Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I own quite a few high-end coffee makers (many would say an unhealthy number!), including the Bonavita BV1800, BV1900TS, Technivorm, and Kitchenaid Pour-over Brewer. All of these brewers are SCAA-certified, and all brew excellent coffee. Each has its own quirks as well... The Bonavitas tend to have short lifespans (2-3 years) and are a bit too minimalist, the Technivorm has a lousy showerhead design that requires you to stir the grounds while it is brewing for optimal flavor, and the Kitchenaid tends to brew a slightly weak cup of coffee. All of these issues prompted me to continue my search for the holy grail of coffee makers, and I believe I finally found it. The Cuisinart CPO-850 is an engineering masterpiece in nearly every way -- beautiful design, sturdy construction, full-featured (includes programming ability, strength and temperature controls), excellent showerhead design, and brews a HOT cup of perfectly extracted coffee! Make no mistake about it, this is not your typical Cuisinart coffee maker, and you will be able to tell right away as you unpackage it. Parts feel thicker, heavier, and more satisfying (as they should for the price!). The display is large and easy to read, and the buttons have a satisfying feel to them. Everything is easy to set-up and disassemble for cleaning, and programming it couldn't be any easier. The machine also gives you the ability to change the brew temperature between hot and extra hot, as well as the brew strength between mild, medium, and bold. The strength control is very handy if you like to change between pre-ground coffees, and premium roasted beans, as pour-over style coffee makers, like this one, brew coffee at a higher temperature than your typical household coffee maker which tends to over-extract many pre-ground coffees. With the strength control, you can set the coffee maker to extract less from the coffee by changing it to 'mild'. This worked very well when I tried it! The CPO-850 is my favorite coffee maker on the market right now, and arguably one of (if not the) best out there period. Cuisinart really nailed the design. You can tell they put a lot of thought into the machine, and really did their homework with it. Kudos to Cuisinart if you are reading this review! Buy it! *** Update 1 week in *** : Carafe lid leaks slightly when pouring. Just a few drops on the counter though. Other than that, still the best coffee maker on the market, IMO! *** Update 2 weeks in ***: Received new carafe under warranty. New carafe lid also leaks a bit, so there appears to be design flaw with the lid seal. As for a workaround solution, I found that if you press down on the lid while pouring (placing fingers on both sides of the spout), it does not leak. You can also just pour extra slowly. Since this issue is relatively minor, it does not affect my overall view and rating of the coffee maker. *** Update 4 months in ***: The LCD display has dimmed over time. It is now roughly 50% as bright as it was when new. It is still perfectly usable though. Everything else has been rock solid. *** Update 9 months in ***: LCD dimming appears to stabilized. Display is still about 50% as bright as it was when new, but still readable. Everything else is still rock solid and performing like new.