When brewing coffee, there are two factors that play a huge part in the final flavor. The water-to-bean ratio is important, but first you should have fresh beans and they should be ground as soon before brewing as possible. Fresh grounds will have the natural oils of the bean still in them, which will give you the fullest flavor, eliminating much of that flat and bitter aftertaste that can come from stale grounds - and ground coffee can stale very, very quickly. This is why, if you brew coffee at home, it's a good idea to buy a grinder and grind your own beans. Since that's another step between you and coffee in the morning, however, many opt for preground. The all-in-one coffee makers, which have built in grinders, are a good option for anyone who wants to get the best cup of coffee with the least amount of work.
The machines are programmed in advance and they heat water, grind beans and brew your coffee all with the touch of a button. A recent test showed good results from each of three machines. The Melitta preformed well, but had no insulated carafe, which keeps the coffee from becoming burned or overly strong sitting on a heating pad. The Cuisinart made a slightly better cup of coffee than the Melitta, but the Capresso, with a burr grinder to ensure even grounds and smooth flavor, won the test.
All in all, you can't really go wrong with any of the machines from the sound of it, but if you already have a machine you like, look into getting a grinder instead of a whole new machine to really improve the quality of your morning brew.
11-19-2006 @12:14PM Brad said... There's a number of complaints about the Capresso machine on Amazon.com. Apparently it has a problem transferring all of the grounds to the brewer, or will get stuck when using darker roasts.
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11-19-2006 @9:28PM Charles said... I concur with the previous commenter. In discussions with a friend who had a Cuisinart model, he complained about the lack of ability to clean the grinder effectively - as well as the random chance (20% according to him) that the grounds would not fully dump into the basket resulting in a very weak brew. Comments on various opinion sites seem to suggest these issues are common and that this generation of machines is best for owners willing to do regular maintenance.
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11-20-2006 @9:23AM kalyn said... I have the Cuisinart Grind and Brew and I love it. It's true that you have to wash out the grinder basket daily though, otherwise it gets quite oily from the coffee beans. I've only had one problem and that was my fault, when I neglected to fully shut the filter-basket and it came open. I put the water and coffee beans in at night, program the time, and the sound of the grinding wakes me up. Heavenly.
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11-20-2006 @10:37AM harry said... I've had the Cuisinart Grind and Brew for many years. Yes, it requires cleaning of the grinder/basket pieces after each use. But it is worth it. I, too, love hearing it grind my morning beans while I'm in my bed. After 6 years, the grinder mechanism finally shot craps, but I have asked for a new one from Santa!
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11-20-2006 @12:39PM jenn said... Huh, that's weird! I have a Melitta Mill and Brew (bought in 2003) and it makes a fabulous cup of coffee, every bit as good as Starbucks'. Ours has a thermal carafe though. Wonder why they only offer it with glass now. Like the reviewer pointed out, the benefits of fresh grinding and brewing don't last long if the coffee has to sit on a warming plate. YUCK.
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11-21-2006 @8:24AM Mandy said... I used to have a Cuisinart Grind n Brew and I wouldn't go back. The cleaning process took too long. There are 5 parts you have to clean between each usage instead of the usual 2. The thing randomly overflowed if you made more than 8 cups. The back side of the water tank cracked and leaked all over the counter eventually. The thermal carafe pours slowly and it is a heavy carafe, which is very frustrating when you go to pour that cup in the morning. It also doesn't have adjustable grind consistency so you use a lot more coffee than you need (almost twice as much) due to a coarse grind.
We went back to a non grinding machine and prefer the simplicity but I'd be willing to try another combo machine. A friend has the capresso and loves it. It's different in that you don't need to clean the grinder between uses, it automatically dispenses the correct amount for you, and is situated on the side of the machine so that the steam from the brewing process doesn't infiltrate the grinding mechanism. I have heard good things about the Melitta one as well.
My guess is whatever your flavor is, Bunn would probably be a good bet. They are in practically every diner and would outlast anything else.
We roast our own coffee, so are pretty picky about our coffee makers! Coffeegeek.com has reviews for more info.
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11-21-2006 @11:46AM Neal said... I owned a Melitta for a while and wasn't impressed. The other aspect of proper coffee brewing is the heat of the water, and I felt the Melitta, with its thermoblock water heater, didn't get the water to the proper brewing temperature. Even with fresh Peets beans, the coffee tasted flat to me. I ended up selling the machine on craiglist when I moved, and am back to the plastic cone method.
Cook's Illustrated did a testing of grind and brew coffee makers about a year ago, and have also tested blade grinders. They indicated that blade grinders do a fine job for brewed coffee if you grind the beans for longer than the specified time and shake the grinder to distribute the grounds. I thought the Melitta would work well because it allows you to specify longer grinding times. As I recall they recommended the Cuisinart over the Melitta. Forget if they rated the Capresso.
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