Cuisinart DCC-2000 Coffee-on-Demand 12-Cup Programmable Coffeemaker, Brushed Metal
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Kitchen and Housewares Reviews of Cuisinart DCC-2000 Coffee-on-Demand 12-Cup Programmable Coffeemaker, Brushed Metal
Customer Review: This beats the 11 coffee makes I own!
Summary: 5 Stars
I think the people who write negative reviews of this product have been writing for the Quibbler (And they put a tea bag where the filter stick is)!
I have coffee at my house (BIG PRODUCTION!!!) Then I have coffee at a friend's house. This is their coffee maker. They make a couple of excellent cups, and that is that. Along come a few more people and this coffee maker is overwhelmed. It's a community, and well, this is not a community coffee maker- get a Mr Coffee. They use Starbucking French Roast coffee- It is excellent. But alas, they built a chicken coop for 20 chickens, debated getting a bee hive, and well, with 4 - 8 hungry mouths showing up all the time to debate earth projects in Chicago, this coffee maker had to go! Oh No!!! They bought a new machine, and it is horrible.
So, I got this (their) machine. Number 12. The 12th Monkey. And well, now I have fantastic (back to the future, look at the top dial) coffee machine on a timer.
1) Get rid of the filter stick. Filter your own water with a jug for nothing the price of the filters. Filter water does make a difference, my super future Bodum Granos Espresso Machine tells me so! Just filter it yourself!
2) A basket is the best distributive way of getting water to coffee grinds/ saturate and the oils and aromatics will come! Paper will suck up some of the goodness! Although I have some success with bamboo filters-with-holes I'm not saying so.
3) Don't even dare mention the ideal temperature- it is no where near my $200 Moccamaster, but I will. And as much a Tony the Tiger will dive in my Moccamaster tank, this machine makes better coffee, hands down. Now, when I get the timer out, a put the dial to 6, and set the mechanical filter to STOP, and brew 4 cups, yes, they are almost equal. But that would imply I am awake, working on a full tank.
4) Did I mention the evil little dial on top that tells you it has cups of coffee for you?
5) Lastly, and I'm drinking some Intelligentsia SILVER STARS BLEND right now, yes, right now. . .with this machine, black hole forming, excellent Indie coffee (versus the machine- Cuisinart) will brew in this machine. It did happen. You read it here.
Customer Review: Cute, but not functional for everyday use
Summary: 2 Stars
I've been looking for a carafe-less coffee maker for some time. I had been using the Hamleton beech models with delight, but their recent changes made the product lower in quality. So we srpung and pruchased the cuisinart, for quite a bit more money.
I give this coffee pot 2 stars for:
1. It makes coffee on a time with reliability.
2. It has an overall appealing design that would compliment most kitchen decors.
However, here is what it DOESN'T do, and the reason for 2 stars.
1. Perhaps the biggest compaint is it doesn't make 12 cups of coffee like promised. I've always had a 12 cup pot and this maker brews about 2/3 of the coffee of other makers.
2. You can't use a travel mug with this maker. You have to dispense the coffee into a smaller container, such as a pryex measuring cup and transfer into a travel cup as the clearance is not high enough. This is a major inconvenience for busy workers looking to grab a cup of joe before leaving for the day.
3. For at home use, our coffee cups are of the modern design, a little taller than traditional cups. They barely fit under spout and you cannot tell how full the cup is when dispensing. You have to tilt the cup back and peek in. If you add cream and sugar, you'll want to put it in first for convenience of over poor.
4. Filling it with water is difficult and usually results in some spilling. We use a large pryex measuring cup to poor it in for a better spout. Another inconvenience to store another container near by. Even if you use the guide on the inner container for pooring, it will overflow if you don't watch the side measuring line.
5. The drip tray below is constructed in 2 pieces for removal and cleaning. This is extrememly problematic because it is also the drain tray for water overflow. Consequently, it fills up quickly and LEAKS between the seams onto your counter top. The water stays under the machine (hidden from view) and will stain your countertop. I had to use comet to get the coffee stain off my countertop.
Therefore, if you stay at home all day, have small coffee cups and want this pot soley for design, then you'll be happy with it. Otherwise, I'd keep shopping.
Customer Review: Abundant Design Flaws Spoil Cool-Looking Coffee Maker
Summary: 2 Stars
I am generally pretty easy to please, and I honestly wanted to love this coffee maker, but I'm definitely going to get rid of it. I gave it 2 stars because it looks really nice, and it does make coffee and keep it hot. The timer works as well.
However, there are just too many problems with this unit. For example, it has a tendency to leak out, and badly. Today, I came home from work, and there was about 4 oz. of coffee all over the counter. It seems that the valve to keep the coffee in the reservoir periodically malfunctions. The striking thing about this machine is that it has no carafe. It looks like an institutional beverage machine or something, which seems cool. But not having a carafe is a problem, because now you have to go get something else to load the machine with water. Another negative. The carafe-less design also means that about one third of my coffee mugs are too tall to fit under the dispenser. So I have to get another mug and use that to fill my commuter mug, and hope that I don't spill and make another mess.
More issues: The hole for pouring the coffee in is definitely too small, and it's easy to spill the water onto the dry coffee grounds. The coffee basket that drops in from the top has a little handle on it which always gets in the way as I try to shake the filter and the used grounds out, which often causes grounds to miss the garbage can, and also gets grounds all over the outside of the basket.
I'm not making this stuff up. There's even more. One of the worst design flaws is the reservoir, which as you can see dispenses downwards -- perfect for dispensing any coffee grounds which may have settled on the bottom -- and yes, those are usually present in abundance unless you're real careful to use less coffee than you may want.
I've even got one more. The coffee-catching reservoir on the bottom, which also looks cool, is very shallow, and doesn't hold much. In addition, when it fills up, which occurs easily, you will have to be very careful as you pull it out of its spot, because unless you are, you will spill that coffee every time.
My 2 cents is that a standard carafe approach is the way to go. This thing is just a hassle.
Customer Review: Great until it dies.
Summary: 3 Stars
After my last Cuisinart (DCC-1200) started turning itself off during brewing after about 3 years, I decided to give the DCC-2000 a try. I liked the idea of the carafe-less design and the overall look of the machine.
Since I am not a coffee expert, I will leave the taste tests to those who know more what they are talking about. I generally drank darker beans, black with this machine and the flavor was fine for me.
As far as the way the machine works in day-to-day use, I was pleased, but not wowed. For it's task, making coffee, it works. It's not horribly fast or slow, just does what you would expect which is good. However, there are a couple of flaws that make the experience less than ideal. First, the reservoir is not removable, which is fine, except that there is no easy way to pour water into it. My solution was a 4 cup Pyrex measuring cup. Second, there is simply not enough room for tall travel mugs to fit under the pour valve. Again, the solution was a Pyrex measuring cup. While neither of these situations are ideal, they really weren't deal breakers.
The deal breaker is Cuisinart's apparent lack of quality. After roughly a year of service, the DCC-2000 began turning itself on and off just as my old DCC-1200 did. After some research, it seems the likely issue is water rolling off the lid, down the back of the unit and getting into the electronics and shorting something out. I have no way to actually verify this, but I can tell you that water would routinely run down the back of both machines. If this is the problem, why Cuisinart has not waterproofed the area where the electronics are is beyond me. The good news is that Cuisinart has an excellent warranty with excellent customer service. They are sending me a DCC-2200 to replace the DCC-2000 because of backorders.
If you really want a carafe-less machine, this definitely fits the bill, and the coffee, in my opinion, is good. However, be prepared to have it replaced as it seems Cuisinart's quality is not what it used to be. Even though their customer service and warranty was excellent, I have decided to go another direction with the Bunn My Cafe and leave the replacement from Cuisinart in the closet for backup.
Customer Review: Didn't need, but had to have! Love it!
Summary: 5 Stars
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.