Others say...

"Decent coffee, inexcusable design"
I have used this product for about a year now, and I have no complaints about the quality of the brewed coffee. But because of all of its usability issues, I can't wait to get rid of this coffee maker.

If you buy this coffee maker, be sure you don't let the paper towels run out. You will need one to wipe the counter after you fill the reservoir. You'll need another to wipe the breakfast table after you pour each cup, and probably another to dry the bottom of your coffee mug, if you don't want coffee dripping onto your lap. Until you've learned your lesson, you may have to throw away a few English muffins or bowls of cereal, spoiled by the coffee dripping from the carafe. I have never figured out a way to pour anything from this carafe without its dripping everywhere.

There are other flaws, as well. The on-off switch is a spring-loaded rocker requiring BOTH hands to operate (one to push the switch, one to hold the coffee maker in place). The auto-shutoff is a reassuring feature once you've left the house, but the 30-minute countdown starts at the BEGINNING of the brew cycle, not the end, so there's not quite enough time for me to finish my first mug before the second mug is going cold. Indeed, coffee tastes awful if it has been on a heater for too long, but this is not quite enough time. About another 15-30 minutes would have been perfect.

Some reviewers have referred to this carafe as "thermal," which may be misleading. The carafe is made of steel, but it is NOT thermally insulated or double-walled. If the carafe is not sitting on a heating element, the coffee inside will cool quickly. Its only advantage over a glass carafe is that it's unbreakable. Its main disadvantage is that you can't see how much coffee is remaining. Also, in my experience the carafe stains and discolors quite easily; the "stainless" steel used in the carafe is probably not of very high quality. Admittedly, one can't expect to see much 18/10 (high-quality) stainless in a $30 product.

Alas, I'm still searching for the perfect small coffee maker....

"A great cup of coffee from a badly-designed machine"
When I first used this machine, I couldn't believe they let it out of the testing labs. Yes, it's very good looking, black and brushed chrome and all that, but what happened to all that fashionable blather about ergonomic design? The people at Cuisinart seem not to have gotten the word. Filling the water reservoir, for example, takes great skill. If you pull the water chamber lid far enough back to fill the chamber comfortably, you'll snap the lid off. So you have to pull the lid back, but not too far back, which makes filling the chamber extremely awkward.

My solution has been to get it over with, let 'er rip and just fill it, then wipe up the water I've spilled. And if you think pouring more slowly makes the slightest bit of difference, think again. Water dribbles all over the counter anyway, so pouring more slowly just takes longer and prolongs the discomfort.

It's the same story at the end of the process, when the coffee's ready to pour. You're guaranteed to spill hot coffee all over, whether you keep the pot lid on or take it off. Not only that; prepare to have your hand scalded by the steam rising out of the pot. I've finally mastered the specific contortion necessary to pour coffee without burning myself, but it took time. For a while, I wore oven mitts. No joke.

So why, you might ask, is this maddening small appliance still on my kitchen counter? Because it (1) makes a great cup of coffee, and (2) it actually keeps the coffee piping hot. If you've tried a lot of coffee makers, you already know that while some coffee makers may offer you the former, almost none offers you the latter. Except for this poorly designed Cuisinart.

Don't say you weren't warned.

"Don't Buy This Coffeemaker"
I have had this coffee maker for nine months. It makes good coffee but the carafe started leaking from under the rim when we poured the coffee and just kept getting worse. What a mess! I called Cuisinart Customer Service, and, after being kept on hold for about 20 minutes, was told that the carafe wasn't covered under the warranty. Needless to say, I'm very disgusted and don't recommend this coffee maker!

"Cuisinart DCC-450 4-Cup Coffeemaker"
The coffee ends up okay. My issue is that the carafe is poorly designed relative to pouring. You must pour really slowly and carefully so as not to have coffee drip all over from the carafe. I just want to pour the coffee and not think about it.

"Great coffeemaker!"
I've sure never experienced any of the negatives other reviewers have. I owned mine for about three years; never had a problem with it, until one day it just quit brewing. Three years of daily use, not bad... I have two others (bigger, for "company") in the closet; drug one of them out but I miss my little Cuisinart, so I'm replacing it. In fact, I'm getting TWO, because I figure they'll probably stop production by the time I need another. This is the only stainless steel thermal I've found that has the heating plate; the ones without it just don't seem to get the coffee quite hot enough. And the stainless steel? I think coffee just tastes better from it!