| A stylish grinder for the serious coffee buff, this Cuisinart Supreme Grind automatic burr mill provides plenty of options and good results in an attractive and tidy structure. This makes it a great appliance for houses where coffee is a steady dietary staple and preferences vary from espresso to French drip. Outfitted with a heavy-duty motor, the machine has 18 grind settings ranging from fine to extra-coarse, which are controlled by a clearly marked, pleasantly clicking dial. Rotate the hopper to personal preference, and the machine does the rest, using burr plates for a highly uniform grind that protects bean oils and releases more flavor. Automatic operation in this grinder covers quantity as well--simply set the amount slide control anywhere from 4 to 18 cups. The grinder shuts off when the desired level is reached. Transfer of ready grounds to a coffee pot or espresso group is quick and tidy, because the grind chamber slides out with its clever lid in place. Smart and elegant, the grinder has brushed stainless steel housing and black accents in durable plastic. The hopper, hopper lid, grinding burr, and grind chamber all remove easily for cleanup, and a safety feature keeps the grinder from operating without the hopper and chamber in place. Standing 6-3/4 by 9-3/4 by 5 inches, the unit has built-in power cord storage at its base. Cuisinart includes a coffee scoop/cleaning brush in one and covers the machine with an 18-month warranty. --Emily Bedard |
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 An attractive, efficient, and competent grinder |
| Review Date: March 14, 2004 |
| Reviewer: Trey Harris, New York, NY United States |
| This is the second automatic hopper-type burr grinder that I've owned. The first was the similarly-priced Capresso 551.01, which died after a couple years of use. I don't know what the lifespan of this Cuisinart grinder will be yet, but so far I'm extremely impressed with the comparison between the two. Start with the weight, at nearly 4 pounds--it simply feels more substantial. (The Capresso is a comparatively diminutive 2 lb. 9 oz.) The casing is an attractive stainless steel (which may just be a veneer over plastic, but it certainly looks nicer than the Capresso's black plastic) and the hopper and grind chamber are of thick, good-quality acrylic. The Capresso had to be emptied before changing the grind coarseness, and had a small, finger-bruising wheel with which to adjust it, but the Cuisinart's entire hopper turns freely to adjust the grind, filled or not. I'm also very pleased to find that the Cuisinart doesn't dust the countertop with a sprinkling of coffee after use, as the Capresso did. The motor isn't whisper-quiet by any stretch, but it's not as noisy as many home grinders. There are only two disadvantages of this grinder, in my opinion. First, the timer can only be adjusted in two-cup increments (minimum of 4 cups). It does this with a satisfying click, but still, I'd like to nudge the slider a bit for a weaker morning brew or a stronger nighttime one. Second, the hopper contains almost four cups' worth of coffee below the visible area, inside the machine. That, combined with the grinder's heftier weight, makes it a chore to empty it if you want to change coffees (say, if a guest requests decaf). Not only do you have to turn this brute upside-down, but you also have to turn it every which way so that all the coffee inside the machine works its way out. But these are minor quibbles. Overall, this is an excellent machine. |
Works Great
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| Review Date: July 3, 2006 |
| Reviewer: D. Allen, McKinney Texas |
I've had mine for about 6 months now. I use it to grind for a drip machine, and it grinds for about 16 cups every day. The motor seems to take it all in stride, and it's never sounded like it was under undue stress, so I'm puzzled by all the reviews reporting bad motors. I suspect, at least some of them, are really interlock problems. There are at least two of them: one is under the cup that collects the ground coffee. The other is under the hopper. If the cup or the hopper aren't properly seated, the motor is prevented from operating. This is a safety feature.
The flavor of coffee ground in a burr mill barely resembles that of beans chopped up in a grinder with spinning blades. The spinning blades keep hitting the coffee over and over, heating it up. If you watch, you will see the coffee turn a lighter shade of brown as it dries out. A burr mill spits the ground beans into a cup as soon as it's finished with them, and the grounds are the same shade as the beans were. The difference in flavor is tremendous, so recommending a burr mill, such as the cuisinart, is a no-brainer.
Update Jan 09, 2007: We've been grinding for about 16 cups per day for about a year now. Still going.
Update July 27, 2009: 3.5 years of faithful service, but I have to admit that I'm starting to get paranoid. This thing has done a lot of work, and something has got to be on the verge of going out. I'm addicted to my morning coffee (I drink it ALL morning), and I'd be in a bad way if I couldn't partake of my favorite bean. I'm considering buying another one as a back-up.
Update 10-08-09: Ha! I must be psychic! The built-in timer has stopped working, so we're now using a kitchen timer. |
Still working 3 1/2 years later
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| Review Date: April 26, 2005 |
| Reviewer: Morganna Wolf, Pacific NW |
Update 12/21/2008
I have had this grinder now for over 3 years. With almost daily use it is still working great.
Pros:
* For the most part it grinds a uniform grind (Toward the top of the box there is some extra fine grind that tends to spill out when opening. A tap or two on the counter settles most of it preventing it from spilling out.) Still cleaner than my old blade grinder.
* Stores a 1/2-pound of beans.
* Consistently grinds the same amount of beans. Makes reproducing that perfect brew every morning just that much easier.
Cons:
* Louder (not by very much) than my old grinder but the cats quickly adjusted to the noise |
Nice, functional, minimal problems
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| Review Date: July 7, 2004 |
| Reviewer: Hypno Walrus, Victoria, TX United States |
Got this burr grinder and really couldn't be happier with its looks, performance, and durability.
Pros:
1. Big hopper
2. Completely customizable -- grind settings coarse to fine and cups to make
3. The fine ground setting really does produce fine grounds...or at least as fine as needed for espresso. I know some people would like coffee dust, but not me
4. Relatively quick grinding time
5. Automatic stop...press the button and do something else, then come backCons: (minor ones) 1. The scoop/brush accessory that was included, broke within a week. Actually, just the scoop. Snapped right off. But I don't need a scoop, I need the brush to clean the machine. So no biggie
2. Kinda loud (but most burr grinders are so just keep that in mind)
3. Slides around a bit when handling it. Maybe heavy rubber stoppers needed?
4. Lid doesn't latch closed to the hopper. Just don't turn it over with coffee beans inside like I did. Ha |
Still on the honeymoon, but seems to be an excellent product
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| Review Date: September 4, 2004 |
| Reviewer: Richard Park, Los Angeles, CA USA |
I've used a blade grinder for years and put up with the low volume and mess entailed with those kinds of mills. When the blade started to break at the hub, I decided to go for a better design using a burr.
The LA Times had a recent review of various burr type mills ranging from thousands of dollars to my preferred price point, $50. The one they recommended was the Capresso but Amazon reviewers were not wildly enthusiastic.
I took a flyer on the Cuisinart based on the reviews. In the few days we've had it, it seems to do a good job grinding my preference, medium-fine for brewing using a #2 Melitta to produce an individual cup (16 oz).
The uniformity of the grind is noticeably superior to the blade grinder. I use French roast, an oily bean, and yet the grounds are even and consistent.
The brew is great - to my tastes as good as anything from one of the coffee joints.
It is fairly noisy, but since it grinds quickly, not a problem. It does not seem to have the static problem of the blade grinder but that may also be dependent on the humidity in the air at the time. I like that it is relatively easy to clean the burrs and the receiver does not leak stray ground during the grinding process.
Overall, I like it a lot and if it maintains the consistency of grind and holds together, I can really recommend it.
UPDATE on May 1, 2006: After some episodes where the grinder either revved-up as if there were no beans being fed to the burrs, or stalling under load, I removed the hopper/upper burr assembly to inspect and clean the base.
After many months of daily use with only superficial cleaning, a substantial amount of caked on fine grind residue builds up due to the oily character of these grinds. I used dark roast which is a particularly oily bean.
The inner chamber of the grinder (surrounding the burr) had to be scraped with a small screwdriver blade to dislodge the build-up. Also, the exit chute builds up residue as well and it was also cleared.
Now the grinder runs as well as before. This type of cleaning should be done monthly to keep the grinder running. Otherwise, you risk overloading and burning out the motor.
I now use an inexpensive dental-pick tool to scrape the residue out after every full hopper of beans is ground. It only takes a couple of minutes and the grinder continues to work well. |
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