Product Description
Cuisinart Single Serve Coffee Maker for K-Cups
Customer Reviews
Review 1:
This coffee maker makes a great cup of coffee! I have increased my coffee consumption beyond just initial wake up and breakfast. It was kinda hard to justify the price at first, but with family encouraging me, I purchased this model from Bed Bath & Beyond with a 20% off coupon.
There was a small learning curve and adjustment to make, but it was worth it. I have many 14 and 16 oz mugs from around the world and have become used to drinking a couple of 14 oz cups each morning. However I quickly learned that even the 12 oz setting with the K-cup caused the coffee to be too weak for my taste. I settled on using the 8 oz and 10 oz settings, depending on the coffee used. The increase in flavor, taste and consistency over even the best of pot brewed coffee - more than made up for the decrease in amount.
The price of the K-cups are too expensive to continue using them at the rate of 6 to 10 a day, every day, and my personal favorite coffees are not available in K-cups anyway. A a result, I use the included "make your own" filter most of the time and make my favorite coffees. This setup works great and has very consistent flavor. I have ordered the Solo-cup and EZ cup and will try them when they arrive.
My wife noted that I don't just stand at the coffeemaker waiting on the coffee anymore. It is fast and convenient and every cup is fresh and hot like that first cup from a brewer. I can't go back to the old way. I am glad my family urged me to get it.
Review 2:
I cannot believe how good this product is in combination with Keurig's K-cup system. We've owned the Bosch Tassimo and loved that for the last year until we couldn't get the descale light to go away, plus the selection was quite limited to Starbucks and Gevalia. Both good brews (not great), but in comparison to the variety of the K-cup system they look and taste paltry in comparison. Caribou Coffee is a mirror image (tastewise) of what you buy in stores and the Donut Shop blend from the Coffee People is incredible as well. For a bigger kick Emeril's Bold and Easy is fantastic, or you can brew your own blend of whatever you like in the reusable cup which Cuisinart nailed. Coarse ground coffees fresh from Dunkin Donuts come out very weak and are not advisable, but their Turbo Hot blend sold in grocery stores brews FANTASTIC as it has a finer grind. I think you can re-grind coarse coffee in a burr grinder to get a deeper brew.
Again, if you love coffee and you love the idea of the single brew system then this Cuisinart is for you. It's a solid machine that brews a very impressive cup of joe from a variety of vendors.
Review 3:
This is my third k-cup brewer. The 5 cup selection is the best! Using the 4 Oz iced settings makes very good espresso to my taste. If it were possible I would rate this as a 10 star review. My bride of 49 years like her tea strong and the 6 Oz is just right. As we are both retired we set the auto on to 07:00 and off at 22:00 (10:00 PM). We consume about 80 Oz of coffee/tea daily and the reservoir of 80 Oz only requres a daily filling most days. Crusinart got this one right even better than their grind & brew makers.
Review 4:
Pros: After reading the reviews posted here and purchasing the system, I will add my review. First off, our systems works without any flaws in its computer programming. The pump works, the needles are not clogged and the proper amount of liquid is dispensed for any setting. That said, we followed all written directions and began to use the K-cups. Some of the coffee was too strong for our taste at a setting of 8 oz. So, if that is the case, just up the amount brewed to 10 or 12 oz. If coffee is too weak for your taste, then purchase K-cups that say extra-bold on their label. They contain more coffee for larger cups or stronger taste.
Next, we used the coffee filter system that allows you to brew using your own coffee. We followed directions and did not overfill the top of the filter. We never had any grounds in our cup. Next, the coffee filter can hold about 2 spoon fills of ground coffee. The taste of your coffee will depend on how much you put into the filter holder and how coarse or fine the grind is. Fine grinds work best. There is also the option to purchase the Solofill K-cup which I have not yet tried.
Overall the unit heats quickly and does what it says. there is flexibility in producing the coffee to your taste. Work with it to produce the cup your own brain likes.
Con: Even though we set it up per directions, our water output had a strong plastic taste coming from the unit. We brewed 10 cups, did 4 rinses and 3-4 hot waters and the plastic taste was still not acceptable. I did a little research and found persons had used vinegar to rid this taste. So, I removed the charcoal filter, filled up the holding tank with 9 parts tap water and 1 part white vinegar ( 8 oz.,10%), let it sit for 5 minutes and then began using rinse, brew and hot water dispense cycles. I did this, adding fresh water as the tank empties till a total of about 25 cycles were run. The smell of the plastic vapor was gone. I then rinsed out the tank completely, and continued brewing until there was no more vinegar odor coming from the hot water that was dispensed. I then brewed again, let the water cool and compared it to water from the tap and from our filtered water on the fridge. It no longer had any plastic taste and our coffee is much improved.
So overall, if the machine holds up, I think it is excellent. If it breaks, then that is another matter.
Review 5:
First of all I must say I did not purchase this unit threw Amazon.com, but it is a great forum for product reviews. This model appears to be the second generation, so some of the "bugs" of the first model have been fixed. I was not looking for a new coffee maker, honestly, I received it threw my employers rewards program. It was probably the only item that interested me, so I read the reviews on here and took the plunge. It is a pricey item but is very well made and should provide years of service. Now, this world of gormet coffee makers is all new to me. I was perfectly satisfied with a can of Folgers and my Mr Coffee. However, the first cup with this new brew system was a real treat!
It will open up a whole new world of coffee blends for you one cup at a time. You can adjust the strenth of the coffee simply by making a larger cup. I also enjoyed the other choice of hot apple cider in the k cups. The hot chocolate, milk and dark chocolate, I found to be just OK. You can rinse the machine after brewing one of those choices and it will not interfer with the taste of your next cup of coffee.
Anyhow, I have ordered several different varities of k cup blends to try and find this to be a real adventure. If your on the fence about purchasing this brewing system, I say it will be a treat for you and your entire family. I also have the k cup lazy susan dispenser on the counter and it looks great together and functions well. when company comes over, this is a real conversation piece and everyone chooses their own blend and makes their own cup...or two. It's a lot of fun, my friends bring the desert and I supply the coffee. A good deal all the way around. Buy it and have fun!
Review 6:
I reviewed all of the various Keurig coffeemakers and chose Cuisinart because it had several features the others did not. Plus, Cuisinart makes high-quality products and this is no exception. Very simple to use, and I have had ZERO PROBLEMS. I have brewed over 50 cups already, and still no problems. I bought mine at Kohl's with an extra 30% off coupon I received as a Kohl's MVP customer. Bed Bath & Beyond has a huge assortment of K cups, and you can use your 20% off coupon. The coffeemaker comes with a really good troubleshooting guide in case you have any problems. I bought the carousel that you can store the K Cups in, and I feel like I have my own coffee shop right in my own home!! I do run the "rinse" cycle between brews so that the lines are always clean for the next cup. This is important if you brew hot chocolate, because apparently it can clog the lines. Also important if you have a tea drinker in your house who doesn't want their tea to taste like coffee! I can't say enough about this coffeemaker. It is ready to brew its second cup almost immediately. I can use my huge coffee mug and brew back-to back 8 oz's into it, for a very large cup of morning joe!
Review 7:
We have had several different pod use coffeemakers. All of them delivered about the same taste, but this one wins because of two features--it's quiet and the water reservoir holds much more
Review 8:
So I waited a while to get on the Keurig bandwagon because I didn't want to use the k-cups. But I had an ailing cappucino machine that needed replacing, so when I saw this and I could use my own coffee I decided to take the plunge. Very happy so far! Piping hot coffee, nice hot water feature for tea and oatmeal, etc. Even my hubby started drinking coffee again :) A few pointers:
1. I heeded the advice of the other posters and don't take the tank off to refill it.
2. Using your own coffee is a little tricky in getting the right ratio - the coffee has to be pretty finely ground to make it taste un-watery. It does say NOT to tamp the grounds and I found that helped - I'd missed that in the directions first time around.
3. The use-your-own-grounds thing gets a little messy but very worth it.
4. I will say that even tho I said no k-cups... they taste pretty fantastic. The sampler package will have you hooked on at least one brand!
Incidentally, the capp machine I was replacing was a $1000 professional one from a fancy home store, a wedding gift from my hubby. It never made coffee that tastes as good as this $200 beauty. Buy and enjoy!
Review 9:
I have wanted a single serve brewing system for a few months now but was hesitant after reading so many poor reviews about long term performance. Based on reviewer feedback I decided to take my chances with this Cuisinart. Although I have not had it very long, I am absolutely in love! The convenience is not to be underestimated - no more washing out the coffee pot and preparing the coffee the night before. I programmed the Cuisinart to come on at 0500 in the morning, so it is ready when I am for an instant cup of coffee. We have happily tried all the versions of kcups that came in the variety pack, and I have found that if I use the bold flavors I can brew twice using the same kcup for a perfect strength of joe! I also took another reviewer's advice and add water with a pitcher instead of removing the tank each time and have not had any problems thus far with the pump. I highly recommend the Cuisinart!!!
Review 10:
We are very pleased with this purchase. The service was excellent and the coffee it produces (along with the ease of making it) renders the experience so pleasurable even in the morning hours when my eyes are hardly focused enough to look at the coffee maker! I also prefer this item to my former coffee maker because it is much easier to see the water level and appears to brew with more choices of size. Ultimately I would not (at present) want another brand in this line of product.
Other Single Serve Bewing System Products:
Mr. Coffee Single Serve Powered by Keurig Brewing Technology
Cuisinart SS-700 Single Serve Brewing System, Silver
Keurig B-70 B70 Platinum Single-Cup Home Brewing System
