Cuisinart DGB-850 Burr Grind & Brew 10-Cup Coffeemaker with Thermal Carafe, Black/Stainless Steel, Silver

This review is for the 10-cup DGB-850 with Thermal Carafe (stainless steel).After using this coffee maker for over 10 weeks, we are quite happy with it overall (after learning a few lessons). Perhaps this is an updated version of the model, but we have not had any of the issues some reviews mention, like problems cleaning the grinder burrs. In fact, this version does not even have user-access to the grinder parts, based on the videos and descriptions from others with problems. This model advertises that the grinder assembly auto-rinses all the grinds from the grinder - there is no disassembly to get to the grinder itself, and it appears to work fine without access. All we do to clean it after each use is rinse out the permanent filter itself (or toss the paper filter), and wipe moisture from the holder and the housing above the coffee carafe platform.PROS:* Coffee tastes very good - grind/strength controls allows pretty good control over desired taste, by adjusting the amount of water used with each grind range (see my grind testing chart image, and table below). My wife likes coffee a bit weaker, so we use 7-8 cups of water with a 6-cup Grind, for instance, adjusting Strength as needed for the exact amount of water used.* With the thermal carafe, the heating plate below the carafe warms the stainless steel carafe as the coffee is brewed, so there is no need to pre-heat a cold carafe (which we had to do with our previous coffee maker). Works well - the heater is turned off automatically after the coffee is brewed, so it does not over-heat the coffee. The thermal carafe keeps the coffee pretty warm for an hour or two.* At least so far, we have not had any issues with cleaning the grinder burrs - easy clean-up.* We really like the ability to use either the permanent filter basket, or a paper filter. With a septic system, we cannot rinse grounds down the drain, and it is sometimes a pain to dump grounds outside in bad weather (so the paper filter is handy in heavy snow). We did not have this option with our old blade-grinder coffee maker.CONS (Lessons Learned):* Pouring water into the reservoir is a pain with the coffee maker under a cabinet. You need access to the back of the coffee maker to pour from a bit behind, since pouring from the front can let water spill out the overflow slots at the back of the reservoir.* As some reviews mention, pouring from the carafe can be a bit tricky with the lid on, if you are not careful. A full pot pours fine, but steeper angles of pour as the carafe gets emptier can make a mess. I remove the lid for pouring as the pot gets emptier.* To get just the right coffee strength for your personal tastes, it helps to understand exactly how the coffee maker adjusts the grind for the settings (Grind and Strength). I could not find this information in the manual or any on-line reference. See my "Strength Notes" below - between knowing what each combination does, and adjusting the amount of water for each setting, you can get pretty much just what you want, without wasting coffee.STRENGTH NOTES:At first, we found it a bit limiting to have fixed settings for only 4, 6, 8 & 10 cups of coffee. And I could not find any good description anywhere about exactly what the Grind control and the Strength control do - does one adjust the fineness of the grinding mechanism, and the other the amount of coffee beans ground (based on the amount of time the grinder runs)? If so, which controls which? All the manual really says is "The burr grinder will grind the correct amount of beans, and automatically adjust the coffee/water ratio for low cup settings."So, I started experimenting with different settings to see what each does, based on the weight of the ground coffee put into the filter. I weighed the grounds after brewing each pot at different setting combinations, letting them drain quite a while first (wet grounds, but well drained). The chart in the image attached to this review (also shown in the table below) shows my results - not every setting available, but enough to figure out what is happening, I believe. From visual comparisons, I could not see any apparent differences in the coarseness of the grounds themselves with any combination, so I assume that the grinder does not change the coarseness/fineness of the grind itself, only the amount of beans ground, for both the strength and grind (# of cups) settings. But with the information in the chart, and by adjusting the amount of water you put in the reservoir for each brew, you can get pretty close to the strength you want.Ground Coffee Weights, Cuisinart DGB-850 CoffeemakerGRIND STRENGTH GRAMS (avg.)=============================4 Cups Extra Bold 756 Cups Regular 916 Cups Bold 1026 Cups Extra Bold 1208 Cups Bold 1228 Cups Extra Bold 140So, for example, we brew a slightly weaker-than-recommended pot by setting the Grind (# of cups) to 6 cups, adding either 7 or 8 cups of water to the reservoir, and setting the Strength as a kind of fine-tuning adjustment to get just the strength we want for that batch (my wife likes it a bit weaker, I like it a bit stronger - we alternate!).Hopefully this will help you fine-tune your perfect cup of coffee. Happy brewing!

So it can make a very good tasting cup of coffee but there are a lot of these out there. The most annoying thing is that the clock runs really fast so it's completely useless to make a timed brew in the morning. It gains about an hour a week. As mentioned, the grinder is loud and can be heard while sleeping upstairs but its a grinder so it gets a pass. It has a really nice looking stainless pot that seems like it would keep the coffee warm, it doesn't really. I dont know why in this age of vacuum sealed beverage cups they can't make a decent one. Not only that but it makes a total mess when you try to pour it and it's really hard to get all the coffee out. Pretty sure there must be a better option out there.

Easy to use and clean, special-run white model that looks good in ubiquitous all-white kitchens. Did not find this model anywhere else. Hopper is sealed to keep beans reasonably fresh. Easily adjustable to yield desired strength of coffee. Only drawback is grind is set to coarse-medium grind degree that produces slightly under-extracted coffee. I believe this can be adjusted, but will require a call to Cuisinart support or possibly youtube. Will likely void warranty but at this price point, it seems of little consequence. The grinder isn’t the loudest I’ve heard but does terrify the cats at first. They will get used to it. It’s lovely to wake up to the sound of my coffee being prepared for me. Very happy with this purchase; would buy again in a heart beat.

I have both the 550 and the 850. The 550 is the glass 12 cup carafe that has the very loud blade grinder. The 850 is the burr grinder-with the steel carafe and bean holding container. Its neither as loud, nor easily cleaned.If you have persons in the home who like different coffees, the 550 is a better choice, because the grinder (as well as the filter) can be removed and cleaned each time, permitting a coffee change. The 850 is much more challenging to clean the grinder/hopper (filter easy to clean.) Both make great coffee. I actually use the grinder on the 550 as an alarm clock, as the machine is programmable, and wakes me up in the morning.If you read the reviews- yes the 550 must be cleaned each time (really not that bad- running water rinses it fine). Yes you have to pour the beans each time (you get used to the level needed) and it can leak. The glass carafe has broken twice in the five years I have owned it- which is why we changed to a steel carafe with the 850. And it's LOUD. However, it makes great coffee, was $100 less than the 850 model, and as I mentioned, you can easily swap coffees for different users.Not sure why there is a profound price difference between the 850 and 900.As for the 850, you fill the hopper with beans, pour in the water, adjust the settings and hit the BREW button. The coffee filter is easily cleaned. The steel carafe keeps the coffee hot (in lieu of a hotplate.) Easy Peasy. Great if you only want a few cups or a whole pot. If you want to routinely change coffees- its very challenging- forget it- go buy a 550. Only had the 850 for a few days, so I haven't experienced a problem with the lid, but other reviews document the problem (there's even a video.)I've had a slew of grind and brew machines for over 30 years, and I like the Cuisinarts the best.