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: Plastic flavor
Summary: 2 Stars
We are on our second unit. The first one lasted less than a year, when the electronics began to malfunction and the reservoir began to leak. Cuisinart replaced the unit with a new, slightly redesigned unit. The new machine shipped with the instruction to regularly decalcify the unit by running vinegar water though it.
We have a diabetic in the house who has difficulty seeing the small opening where you pour the water. If you are not careful, water can spill into the area around the coffee reservoir and run down into the collection tray (below where you set your cup). Not a big deal, but difficult for some.
Instead of brewing the coffee into a standard carafe, the unit merely stores the coffee in an internal reservoir with a heating element. Otherwise, it functions just like any other home coffee maker. Instead of pouring the coffee from a carafe, you simply dispense it into your cup.
Most tall on-the-go thermal coffee cups are too tall to fit in the dispensing area. Standard coffee mugs, even very large ones will fit, however.
The coffee reservoir is double-walled plastic with a metal disc at the bottom where it sits over the heating element. The coffee comes out very hot and the reservoir stays heated very hot. For me the biggest drawback with this machine is that the reservoir is plastic. After about a half hour or so of sitting in the reservoir the coffee starts to take on a plastic flavor. Given that the heating element keeps the coffee hot, the coffee can also start to taste burnt if not consumed right away. If you use all the coffee within 30 minutes you should be fine, and it does make a pretty good cup of coffee. Compared with coffee I make in the french press, coffee brewed in this Cuisinart unit is very decent.
The "12-cup" capacity in the description, of course, refers to a smaller cup of about 5 1/2 ounces. So the unit actually makes 8 US cups, or 64 oz.
Customer Review: Not perfect, but not bad
Summary: 4 Stars
Overall, this seems to be a reasonably well-made product with great "curb appeal." We just got it and have already had several people ask "what is that?" not realizing it was a coffee maker... she thought it was a soft-serve ice cream machine. Yes, I realize that some of the price we paid was for the little "Cuisinart" logo (I figure about $4 per letter :)
It was very easy to set up, and the instructions were shockingly easy to understand. One thing the instructions didn't mention, unless I missed it, was whether or not the machine kept the coffee heated when you left it on. Apparently it does. Programmable auto-shutoff is nice to... you can control how long it will stay on after brewing so that you don't have to remember to shut it off.
I'm no coffee snob (lots of cream and sugar, please), so I'm not qualified to comment on taste... it's fine to me. I'm all about convenience, and this unit gets top marks there.
Pros: My tall travel mug will fit under the dispenser if I remove the grate; it has a water filter; no carafe; reservoir and basket have convenient little handles; built-in backup on the clock/timer so it doesn't reset to 12:00 if you unplug the unit briefly to move it or the power goes out for a moment (LOVE THAT!!)
Cons: Only one, really... when you open the lid, the inevitable condensation underneath runs down to the back of the lid hindge, then down the back of the machine, then onto the counter. A better design would have channeled the water back into the reservoir, rather than channeling it onto my counter. So be sure to wipe under the machine after opening and closing the lid, or you may think you have a leak.
Can't comment on durability/longevity, but with the warranty, I'm not going to worry. I've got my constant caffeine fix, my tastes-like-melted-coffee-ice-cream coffee, and it looks really cool in my kitchen.
Customer Review: Updated: Retired my Pod Machine Happily
Summary: 4 Stars
I just wanted to update that almost a year later and my machine is still going strong. I do not have any leakage problems and I use a tupperware pitcher to fill it so it takes only one trip and I have no leaks. I don't regret for one moment this machine - the only problem is I tend to make more than I will drink in a day so I have to remember to empty it, but that is my problem, not the machine's!
I have been using a Pod machine for awhile now but was missing my favorite Dunkin Donuts coffee and since they weren't coming out with the Pods, I decided it was time to go back to drip. After a lot of searching I came across this beauty and after looking at all the reviews I decided to give it a shot and I am SO glad that I did.
I have not had any issues with leakage, for me the trick is to slide it slowly back under the cabinets so the water does not slosh out (I realize the moving of the coffee maker poses an irritation for some but I don't find this very uncommon). As for filling it, my normal glass measuring cup, filled twice does the trick and there are no spills involved.
The coffee is great and no glass carafe is even better since I am always washing them and ultimately breaking them. I also decided to see how long the coffee would last, so I made a full pot (being the only coffee drinker wasting with anything other than a pod machine was my principal concern) Saturday morning (with the programmable start) and kept it on all day Saturday and then set the program to start again Sunday morning to reheat the previous day's coffee and it was good all the way until bedtime on Sunday with no burning flavor and still tasting amazingly fresh.
With the internal carafe, the way it is heated and the dispenser I find that I am not missing my pod coffee at all... the con in all of this? I am drinking WAY more coffee!
Customer Review: DCC-2000 FLATLINED! Will not 2 Stars
Let me start off by stating I absolutely loved this coffee maker but now I can no longer revive it. It is going to a landfill grave. It lasted about a year then it started its slow death. I purchased this at Bed, Bath & Beyond but didn't start using it until several months later since I hated to give up my old Krups. I knew the day would come when my old friend would pass on but I didn't want to not have a backup just in guess. Well that day came and my Krups died suddenly but at least it had a long rich life. Okay back to reality I had to start using this coffee on demand that had been sitting patiently on my counter. Well after the first cup, I was in love again!A year or so later, it wouldn't start. I started to panic and fiddled with the controls and low and behold it started to work again but .... as time went by, it started acting up more and more. I would turn the on control and nothing then it would start minutes, hours, days later. It was possessed. I turned all the controls on and off, unplugged and plugged with results varying, sometimes getting it to come back to life and working for a few more months. Now I can't take it anymore! I purchased the Cuisinart DCC-1200 as a backup to this. I would get the DCC-2000 all gussied up and then nothing, so I would make coffee in the DCC-1200. Then the DCC-2000 a few hours later would start and I would wind up with two "pots" of coffee.
Through all this I did call Cuisinart customer service somewhere not in the USA and the rep said it was an old serial number and out of warranty. I couldn't find my receipt and don't know if this was sitting at BB&B or if reps are telling this to get out of sending a replacement. All I know is I paid a lot and purchased this new and I only got a year of use.
Don't think your happiness will last because one day your machine will turn on you.
Customer Review: Another Chinese piece of junk
Summary: 1 Stars
I join the angry multitude here voicing their contempt for this CHINESE PIECE OF JUNK. Mine leaks too. Actually, it doesn't leak, the unit's defective design allows for water to splash out the back when you give it the slightest push. The cheap, flimsy plastic lid curls up from the heat and steam when it brews, thus allowing the heat to escape. Half the time the coffee is hot, half the time it's tepid at best. After about a year of use, one day it didn't come on when I plugged it in. Thinking the receptable wasn't getting power, I tried another plug. Turns out that there is something wrong with the cord because yanking on it sometimes gets it to work. Other times, no luck. Today it didn't work at all. So, I ended up pouring boiling hot water over the grounds and making my pot of coffe this morning (at 5:00 a.m.) "by hand."
This is just another example of a recognized quality name brand trying to maximize profits by selling the public a cheaply made product, made with cheap Communist Chinese labor (maybe even slave labor, given the country of origin), with a recognized "quality" name slapped on the front. This is exactly what is wrong with this country - American companies trying to con the public into buying non-American products. I'm sick of it. So sick of it that today I did a Google search for "American-made coffee makers." Bunn came up. As soon as I get done here, I'm going to buy one here at Amazon.
Thanks for the info on Cuisinart accepting returns, but why bother when the design is still defective? Oh, by the way, if the reservoir doesn't empty all the way it's probably because that microscopic-sized water "filter" is probably clogged up. Try running vinegar and water through it to clean out the hard water sediments. BE CAREFUL NOT TO LET IS SPLASH ONTO YOUR COUNTER THOUGH!