Product Features

• 24-hour fully programmable 12-cup automatic coffeemaker
• Grinds whole beans right before brewing to produce fresh and flavorful coffee
• Brew-pause function; auto shutoff up to 4 hours; grind-off option; water filter
• 1- to 4-cup feature; 60-ounce carafe with ergonomic handle and dripless spout
• Measures approximately 12 by 10 by 17 inches; 3-year limited warranty

From the Editors

The Grind & Brew Coffeemaker from Cuisinart automatically grinds the beans right before brewing to produce a fresh and flavorful pot of coffee. Fully programmable with a stainless finish, this deluxe 12 cup coffeemaker will be right at home in any modern kitchen!
Product Description

Accessories for the Cuisinart DGB-550BK Grind-and-Brew 12-Cup Automatic Coffeemaker Model DGB-550BK

Cuisinart DCG-20BK Coffee Bar Coffee Grinder, Black
Tervis Tumbler Lighthouses 16-Ounce Double Wall Insulated Tumbler, Set of 4
Basic Essentials 13 piece Commando Cookware Set, Charcoal
Tervis Leopard Design Hot Beverage Tumbler

Customer Response

This is our 2nd one of these coffee makers
We had an older model of this coffee maker since it first came out several years ago. It finally quit working. We bought one of the newer Cuisinart models with a burr grinder, where you can keep a 1/2 lb of coffee in the hopper. You're supposed to have to clean it only every few days. It kept plugging up, so we returned it and bought a second one of this model. Excellent! Works perfectly. Yes, it does have to be cleaned each use and dried thoroughly, but it makes great coffee and is way better than the other style. Don't waste your money on that one, buy this one!

Grinder leaves a lot to be desired
This unit is very well constructed for the price, and works quite well as a drip coffee maker. However, the idea of fresh-ground coffee in the morning just isn't going to work out for us. It uses the cheaper "whirling blade" method of grinding (to be expected at this price point) and shoots it onto the filter in an uneven layer. So between the usual poorly-ground bean shards which this type of grinder always delivers, you'll get a surprisingly weak cup of mildly bitter coffee as the water mostly filters through the thin spots of grounds in the filter.

If you grind your beans in a decent grinder and have a uniform layer in the filter, this unit will brew a very good cup of coffee. But for our two coffee cups full, the grinder design of this unit just doesn't do a good enough job. I'll update this post if we can test it at its full 12-cup capacity.

If you buy one that gives you trouble call cusinart/ Conair Corp.
Just wanted to leave this review in regarding if you purchased this model in a store that might have one that was not upgraded and giving you problems before the 3 warranty must call customer service at the 800 number. I says you can send a e-mail to Cuisinart which I did not get any response and other reviews I have read said they had the same problem. I highly recommend calling customer service using the phone.
I purchased mine at the end of December 2009 from a on-line retailer. The one they sent me I constantly had trouble with the brewing basket door popping open after grinding, during brewing or after brew cycle was finished. It was a big mess when it did it during brewing cycle I had coffee & water all over the counter.

Once I contacted customer service representative by phone I had no problems since I registered my coffeemaker as soon after I opened the box and starting using it. I told them the problem and asked them to advise me how to resolve the problem? He said they revised the design some with the grind basket assembly and improved the brew basket door. The newer one of this model has fixed the problem of the brew basket door popping open on it's own and also the grinder has less of large pitch noise and is slightly quieter when it grinds. You do need speed to grind coffee beans and you are not going to get away from a little noise when it grinds your beans. All I had to do is box it up and put the order number on the box that customer service gave me and put a note on it what the problem was on the outside of the box. UPS came picked up my original coffeemaker and delivered me a new coffeemaker which they said it would be take 5-7 days and in 3 days I had it picked up, new delivered pot and shipment paid in full by Cuisinart/Conair Corp.
I would like to make a view point that I agree with some other reviews. The first coffeemaker I had was a little cumbersome to clean and the grinder was much louder than most other grind & brew coffeemakers. The New one that I received is so much easier to clean and less oily from the beans. They changed the grinder basket and the spout is larger and longer into the brewing basket assembly. It seems to get allot less steam now into the grinder basket assembly so you don't have a bunch of moister ground coffee stuck in the grinder basket and less oil from the beans. I am not having any problems with the brew basket door popping open on this one which I am very happy about.
I have previously owned another brand grind & brew coffee maker and the brew basket was part of the grinding basket and I had trouble with it wearing out the brewing basket and I as not able to find replacement parts.
What intrigued me with Cuisinart that the grinder was separate from the brew basket. Also you are able to get replacement parts the first 3 years of owning this coffeemaker. I highly recommend if you plan on keeping this coffeemaker a long time like more than 3 years and it last you longer. I highly recommend purchasing replacement parts especially the grinder basket assembly since the cover has a plastic pin to lock it in place and that won't last long, luckily a year or 2 the 3rd year it might break?. When it breaks you have the parts and don't have to throw out the coffeemaker just because you can't get that part anymore. I do have some negative comments to make about the coffee pot is that It does not have an outer water reservoir for you to see the water level better when you are filling the coffee maker with water. It is dark hard to see inside the reservoir for water level.
Also one feature that I miss that my old grind & brew coffee maker had was being able to set how fine you want to grind your beans.
One very nice feature that is very nice is the setting for 1-4 cup brewing feature. If you are brewing 1-4 cups you press this button and when it brews it heats up the water faster so you have nice hot cups of coffee when finished brewing and don't have to wait for the warming plate to finish warming it. One feature that is very nice too. If you have a morning where you want to sip on more than one cup of coffee it keeps the coffee carafe hot for 2 hrs. instead of 1 hr. for automatic shutoff.
With the charcoal filter in the coffee pot makes very good tasting coffee.
With some slight faults and products always need improvement. This one is the best one on the market for a grind and brew coffeemaker. If you like fresh coffee the little extra care of cleaning and running vinegar through it more often is worth a good cup of coffee that taste Starbucks quality at home.
I definitely see Cuisinart improving this design of this coffee pot. They have a good concept and idea for this product. Just like any company they put something out on the market before they test all possibilities of any flaws in the design. When they get out on the market it back fires and they loose consumers that will never buy their product again. So far I have several Cuisinart products and have had not had any trouble with customer service representative and getting them to replace and pay for shipping of the return product. Just make sure you go on-line and register your product or send in the registration card.
I love this coffeemaker even though I had some frustration with the first one I purchased and had to send it to Cuisinart. My replacement so far has been working out and my problem has been solved. Makes great tasting coffee and fresher from beans. It's so nice to wake up to a great fresh pot of coffee. If your bedroom is too close to the kitchen and you wake up to easy this coffeemaker set for program timer to go off might not be for you, you will say the grinder is too loud! Others that don't mind a few minutes of noise to have great tasting coffee this is a great coffeemaker to purchase. Make sure you buy it on sale and do not pay full price for it. I got mine for $89.00's including tax and shipping.
It's definitely not worth a $100.00's for being made mostly of heavy duty plastic.
Enjoy a great cup of coffee if you decide to purchase one.

Worth the extra time
I am pleased with the machine overall. It is easy to use, however, it is more time-consuming to clean the components, especially the bean holder. I was prepared for this based on reviews I had read. The oily residue from the beans takes hand washing with care to remove. It goes with the territory if you want the fresh ground taste, so I think it is worth it. Another issue I had is finding the right measurement of beans for strength of the coffee. I found that measuring by the recommendation in the instruction guide turned out a weaker cup of coffee than we like. I use at least 1 1/2 Tablespoons of beans per cup or the coffee is too weak. After several weeks, I am used to the amount needed. Surprisingly, I find I am using ground coffee more often for convenience even though I have the grinder. It's so much quicker! Still glad I have the option...

Best coffee maker ever.
This is actually our third Cuisinart Grind-and-Brew. The first lasted for a couple of years, the second had a metal, insulated pot, which we did not like, and no heating element. So we got this duplicate of our first purchase. We love it. You can put the whole beans in and it grinds them and makes the coffee without further assistance. You can get it ready the night before, too. And the coffee is superb... totally spoils you. I've seen this product priced at double the price I paid, so even the $100 price tag was tolerable.

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