
Cuisinart DCC-1150 10-Cup Programmable Thermal Coffeemaker
Customer Review: Makes good coffee but ....
This is a good buy on Amazon with a very good price. And, it makes good coffee.
That said, you might want to know in advance about a few minor issues. The small black on grey time readout is ridiculously hard to read because it is recessed and lacks a backlight on the LCD. For the some strange reason, the clock didn't start working after setting it until I turned it to brew for the first time. After that, no problems at all so it might just be a software glitch. You might want to use the 1-4 cups button even when making 10 cups to make the coffee hotter and a bit stronger. And, it helps to use something with a spout to pour the water into it.
On the more positive side, the coffee does come out tasting as good as a coffee shop. It has a smaller counter footprint but makes the same number of cups as my old one. The thermal approach means less energy use and the coffee stays tasting good. If you want, you may pour it over ice or heat up a cup of coffee in the microwave later in the day and it will still taste as good as the first cup in the morning. And, it doesn't leak all over the counter like some other brands which will remain nameless here.
Customer Review: as scientific as I can get - not in love with it YET
I must say, a lot of reviews I have read have been negated by my initial tests.
I JUST bought one and ran two loads of water thru it.
No coffee. I wanted to hear the ungodly loud beeps, see the leaks, and measure the temp so my wife would have an excuse to take it back.
Weellll, where should I start????????
BEEPS
I was around the corner from the coffee maker when the beeps went off. I barely heard them. The gurgling water is louder, which is a lot quieter than my old pot. Unless this is a QA problem or some people can easily hear past 20,000 such that they are very sensitive to 2000-4000 Hz - this myth is debunked. I agree the smell of coffee would wake me up sooner than the beeps. My microwave, now THERE is aggravating beeps.
VALVE LEAK
The valve leaked while I was playing with it (measuring temps) with the pot removed. Can't say that is a problem, but I can't make a judgment on that so soon. I'll report at a later date. However, I am sure a dirty valve is the main culprit, or not positioning the carafe properly.
WATER TEMP - I added my old unit for comparison, a Gevalia special with a cracked glass carafe.
coming out of the shower head = 85-95°C = 185-203°F (thermometer was right under shower head) >> old unit = could not measure
it varied because of the way it came out (a stream, none, steam).
The water in the basket was 89°C = 192°F >> old unit 82°C = 179.5°F
I'll wait for a while....................I shut the old unit off right after "brewing"
--- the carafes were used to fill the tank so that was the start temp of the carafe. 25°C = 77°F
In the pot right after "brewing" = 83.5°C = 182°F >> old unit 79.5°C = 175°F
---The effect of a metal carafe not warmed up first is seen here.
---A delta of 5.5° vs 2.5° for the glass, between in-the-basket vs in-the-pot.
in the pot 1 hrs after "brewing" = 81.0°C = 178°F >> old unit 59.0°C = 138°F
in the pot 2 hrs after "brewing" = 79.5°C = 175°F >> old unit 45.5°C = 175°F
in the pot 3 hrs after "brewing" = 76.5°C = 170°F >> old unit 41.0°C = 106°F
in the pot 4 hrs after "brewing" = 72.0°C = 162°F >> old unit
Measurements were taken with a lab grade mercury thermometer.
Anyone who has only "warm" coffee needs to take it back.
I wonder what the difference is with using COLD water. Be right back............
POURING
Pouring from a
stainless carafe - any type - is different than pouring from a glass one.
There is a top lip on all of them so the carafe has to be tipped almost upside down to get it all out. A wine decanter works the same way.
It pours slower because there is a top on it meant to keep the coffee hot. If it were an open lip like a glass one people would complain that the coffee doesn't stay hot, but it pours fast. You could always remove the cover as long as you drink it all up now so it doesn't get cold.
All-in-all I'm liking it a lot. Now to brew some real
coffee.