Cuisinart Coffee Center 12-Cup Programmable Coffeemaker

I waited a good while after buying this before reviewing, as I know a coffee maker can decline if not well made after a while. It's been roughly 4 months now, and over all I really enjoy it. Makes a great cup of coffee, set up and programming is simple, and damn if she ain't pretty!Design wise, I must admit I enjoy watching it brew, as the glass carafe and reservoir allow you to see the water being sucked up into the other half of the machine, its strangely mesmerizing (or perhaps I'm just easily entertained, lol). But where this baby really shines is the "blooming" process: at the start of the brew cycle, it will first soak the grounds with super hot water with a built in showerhead type nozzle. Why is this so magical? Because it takes your coffee from "good", to "oh GOD THAT'S GOOD", bringing out a deeper flavor in the grounds. This, along with the design was the biggest appeal to me and why I chose this model. Try it with fresh ground beans, and thank me later!My only complaints would have to be that the 1-4 cup button doesn't seem to work, as the machine will still use all the water in the reservoir, but this doesn't bother me much, since if I want less coffee I can always just put in less water. Still, it seems silly to have the button if it doesn't work beyond lighting up.Another small matter is cleaning: my now former roommate managed to get watery grounds sucked up into the tube and into the water reservoir. And let me tell you, once it's in there, you'll have a devil of a time getting those grounds out! So just take care to clean carefully and EXACTLY AS THE MANUAL TELLS YOU. (And when preparing to brew, make damn sure the inner basket is firmly clicked into place, as otherwise, you'll get the same back up issues. Just be smart and pay attention!) Other then that, the rest of cleaning is very easy.Overall, it's a beautiful machine, makes great coffee, and gets plenty of compliments. As time wears on, I may update my review should any problems arise, but so far I'm quite happy.

I broke my Black and Decker carafe and even though there is a replacement I thought I would try this instead. And boy, am I glad I did. My old unit didn't heat the coffee enough to begin with and I had to microwave it after a short time. And I was using an insulated mug. The DCC-4000 lets you select how warm you want the coffee. Problem solved. Another problem B&D had was it's round, flat bottom filter. The water poured so quickly into the grounds, it often flooded the basket allowing grounds to escape into the carafe. Also because the coffee brewed so quickly, I had to use more grounds to get the bold taste I like. Cuisinart has solved these problems too. Their V shaped filter does a better job steeping the grounds. Also, there are two settings I can select for 1-4 cups and for Bold coffee. I think it pushes the heated water more slowly allowing more time steeping in the filter. Either way, the grounds never flood and I started using less spoons of coffee grounds for the same cups of coffee. This has improved the taste of the coffee without getting a harsh aftertaste which makes my wife much happier. I also like the look of the unit on my counter, and once you learn the operations, it is easy to program or make a fresh pot.The only cons I can see are the glass carafe and the lettering on the buttons. Since I broke my B&D carafe I am concerned about replacing this one. There are replacements on Amazon for the B&D but you would have to order a Cusinart replacement directly from them for about $44. I try to be careful when handling because it would probably be better to just buy another maker for the price. I haven't seen a problem with the lettering that others mention, but I am careful not to scrub them. I also put clear finger nail polish on them hoping it would help preserve them.

When this coffee machine works, it is great. It looks great. Easy to program, large capacity, everything we were looking for.First machine failed after about a month. It displayed an ErH code. This, or any, error code cannot be found online. After resetting the machine (unplugging for a couple hours and plugging back in) the error code was gone, but the machine would not brew. I called Cuisinart and they promptly sent a replacement. I purchased a special surge protector in case it was the outlet causing a malfunction (2 year old electric kettle and 6 year old coffee grinder work on the same outlet perfectly).The replacement machine lasted exactly one brew before displaying the same error code. I called Cuisinart and they promptly sent a replacement. Customer service confirmed that the error code does not exist in any of their help documents.The second replacement machine lasted two weeks before... displaying the same error code. I called Cuisinart and they... offered to promptly send a replacement. I asked them to just send me the next model down. I'm tired of throwing away coffee makers.If you're buying this machine because it looks great, spend the extra $40 on the fancier one that looks the same. If you're buying it for the features there are other machines that do the same and hopefully won't break.

Fun to watch. Easy to use and clean. Makes great coffee. I don't use the metal filter, this lets oils through which change the taste in a way I dislike. The caraffe heating setting H keeps the coffee very hot - I have found L is a perfect drinking temperature. I dont use the carbon filter since I have a whole house water filtration system. Nice product - sturdy, attractive, fun to use.Update 16th June 2022 - originally purchased 15th June 2020 - 2 years of solid operation.New erractic behaviour - switches off very early sometimes after about 25% completion. The "clean" reminder now never appears. Most of the writing on the frequently used buttons have dissapeared, with the BREW button only showing end part of W :-) Had been making excellent coffee for 2 years. Chosen to replace with a Mocamaster.