Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

This unit wastes beans. According to the user manual, if you fill the coffee bean hopper with 1/2 lb of coffee, you can expect "at least" two - 12 cup brews. I thought this was a bit conservative but it was confirmed when I made the first pot of coffee. I set the machine for 12 cups and watched as almost half of the beans disappeared on the first pot. I figure it uses almost 1/4 lb of beans to brew a full pot (12 cups of 5 oz coffee). This is about double what would be used if you followed the directions when using a manual grinder (one scoop of beans per cup using the scoop that comes with this coffee maker). I think Cusinart kept the grind at very coarse level to ensure proper grind flow in the machine. To compensate, they increased the amount of coffee ground. Thus it uses about 4 oz of beans versus 2.5 oz of beans per 10-12 cup pot. It doesn't sound like much but works out to 60% extra per pot. I've owned the Cuisinart DGB-600BC Grind and Brew Coffeemaker and Melitta Mill & Brew Coffee Maker so this is my third unit brew and grind unit. The two previous units has manual bean fill and comparatively good control on the grind. This unit always grinds very very coarse. Pro: Large Bean Hopper Easy to clean Fill level on side (DGB-600BC did not) Gold filter basket included 3 Year Warranty Simple operation (for a grind & brew machine) Seems well constructed Cons: Grind is always very course Uses twice as much beans Carafe pours slow and tends to drip The coffee tastes OK - its not as good as what you can get with a manual grind/brew but consistent with the other Mill & Brew machines I've had. It is well built and I think the 3 year warranty is key because our other Cuisinart grinder motor lasted about 18 months, but its going back because I make about 2 pots/day and this translates into a couple hundred dollars year. Going to try the Capresso 455 or 454. Update I've got the Capresso 454 and love it. It can grind from super fine up to coarse and makes a great cup of coffee.