best grind & brew coffee maker???

[pamd]

I'm looking for reviews for which grind & brew coffee maker to buy. I've read some reviews online & see some with both positive & negative comments. All input helpful- thanks!

[amyk00025]

If you like espresso, look into breville's barista express. I love it.

[poser]

FWIW Breville has a very poor reputation in the coffee world. For the money there are many better choices. if you are in the market for espresso or regular coffee for that matter there are other better Internet sites to visit than CH.

[hawkeyeui93]

I couldn't disagree more .... I have a Keurig maker made by Breville and it is the most solid coffee maker I have ever owned.

[poser]

Pod is coffee? That is new to me.

[hawkeyeui93]

I cannot speak to the "pod" technology, but as far as I can discern, K-Cups use real coffee. More importantly, buy the reusable K-Cup and your finest coffee and I cannot tell the difference between it and any high-end coffee maker I have ever had a cup of joe out of [other than it is freshly brewed each and every time versus diminishing returns on the remainder of a pot of coffee sitting around].

[poser]

There are really simple one cup pour over brewers that will make a much better cup of coffee. yes they are a little more user intensive, and require a little more cleanup. But the difference in quality is huge.

[SWISSAIRE]

Both my wife's and my parents Capresso Coffee Team coffee makers have been going strong now since iI purchased them in 1995. The coffeemaker incoporates a burr grinder.

Once or twice a day, each and every day.

[pamd]

steam in the grinder making it difficult to clean is what I keep reading. Is there one that is not hard to clean? I'm not interested in Kcups for this purpose. It's for someone who cannot have sugar (or substitutes) added to coffee, so they want the best possible taste, which seems to come from freshly grinded coffee. Any other suggestions welcome.

[iluvcookies]

Steam in the grinder is inherent to this type of design, unfortunately. But a good grinder isn't too expensive, and I personally think it's the beans as much as the pot that makes a good cup. If you search these boards, you will get tons of info. But if it's a really good cup you are after, then you would be well served by finding a local coffee place and asking one of the people who work there for tips.

[redbeanbun]

yes, if the grinder is perched directly above the brew basket, the steam will just rise straight up and clump the grounds. maybe a delivery chute would help. how much are you willing to spend? doesn't breville now make a combo unit now as well? i think both williams-sonoma and sur la table have demo machines of various brands. perhaps there are other local kitchen shops in your area that might demo these machines. they can be quite an investment.

[julesrules]

The Krups design fixes this issue. We've had it just over a year and never cleaned the grinder. However, it is well known to fail around the one-year mark (water stops cycling) which is ridiculous for the price, not to mention that Krups is apparently selling machines they basically must know are defective (or designed to fail?)
Our solution after reading many online reviews was to go with a "manufacturer refurbished" Krups from ebay for under $100 but still with 1-year warranty. When it did fail as expected we were within warranty and it was repaired. It's been about 2 months and we are waiting to see how much more mileage we get out of it. It's not an ideal solution but there does not seem to be any ideal grind and brew at any price.
http://www.amazon.com/Krups-KM7000-co...

[ninrn]

Hi JulesRules, Just wondering how the Krups is holding up so far. I was thinking of doing the same thing -- getting a factory refurb from eBay. Would love to know of any issues. Thanks.

[julesrules]

Since getting it repaired under warranty it has been fine... Fingers crossed! But at this point, I'm happy enough that I would buy another refurbished one when this one does go.

[iluvcookies]

I have a Cuisinart grind and brew, and it works well. It's kind of hard to clean the grinding mechanism because it gets wet from the steam of the brewing process, but other than that it's fine.

If I had a choice, I would have gotten a separate coffemaker and grinder, but since this one was a gift, I kept it.

[Cincat]

Better yet, get a K-cup machine or one of the new V-cup coffee brewers. Freshly brewl coffee one cupmata time. I have a burr grinder, Bunn brewer and and a K-cup machine. K cups are my first choice using Millstone and Folgers k-cups. They are the best

[iluvcookies]

No, won't happen. Had K-cups at work and I'm not a fan.
I got a separate grinder for when I need it.

[Cincat]

Probably the coffee brand. The Green Mountain, Donut House coffees are not the best. Try the Millstone Lively Colombian. Best rated coffee for a reason!

[hawkeyeui93]

Do note that the K-Cup makes a reusable add-your-own ground coffee that ups the game with the Keurig. With that being said, my favorite coffee K-Cups is Coffee People's "Jet Fuel." In terms of the OP, I had a Cuisinart grind and brew and would agree with your recommendation of buying a great coffee maker and a separate grinder.

[iluvcookies]

Thanks to you both, but I'm not in the market for a new coffemaker, the OP is. There are several threads on K-cup machines already.

[hawkeyeui93]

cookies: I think my post both pertain to your initial reaction to your dislike of K-Cups at work as well as your commentary about the Cuisinart grind and brew .... As far as the threads on K-Cups already existing, I am aware of it and thank you kindly for pointing it out.

[iluvcookies]

That's OK... I just don't know why Cincat brought them up in the first place. I suppose I should have responded to her/him.

[njmarshall55]

Exactly what I've found. Steam in the grinder is the only down side to this unit....oh...one more thing...the noise! Grinder sounds like a 747 taking off.

[KrumTx]

It DOES sound like a 747. My dog and cat go screeching out of my room each morning when it goes off. You'd think after 4 years they'd be used to it. I do recommend this Cuisinart, though. The sound and steam are the only drawbacks, but are minimal in my opinion.

[Googs]

I clean my Cuisinart after it's had a chance to dry. To deal with the cornering, I gently use a bottle scrubber in a one-direction corkscrew motion that carries the grinds out with it. Then the handy little tool that it came with finishes. I find if you don't get those grinds out every week (depending on mileage), the coffee gets weaker and the maker can't function properly.

I'm 100% happy with mine. Start with cold filtered water, great beans, and let it do the rest.

[TeRReT]

my parents had the cuisinart for 3 years and loved it and have recently replaced it with a similar one.

The one they loved was this one, they tried to replace it with the same but got the wrong one by accident.

http://www.amazon.ca/Cuisinart-DGB-90...