The Cuisinart Grind & Brew Thermal 10-Cup Automatic Coffeemaker DGB-600BC is designed to satisfy even the most demanding coffee drinker.

This unit is styled in brushed stainless steel with black trim. It stands a little over 15 inches tall and has a boxy 8-inch-wide by 8.5-inch-deep housing with a recessed area for the 10-cup stainless-steel thermal carafe.

The Grind & Brew Thermal Coffeemaker has just about every feature imaginable. The only thing it doesn’t do is pour the coffee and hand it to you. It has a programmable clock/timer, which lets you preset the start of the grind/brew cycle up to 24 hours in advance; a charcoal water filter to remove impurities from the water; a permanent gold-tone filter; a Brew Pause function to sneak a cup before brewing has completed; and, of course, a beautiful double-walled insulated carafe, which keeps coffee hot for hours.

The grinding chamber is located at the top of the unit, and consists of a small bowl with a blunt-edge stainless-steel blade and clear lid. The grinding bowl holds up to 14 level scoops or about 3/4 cup of beans and has a built-in chute, which automatically dispenses the grounds into the unit’s filter basket to prepare for immediate brewing. We found that 8 level scoops were enough to achieve excellent flavor. You can vary the amount to suit your taste. The grinding assembly is compact and efficient, but rather noisy during the 30-second grind interval, which precedes the brew cycle. Your reward is the fantastic flavor afforded by freshly ground coffee beans.

The brew cycle -- including grinding -- takes about 10 minutes to prepare a full 10-cup carafe. The coffee was close to 170 degrees immediately after brewing. The temperature dropped 2-3 degrees each hour. After 3 hours, the coffee was still steaming at approximately 158 degrees Fahrenheit.

Other features include a clearly marked pushbutton control panel, swing-out removable filter basket and auto-shutoff after each brew cycle.

The thermal carafe’s brew through lid twists in place to seal in heat and flavor. We liked this feature and also found the lid easy to twist open and closed.

The Cuisinart Grind & Brew Thermal Coffeemaker comes at a premium price but delivers premium-quality coffee. Cuisinart fans will not be disappointed.


Pros: Programmable, thermal carafe, water filter, grinding feature
Cons: Noisy during grinding

Warranty
3 years, limited