5 Best Cuisinart Coffee Makers: Start Your Day Right

When you’re looking for a new coffee maker, it can be a challenge to find the right brand and model.

If you’ve settled on a Cuisinart coffee maker, you’ve made some steps into getting your final product, but there are still so many decisions to make.

What’s Great About Cuisinart Coffee Makers?

The kitchen appliance brand Cuisinart is well known for its high-quality kitchen appliances. Cuisinart coffee makers are some of the best out there, and they are lots of different ones to choose from.

Some come with a thermal carafe, and other Cuisinart coffee makers have single-serve brewers.

Some are more manual, while others are programmable. Of course, all of these different features mean different prices.

Our best Cuisinart coffee maker reviews will show you a range of options to help you decide.

These Are Our Top 5

Considerations when Choosing Your Cuisinart Coffee Maker

First and foremost, your coffee maker needs to serve your needs. But do you know exactly what your coffee-making needs are? Ask yourself the following questions:

• Will the coffee maker be for home use?
• Are you a large family or a single person?
• Do you regularly entertain guests or invite others around for coffee?

Here are some more things to consider:

How Convenient Is It?

When it comes to convenience, it’s a good idea to ask yourself how much you’d like the machine to do.

A programmable coffee maker suits many people who want (or need) their coffee to be ready when they wake up.

These coffee makers need refilling the night before and then programming to start brewing at the desired time.

This is a must if you’re one of those people who can’t function until you’ve had your first cup of coffee.

A manual coffee maker doesn’t have a timer, so you can’t use them for this purpose. However, they are typically cheaper, smaller, and simpler to use.

Drinks

When choosing a coffee machine, it’s a good idea to know which types of drinks you want to make.

If you always drink espresso and nothing else, you’re best choosing an espresso maker. If you like to vary the types of drinks you make, you’ll need to look at your options.

Some people do have more than one type of coffee maker, but this is costly and also takes up counter space.

Capacity

Do you live alone and only have one cup of coffee at a time? A one-cup coffee maker would suit you in this instance. If you like entertaining or are a larger household, this likely won’t suffice. Here are some different types of coffee makers based on their capacity:

• Single-serve coffee makers: these are great for a single serving of coffee.
• Coffee maker with pod: these are ideal for people who like different coffee flavors. It’s easy to change the drink you make by changing the pod used. It’s also good for people who live with a partner that likes a different type of coffee.
• Multi-cup coffee brewers: these range from four-cup capacity all the way up to ten. They’re great for larger families or for people who like to brew coffee in large quantities to consume all morning.
• Large (10+) capacity coffee machines: these are useful in offices or social centers when a lot of people will want a cup of coffee at once.

Coffee Machine Size

Cuisinart coffee makers come in a range of sizes. Before buying, always check that the machine will fit onto your countertop. These machines can be heavy and bulky so be sure to check the dimensions of each model before purchase.

Secondly, if you like using certain coffee mugs, make sure they will fit under the spout of the coffee machine too.

Glass Carafe or Thermal Carafe?

Lots of Cuisinart coffee maker models have the option of a thermal carafe or a glass carafe. Your choice depends on what your priorities are.

Many people prefer a thermal carafe due to them being virtually indestructible. This means you won’t need to replace it.

Another reason for choosing a thermal carafe is that it will keep your coffee warm for many hours without the need for warming plates. This reduces the electricity needed for constant hot coffee. Also, warming plates are set to high temperatures and this can lead to burnt-tasting coffee.

Most people wanting coffee makers for offices choose a glass carafe. This is because they hold more coffee since they don’t have the double wall. They’re also not as expensive.

If you want your coffee hot, check out machines that have an adjustable hot plate temperature.

Whole Bean, Preground Coffee of Pods?

There’s only one Cuisinart coffee maker that brews with whole bean coffee – the Cuisinart Grind and Brew. So if you want a bean-to-cup machine with a built-in coffee grinder, this will be your only Cuisinart choice.

As most people choose machines that use pods and pre-ground coffee, we haven’t included this machine in our review.

Most Cuisinart coffee makers use ground coffee. Some use K cups, and some can use both.

The type you choose is down to your own tastes. If you really want better-tasting coffee, choose a machine that takes ground coffee. Pods will generally not taste as good – but are convenient.

If you favor convenience, pods will work well for you. They’re easier, quicker, and keep things clean.

Other Considerations when Looking at Cuisinart Coffee Machines

You might want to also think about:

• Is it programmable?
• Does it have warming plates?
• Is there an automatic shut-off?
• Does it come with a built-in grinder?
• Do you require milk frothing?
• Do you want to use whole coffee beans, fresh coffee grounds or K cup coffee?
• Do you want to make just one cup at a time or are you a big coffee drinker?
• Do you want a hot water feature?
• Do you want an insulated coffee pot?

Best Cuisinart Coffee Maker Reviews: Our Top 5

Before we go into the details about each Cuisinart machine, here is the list of our top 5.

1. 14-cup Cuisinart DCC-3200P1 (best Cuisinart coffee machine overall)
2. 4-cup Cuisinart machine DCC-450BK (best value machine)
3. 10-cup Cuisinart DCC-1150BK
4. 12-cup Cuisinart DCC 500
5. Cuisinart Premium single-serve machine SS-10

Let’s take a look at each one in detail:

1. Best Overall: Cuisinart DCC-3200P1 (14-Cup, Glass Carafe)

Our best overall Cuisinart coffee maker goes to the Cuisinart DCC 3200P1. This 14-cup coffee maker is really easy to use and extremely convenient.

It is a programmable machine that is fully automatic. It will start to brew your coffee when you set it to do so. An optional alert tone tells you when your coffee is ready.

What’s more, it has an automatic shut-off of four hours. Besides these great features, this coffee machine has a brew-pause feature, a brew-strength control, and a self-clean cycle.

This fully automatic coffee maker produces excellent coffee using pre-ground coffee. You can choose between a bold flavor or a regular flavor.

It also has a gold-tone filter as well as a charcoal water filter, meaning that your coffee tastes wonderful every time.

The glass carafe is well-designed on the drip coffee maker. It has a stainless steel body and handle that pair perfectly with other items in your kitchen.

You’ll notice that this machine has a well-marked water reservoir and it’s easy to see when it is at maximum capacity. That said, the lid of the reservoir does get in the way a little, which is annoying as it doesn’t open fully. The water reservoir also overflows quite easily.

Despite the minor niggles with regard to the water reservoir, we still rate this machine as our top pick.

Summary of Pros and Cons

2. Best Value: Cuisinart DCC-450 (4-Cup, Stainless Steel Carafe)

If you’re on a budget but want a coffee maker you can rely on, the Cuisinart DCC 450BK is an excellent little coffee machine that won’t break the bank.

This small machine produces up to four cups of coffee without taking up a large footprint on your countertop. As such, it’s ideal for couples and smaller kitchens.

Given its price, it should be no surprise that this machine is manual, so you’ll need to fill the reservoir and manually start the brewing process on each use.

Despite not being programmable, it does have an automatic shut-off half an hour after it has finished the brewing process.

For those who like a quicker cup of coffee first thing, there is a handy brew-pause feature, which allows you to interrupt the brew to pour a cup.

You won’t be disappointed with the end results of this machine, but there is a niggle with the papers – they don’t fit in the filter basket very well. The initial sounds are louder than some machines too.

Finally, if you like really hot coffee, this machine might not be the best choice. You’ll find it only brews to around 160 °F, and most people like a hotter coffee.

Let’s Look at The Pros and Cons:

3. Cuisinart DCC-1150BK 10-Cup Coffee Brewer

Third in our list of best Cuisinart coffee makers is the Cuisinart DCC 1150BK. This machine has lots of the same great features as our Top Pick.

It is easy to use and fully programmable, and automated. Like the 14-cup machine, it has a self-cleaning mode too.

We love any machine that has a brew pause feature and thankfully, the DCC 1150BK has this. When using this, you do need to make sure that the coffee has stopped before you take the pot away as this isn’t as instant as other machines with this feature.

When the brewing process is completed, this machine shuts off automatically. This is different from the DCC 3200, which has a four-hour shut-off. With the 1150BK, you don’t have a warming plate and instead have an insulated stainless steel carafe, meaning that you’ll save on your electricity bill too.

Like many models, this machine comes with a charcoal filter and a gold-tone filter. This will make for great-tasting coffee.

One downside is that the carafe doesn’t pour very well due to its design but if you can get over this, it’s a great machine.

Let’s Look at The Pros and Cons:

4. Cuisinart DCC 500 Coffee Machine (12-Cup)

The Cuisinart DCC 500 is a great product for people on a budget. It makes 12 cups of coffee and can be programmed. This machine also has the brew-pause feature so you can get that first cup of coffee before the rest is brewed. It also has an automatic shut-off.

The machine is neat and compact for its 12-cup capacity. It also has a rinse-clean feature to aid with cleaning the inside.

The machine does have a warmer plate to keep your coffee warm, but you can’t choose its temperature.

Compared to the best Cuisinart maker on our list, this one produces great coffee too. However, filling the water reservoir is slightly annoying because the hole is small. This means you often spilled water when you try to fill it up.

Let’s Look at Its Pros and Cons:

5. Cuisinart Premium Single-Serve Machine (SS-10)

For anyone wanting a single-serve machine to brew coffee, the Cuisinart SS-10 is a fantastic machine. It is programmable and fully automatic. What’s more, you can adjust the coffee temperature, which is great for coffee drinkers that like a hotter cup.

This unit also has a hot water button so you can use it for making other drinks like hot chocolate or tea.

This model will take any brand of coffee pods, including K cups. If you do use other brands instead of K cups, you might find they’re not emptied as well, however.

With this machine, you’ve obviously got the convenience of K cups or pods, but these also make for a more expensive drink than other Cuisinart machines that take freshly ground coffee.

Another downside is that the machine isn’t as well built as other brew coffee makers. Though it looks like stainless steel in color, the material is cheap plastic. Moreover, the power cord isn’t very long so you’ll need to position this close to an outlet.

Let’s Check out All of The Advantages and Disadvantages.

Final Verdict on The Best Coffee Maker by Cuisinart

We hope our best Cuisinart coffee maker guide and reviews has helped you in your quest to find the perfect coffee maker for your home or office.

As you probably know, Cuisinart coffee makers are reliable and always produce great-tasting coffee.

The company is so successful that it has a huge range of coffee makers, so you have a great choice.

It’s also really easy to find Cuisinart coffee maker parts online, too, should you need to replace your charcoal water filters or filter basket, for example.

The Cuisinart models mentioned in this review produce an excellent cup of coffee. Choosing your perfect machine depends on many factors, including your budget, how much coffee you drink, and whether you prefer using pre-ground coffee, k cups, or whole-bean coffee.

We’re confident that you’ll enjoy your coffee with any of these machines!