The smaller gold filter fits in this one if you go paperless.
Coffee stays HOT but not stupidly dangerously hot like gas station coffee. The last cup is as good as the first - I've grabbed some 3 hours after brewing & tho cooling at that point (heater is on for 2 hours) the coffee tasted fine - not bitter or burned or evaporated down at all. As often as I'm up getting the last murky cup (roomie makes the pot at 5:30am) this makes me VERY happy. We use generic & Kroger brand coffees too, nothing gourmet except very rarely. I can't wait to put some REAL coffee in this to see how it does. Well actually I did today I forgot about that! Decaff southern pecan. It had a distinctive chocolate flavor that I've never experienced before, bonus!
I'd been reviewing & compairing coffee pots for a few months now looking for a number of features: extra cups (12), carafe-less or no-spill thermos, timer/clock. As a bonus this coffee maker is sexy. I like the stainless shiny plate that you put your cup on (and it never gets a drop on it) and the brushed stainless sides that wipe up instantly with a damp washrag - especially if it's hot. The finger marks just evaporate as you wipe. And it doesn't steam up the underside of the cabinets or walls either.
Serving is a breeze, just put your cup under & press the lever. Viola! For very tall cups the grill lifts out easily giving you an extra inch. For jumbo cups (like tall travel mugs) yeah you gonna have to pour in another cup & then dump into YOUR cup.
My only "EH!?" is the gold filter. The one that comes with it just feels a little flimsy to me, I have another one from an old pot I use instead. It's probably fine but I'm just used to the weight of the one I've got.
EDIT 8/30/06 STILL loving this coffee pot!!!!!
We make an average of 3 pots a day, sometimes 4. Still going strong, no problems at all. I run 2 cups of vinegar thru the system (top the rest off with water) to clean and then another pot of clear water to rinse. This keeps everything sparkling.
It's my favorite piece of kitchen equipment - to say the least. I FINALLY have a tidy area around the coffee pot with no drips or sloshed coffee. HURRAH!!!!! - Coffee On Demand - Cuisinart - Dcc-2000 - No Carafe'
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