Cuisinart DCC-450BK 4-Cup Coffeemaker with Stainless-Steel Carafe, Black
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Kitchen and Housewares Reviews of Cuisinart DCC-450BK 4-Cup Coffeemaker with Stainless-Steel Carafe, Black
Customer Review: Works great, solidly built, I like it!
Summary: 4 Stars
After going through three small coffee pots in a row when the too-thin glass carafes broke on each of them, I decided that it would be prudent to spend a bit more and get something that will last.
I only need a 4-cup pot because I'm the only one in the house that drinks coffee, and I only drink maybe 2 cups per day, so I only wanted a small coffeemaker. By the way, the 4 cup coffeemakers are equivalent to 2 big cups if you use a larger-sized mug.
I discovered the Cuisinart and I'm glad I did. It is well made and, of course, I like the stainless steel carafe! No more worries about breaking it.
A couple of things I will mention is that the lid is a bit strange; it doesn't have a hinged thumb tab like you'd think to lift it up, you have to grab it with your fingernails at a spot just above the carafe handle to pry the lid up. But it's really not necessary to remove the lid until it's time to clean the pot.
Also, the metal mesh filter fits rather loosely in the top of the coffee maker -- at first I thought something was wrong, but the filter just sort of sits in the holder without snapping in. It works fine though. You save on paper filters, but it does take significantly more water to clean out the grinds from the very fine metal mesh, something I hadn't considered.
Open the lid and inside the coffemaker the water reservoir has 4 very prominent raised marks, like steps, marked at 1 to 4 cups, so you always know exactly how much water you're pouring in, which is a nice feature.
The rocker button on the side is spring loaded, so you have to hold the coffeemaker with two hands to turn the switch on and off, which is a bit weird. And the cord is very short, only about 2 feet; I wish it were about 1 ft. longer.
It makes a good cup of coffee, probably a little better tasting than most of the other pots I've tried, so I'm happy. I bought the mesh filter accessory also when I ordered the pot, and it works well and I think it helps give a better tasting cup.
It brews up the coffee very quickly. Overall, I really like it, I should have bought one a long time ago. I spent more on the 3 cheaper glass carafe coffeemakers than I did on the Cuisinart. So my bottom line is that the Cuisinart is well made, makes a good cup of coffee very easily and efficiently, it looks good, it's nice and small and fits under my cabinets and it should last a long time. Can't ask for much more than that!
ADDENDUM: By the way, I have no trouble with drips or leaks. As long as the top is pressed on so that it snaps on the top of the pot like it's supposed to, it fits very tight, doesn't leak and directs the water perfectly right out of the spout like it's supposed to, and unlike the cheap glass pots which usually have a too-wide spout that directs the water all over the place.
Customer Review: Want Hot Coffee Inside Cup? Look Elsewhere.
Summary: 2 Stars
About two months ago, I picked up the stainless 4-cup Cuisinart. As many reviews state, it's stylish and looks good on the counter. On aesthetic design, Cuisinart delivered. However, on functional design, flaws have begun to surface.
1. Pouring water into the reservoir often results in spillage. This did not happen at first though. (see my observation on the cause below)
2. Pouring coffee out ALWAYS results in spillage - not dribbling - but spillage. Again, this did not occur when I purchased the unit, but has slowly become more and more of a problem as the unit has been used.
3. Auto-off function works like a charm. So much, that it cuts off the power to the unit approximately 10-15 minutes after brewing. That's fine for weekdays, but if you want a leisure weekend morning (i.e. one cup, then wait a while - another cup), you'll be drinking lukewarm java. If you're okay with reheating in a microwave, then this might be good for you. But, plan on it.
4. The carafe is stainless steel, which implies it might keep the coffee hot longer. Versus glass, it might. Versus an insulated carafe, no. Understand before you purchase this unit, the carafe is NOT INSULATED.
To remedy the heat loss, I occasionally reset the brew button to turn the heating pad back on. This is pretty futile. I'm only buying a little time until I find a replacement.
Unfortunately, I cannot remedy the spillage problem. I don't know this for sure, but I believe this is caused by continual heating of the plastic around the top of the carafe which warps it - thus causing the spout to not properly pour. Why would it work fine for the first few weeks, then slowly begin to fail if this were not the case? Did I wash any of these elements in the dishwasher? No.
I have considered that this may be a malfunction of the unit I purchased. But, to that end, I have seen many reviews stating the same issue. Are 20 - 30% of these sold faulty and the majority functional? Possibly. If those odds concern you, my suggestion is to look elsewhere for function, versus aesthetic design.
2/20/11 Update >>
Since my initial review, the warming portion of the unit has lost portions of it's protective coating. It appears to be a thin layer of teflon. I have never used any cleaner on the surface, so I believe this is a manufacture/design error.
One thing I will note from my review is that the steel carafe probably keeps the coffee hotter than a glass unit would. The problem with this unit is that the automatic shut-off happens too quickly.
Customer Review: PLEASE READ THIS REVIEW
Summary: 1 Stars
I can't believe I'm actually taking the time to write a website review for a coffee pot. I read some of the reviews before purchasing this product thinking "who would take a coffee pot so seriously to write this stuff." So here I am, so passionate about my dislike for this item that I too have taken a serious stance on something so minor. I had a Krups four cup that was perfect but the switch broke and I could not find the same pot to replace it. I did some minor research on Amazon for another four cup pot and chose the Cuisinart. When it works, the coffee is fine. I noticed straight away that the coffee was hotter than my old Krups which was nice. I read about the "dribble" problem in pouring from the pot and thought "how hard could it be?" Trust me, it is hard. I've slowed poured, fast poured, high poured, low poured, at an angle, at no angle and it continues to drip down the side of the pot. It doesn't happen EVERY time but I've resorted to pouring over the sink and wiping the bottom of the pot before I replace it on the hot plate. The auto-shutoff is a pain in the neck. Again, not the end of the world, but I find myself "planning" my next cup of coffee whereby I'll turn the switch back on while doing something else knowing that it will take a few minutes to heat the pot up again. BY FAR the biggest issue is the overflow problem. Again, not every time but it's really become a nuisance. The water gathers in the basket and flows all over the counter. I know what you're thinking, "I didn't seat the basket in correctly so it was not triggering the spring attachment that allows for pouring coffee during mid-brew"...but no. I've done everything to correct this, making sure all parts were perfectly aligned but I still have this problem. What's strange is that everything is great for a week and then suddenly it's all over my counter. I check all the pieces for proper alignment and its all fine... I just don't get it. I can see a problem once in a great while but once every few weeks...really? It's a coffee pot, Cuisinart makes a ton of these things, what's so tough about getting this design right...apparently it's plenty tough. I know we're only talking 25 bucks here, but I'd keep looking and pass on this model.Customer Review: works well for 2 people
Summary: 4 Stars
We bought a red one about 3 years ago and it still works well. I chose this model because we break glass carafes and also for the timer feature. (Red seems not to be available at Amazon anymore.)
It does have issues (minor to me) as other reviewers have noted:
The biggest issue for me was the way the lid was attached to the water nozzle. Open the lid and the nozzle rose with it and both were in the way when filling the reservoir with water. Also this was a safety issue because if one opened the lid during the brew cycle the nozzle would spray out steaming-hot water. This corrected itself when the plastic piece that connected the lid and nozzle broke; now we are able to open the lid all the way making it so much easier to pour the water in.
The carafe occasionally drips while pouring a cup of coffee; this can be alleviated by making sure the lid is on properly. Sometimes the lid looks like it's on correctly yet still drips but after re-seating it the dripping usually stops.
I don't pour water into the reservoir with the carafe lid on, I pour it in with the lid off and the carafe sideways, a half-carafe at a time, which is quicker and there's little or no spillage.
The timer for us is just right, we pour 2 large cups of coffee right after the brewing cycle and there's not much coffee remaining to worry about keeping hot. For those who don't like that the brewing take up 8-10 minutes of heater time simply reset the switch after pouring a cup of coffee after the brew cycle and the heater will stay on 30 minutes from that point.
I don't remember a plastic taste but did run water/vinegar then water twice through it before brewing the first pot of coffee.
If it ever goes out on us I think we'd buy another.
(Even though it's made in China)
Customer Review: Worst coffee maker I've ever had!
Summary: 1 Stars
Got this as a Christmas gift and I am returning it today. This has to be the most poorly designed coffee maker ever! Where does one begin: Out of the box, the lid for the carafe was almost impossible to remove. Once off, it is very difficult to put back on correctly. Likewise the water reservoir lid. Very cumbersome. Initially, the stainless steel carafe seems quite neat, until you try to use it. It is impossible to pour out of the thing without it dribbling water/coffee everywhere. No matter how slowly I tried to pour, I could not get it to stop it's "dribble." Also, the steel gets very very hot, and you can burn yourself if you are not careful! In addition, the automatic cutoff of 30 minutes is much to short. Going back to refill my cup invariably led to my finding it had turned itself off and the coffee was cold. My biggest complaint about this machine, however, is the "Brew Pause" feature. Supposedly, you can pour a cup of coffee while the brewing cycle in still in process. They claim you can interrupt the brewing process without having it drip out onto the heating element. This never happened with this machine. Taking the carafe out to pour a cup, and I would have to rush to catch the coffee continuing to pour out all over the place. You need to have paper towels handy with this machine. Terrible! Last, but not least, this machine was undoubtedly designed by and for right handers. It is not left handed "friendly." Also, the on/off switch is on the side of the machine, not the front, where it logically should be placed. In short, I hate this machine and its design. I wouldn't even give it a one star rating if there were anything lower!