Cuisinart Grind & Brew Thermal Coffee Maker Review

We received the Cuisinart Grind & Brew Thermal Coffee Maker as a Christmas present from my sister.  I enjoy a latte mug or two of coffee in the morning but I'm by no means picky about coffee making machines or beans.  Folger's has always been good enough for me.   My boyfriend, on the other hand, had been pining for freshly-ground coffee and he's impossible to shop for, so she jumped on the opportunity and bought it for him.  I've been living with this coffee maker for over 6 months now and I have to say that I really don't like it.

Although the Cuisinart Grind & Brew Thermal Coffee Maker is easy to use, it has a couple of major design flaws. The main problem with the machine is that the steam from the heating water gets into the grinding mechanism and turns the leftover grinds into a brown, gooey mess.  There's no way to make another pot of coffee without completely washing (*cough* or just rinsing *cough*) the grinder pieces and drying them.  This means that at 5am when I am bleary-eyed and trying to make coffee for myself, I have to go through an elaborate washing/drying process before it can start brewing.  The thermal carafe also is stupidly-designed.  When you remove the lid, the opening is too small to fit your hand in to scrub out the carafe.  I usually just rinse it out during the week and do a weak bleach/water soak during the weekend to clean it. 

One thing that I really do like about this machine is how hot the thermal carafe keeps coffee.  During the summer my boyfriend is up and out the door by 5:30am while I may sleep until 8 or 9.  Whatever time I wake up--I can head to the kitchen and pour a hot cup of coffee from the carafe.  The Grind & Brew is programmable which is a nice feature though I rarely use it.  After I get done cooking dinner in the evening, the last thing I want to deal with is washing out the coffee grinder, basket, and carafe... so I put it off until morning and am constantly annoyed at how much work it is just to get the coffee maker up and running.  If you do choose to program it for your morning coffee, you don't need to set your alarm.  The grinder sounds like a 747 taking off and definitely will wake you up just as quickly as your alarm would. 

I am not a fan of the Cuisinart Grind & Brew Thermal Coffee Maker.  For almost $200, the machine should be easier to use and much easier to clean.  I would happily go back to my $30 Black & Decker machine but my boyfriend threw it out as soon as he unpacked his Christmas present.  Unfortunately, we're stuck with this difficult machine.