Still, I missed the depth and complexity I’m used to when brewing the freshly ground coffee beans from Nicaragua in a Chemex. The Coffee Center also has a couple of features to conserve energy. There’s an auto off feature on the drip brew side that’s adjustable. This Hamilton Beach lets you decide when the coffee maker will shut off and can be set for up to four hours after the brew cycle is finished. By the way, if you can’t wait for the brew to finish and you need your morningcup of joe, the machine is equipped with Brew Pause Technology.
The coffee reservoir and the drip tray under coffee dispenser are removable for fast and easy cleanup. That’s why we’ve pulled this handy guide together — to compare like-for-like and single out the Keurig K-Mini makers that are worth your investment. Here, we will look at the strengths and weaknesses behind each design and compare specifications, from personalization options to auto-timer settings.
Using ground coffee is easier than adding beans to the grinder – you simply add the ground coffee directly to the filter. You will have to remember to hit the “grind off” button, or the grinder will continue to spin. Brewing with ground coffee is quieter, with the Cuisinart Grind & Brew Auto hitting a maximum of 50dB on our noise meter. A full 10 cup brew took just under 10 minutes, which is similar to the brew time using whole beans, while a four cup brew took a speedier five minutes. We found that using pre-ground coffee resulted in a stronger drink, but it was also far more bitter – although again, this will very much depend on the coffee you use. The uncomplicated control panel displays the time and allows you to program the coffee maker to brew coffee at any time in the following 24 hours.
The insulated carafe ensures your freshly brewed coffee won’t cool down too quickly. And while it can’t maintain the initial temperature, a half carafe of coffee was still a pleasant 151oF/66oC after two hours. Cleaning the coffee maker was simply a matter of emptying the grinds from the filter and then washing all the parts. The filter and carafe are dishwasher-safe, but we found that a good rinse removed most of the coffee residue.
The coffee is delivered into an insulated carafe to stay warm, but it doesn’t have a warming plate to keep it warm longer. A filter coffee maker, this model can’t produce strong espresso-style coffee of the type used for coffee shop favorites such as cappuccino and latte. For the K Cup brewer, toss your spent cup toward the nearest landfill or wash out the reusable filter cup if that’s what you used for your coffee. Incidentally, I started out using six scoops of medium ground coffee for a six-cup carafe.
In addition to all this, the Cuisinart Coffee center has six color combinations, making it super easy to coordinate all your appliance colors or match it to your decor. Due to its contents, this product cannot be shipped via our Priority Service or sent to Alaska, Hawaii, P.O.