Expert rating
Benefits
- Grind the coffee beans
- Washable and reusable filters
- Compatible with pre-ground coffee
- Large water tank
The inconvenients
- No milk froth
- Can be complicated
- Unable to change coffee or water volumes
Our Verdict
There are a lot of things to like about the Cuisinart coffee maker. It eliminates messy and unnecessary filter papers and, because it doesn’t produce more coffee than you want, there’s no loss of flavor like you might experience from keeping a carafe of coffee hot. There are some downsides in terms of flexibility and design, but it seems like a step in the right direction for long black coffee lovers looking for a more environmentally friendly solution.
Best Prices Today: Cuisinart Single-Cup Grind and Brew Coffee Maker
$149.95
If you’re in the United States, this coffee machine is called the Cuisinart Single Serve Coffee Maker and Grinder. Its British name is the Cuisinart One Cup Grind and Brew Coffee Maker. It’s the same device, but as you’ll see, its US price makes it a much more attractive purchase.
Espresso isn’t for everyone: many like their coffee long, hot, and hassle-free. However, if you live alone or are the only one in a household who drinks it, brewing a whole pot of drip coffee can be a chore at best and a waste at worst. Enter this Cuisinart: a drip coffee machine that brews just one cup at a time, with a pair of washable, reusable filters (so no need for paper filters) and a choice of three cup sizes. Best of all, it includes its own grinder, allowing you to brew the freshest cup possible straight from the bean.
Rachel Ogden / Foundry
Design and build
- 100 g grain hopper
- Stainless Steel Conical Burr Grinder
- 1.35 liter water tank
If your counter space is limited, there’s good news: the Cuisinart One Cup Grind and Brew Coffee Maker won’t take up too much. It measures 11.02 x 7.28 x 12.67 inches (18.4 x 28 x 32.2 cm), which means it can fit in a corner or in the back, under the units, and at 3.6 kg (7.9 lb), it moves easily.
In fact, it is a machine made up of two halves. The left side of the machine takes care of the grinding, with a 100g/3.5oz coffee bean hopper fitted with a conical stainless steel burr grinder that rotates downward. Below there is a holder for one of the two reusable filter pods, so that the ground coffee can be dispensed directly into it.
Rachel Ogden / Foundry
The right side handles the brew: once a reusable filter pod is filled with ground coffee up to 15-20g, it is simply sealed and inserted into the brew head. This means you can use it purely as a grinder, or avoid grinding altogether: a scoop is included (with a brush on one end for cleaning the machine) so you can fill a filter pod with pre-ground coffee.
Rachel Ogden / Foundry
At the rear, there is a generous 1.35 liter water tank. This holds up to 4-5 cups of coffee and can be removed for refilling or refilled on the spot – ideal if you run out of water halfway through a cup. Some clever features are also less obvious, including the fact that the drip tray can be removed to accommodate larger containers, such as travel mugs, and a hidden storage space on the side for the filter module which doesn’t is not used.
Rachel Ogden / Foundry
Performance and Features
- Limited options for customizing coffee
- Three cup sizes: 120 ml, 210 ml and 300 ml
- Can be messy, especially with smaller cups
Although the Cuisinart One Cup Grind and Brew Coffee Maker offers more flexibility than your average drip coffee maker, its controls are basic compared to a typical pod machine. They are limited to just five buttons: on/off, grind and three cup sizes: 120ml, 210ml and 300ml.
Rachel Ogden / Foundry
In particular, you cannot modify any of these elements. There is no option to increase the size of the average cup by 20ml for example, add more water after brewing or change the amount of ground coffee – the same amount is dispensed whether you brew the cup of 120 ml or that of 300 ml. If this turns out to be too much ground coffee, you can remove some before brewing, but it would make more sense not to grind as much in the first place.
Plus, the bean hopper is attached to the machine, so if you fancy a change, you’ll have to work your way through what’s in it or clumsily scoop out what you can, rather than being able to knock over the bean hopper. grains. Removing the burr grinder is another option, but the beans will cascade down.
Limitations aside, the Cuisinart One Cup Grind and Brew Coffee Maker brews good coffee reliably. I used it in place of my regular espresso machine for a few weeks and filled it with the same beans. Coffee made with them was noticeably milder, but retained a similar flavor, especially when brewed in a 120ml cup. It was dispensed at a fairly constant temperature of 80°C/176°F. Most importantly, there was no bitterness, as can occur with filter coffee, and no residue at the bottom of the cup.
I liked that the drip tray left room for larger cups, but there is no option to raise it for smaller cups, and the brew head cannot be lowered. This meant that when brewing in low cups there would always be splashes on the counter. These joined the grounds left by the coffee grind: no matter how hard I tried, there was always a bit of a mess, even if most of it ended up in the drip tray.
It was also quicker to prepare than filter coffee machines. Although it took a few seconds to start brewing, even the largest cup size finished in less than 30 seconds. Plus, everything that can be removed is dishwasher safe, except for the grinder, and is backed by a three-year warranty.
Pricing and availability
In the United States, the Cuisinart Single-Serve Coffee Maker and Grinder is available for $149.95 at Amazon and for $154.95 at Walmart. It’s not cheap, but it’s a considerably better price than in the UK, where it costs £248.95 at Amazon, among other retailers.
This makes them an extremely expensive option when it comes to drip coffee makers. But it’s not intended to be a budget buy and if you’re looking for a high-quality machine for long coffees, this might just be right for you. For more coffee machine options, take a look at our roundup of the best coffee machines we’ve tested, and for quick and easy coffee brewing, check out our recommended pod coffee machines.
Should you buy the Cuisinart Single Serve/Single Cup Coffee Maker?
Make no mistake, the Cuisinart Single Serve/One Cup Grind and Brew Coffee Maker is not for the latte lovers of this world. Instead, it speaks directly to those who enjoy a good cup of filter coffee, without the bitterness and without the commitment of continuing to buy single-use filter papers. There are a lot of thoughtful things: a good-sized water reservoir, ease of cleaning of the reusable pods and even storage.
However, what has been overlooked is the ability to have your coffee the way you like it: at this price point, the ability to add more water, grind less for smaller cups or d ‘adjust distributed size should be there. If you don’t mind the quantities being set in stone and all that’s needed is hot, black and smooth, with less ecological impact, this one-cup wonder should work for you.
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