Cuisinart DGB-550BKP1 Automatic Coffeemaker Grind
$99.95
Price: $99.95
(as of Feb 28, 2025 13:26:26 UTC – Details)
Grind and Brew Coffeemaker
Retire your alarm clock and wake up instead to the rich aroma of freshly ground, just brewed coffee, with the Cuisinart Grind & Brew Automatic Coffeemaker. One of the Premier Series, this deluxe 12-cup model offers the best of Cuisinart’s expert coffeemaking technology to deliver unsurpassed ease of use and rich full-bodied coffee flavor. With streamlined European styling and a graceful carafe, it’s a beautiful addition to any kitchen.
The Grind & Brew Coffeemaker features a separate grinding assembly and filter chamber to make beans easy to add and used grounds easy to remove. A convenient “grind off” control turns the grinder off when preground coffee is used.
A nice addition to any modern kitchen, this 12-cup automatic coffeemaker automatically grinds whole beans right before brewing to produce a fresh and flavorful pot of coffee. The 24-hour fully programmable unit allows for “wake-up” coffee, plus its brew-pause function makes it simple to enjoy a cup of coffee before the end of the brewing cycle. The included 60-ounce glass carafe offers an ergonomic handle, knuckle guard, and dripless pour spout for graceful serving. Other highlights include adjustable auto shutoff for up to four hours, a grind-off option, a charcoal water filter to remove impurities, and a separate grinder chamber and filter area to ensure simple cleanup. Housed in elegant Italian styling, the coffeemaker measures approximately 12 by 10 by 17 inches and carries a three-year limited warranty.
A charcoal water filter and a permanent commercial-style gold tone coffee filter allow only pure flavor to flow through, and the popular Brew Pause feature lets you sneak a cup before the cycle is finished.
Dishwasher safe parts. Separate grind and filter chambers for easy cleanup. The freshest tasting coffee outside a coffee bar. What more could a coffee lover as for?
Product Parts and Benefits
- Reservoir Cover
Flips back for easy filling, Removable for easy cleaning. A safety Interlock System prevents operation of the unit if the Reservoir Cover is open. - Showerhead
Distributes water evenly over coffee, reducing temperature loss as water passes through grounds. - Filter Basket Compartment
Contains filter basket, filter basket cover, and Cuisinart gold tone commercial style filter - Brew Pause
Stops flow of coffee from basket when carafe is removed from heater plate so a cup can be poured in mid-brew, if desired - Heating Plate
Scratch resistant with nonstick coating - Carafe
The easy-pour, no-drip 12-cup carafe has an ergonomic handle and brewed coffee markings for two to twelve cups - Measuring Scoop and Brush
- #4 Basket Paper Filters
- Grinder Basket and Lid
Use the recess on each side of the lid to remove lid for easy addition of beans - Cord Storage
- Charcoal Water Filter
Charcoal water filter eliminates chlorine, bad tastes, and ordors from tap water - Control Panel
- On/Off/Set Auto-Shutoff Switch with LED Indicator: Audible Tone which will sound 5 times when the coffee has completed brewing and Auto-Shutoff Tone which will sound twice at end of programmed auto-shutoff period
- Low Cups Setting with LED Indicator: set to 1-4 cup to imporove extraction and flavor when making fewer than 5 cups of coffee
- Hours Set/Minutes Set: press and hold either hour or minute button for approximately 2 seconds to enter Time Set Mode
- Clock Display
- Grind Off with LED Indicator: use to turn off the grinder when using pre-ground coffee
- Program Setting with LED Indicator: press to display program setting or to set programmed brewing
Product Features
- Elegant Italian Styling
- Automatically grinds whole beans before brewing
- 24 hour fully programmable
- Brew Pause™ feature lets you enjoy a cup of coffee before brewing has finished
- Adjustable auto shutoff – 0-4 hours
- Grind off feature
- 1-4 cup feature
- 12 (5 oz. each) cup carafe with ergonomic handle, dripless spout and knuckle guard
- Gold tone commercial filter
- Charcoal water filter removes impurities
- Separate grinder chamber and filter area make for easy cleanup
- Limited 3-year warranty
Easy Operation
Fully programmable, this is the ultimate user-friendly coffeemaker. Simply add beans and water, set the flavor control to 1-4 or 5+ cups, and program start time up to 24 hours in advance. An auto-shutoff feature even lets you set the unit to turn off up to 4 hours after the brew cycle ends.
The Perfect Cup of Coffee
Element 1: Water
Coffee is 98% water. The quality of that water is as important as the quality of your coffee. If water doesn’t taste good from the tap, it won’t taste good in your coffee. That’s why Cuisinart has added a water filter to the Grind & Brew Coffeemaker. The charcoal filter removes chlorine, bad tastes, and odors, for the purest coffee flavor, every time you brew.
Element 2: Coffee
While coffee is 98% water, all of the flavor comes from the beans. To achieve the same great taste you enjoy at a coffee bar, you need to use the same quality of coffee.
Buy the beans fresh and whole, only about two weeks’ supply at a time for maximum freshness. Once the coffee bean is broken, its flavor degrades very quickly. That’s why the Grind & Brew grinds your coffee just prior to brewing. If it is not practical to buy small supplies, separate larger amounts of beans into one to two week portions immediately after purchase, and freeze them in airtight containers.
The best way to maximize freshness is to minimize exposure to air, light, and moisture. So, once beans have been removed from the freezer, maintain them in a sealed container at room temperature, since damaging condensation occurs every time the beans are removed from the freezer or refrigerator. Note that some coffee experts advise against freezing dark-roast beans, because freezing can cause the oils to coagulate. Other experts disagree. We suggest you experiment and decide for yourself.
Element 3: Grind
The grind is critical for proper flavor extraction. If the grind is too fine, over-extraction and bitterness will result. Too fine a grind may also clog the filter. If grind is too coarse, the water will pass through too quickly and the maximum flavor will not be extracted. The Grind & Brew is preset for a medium grind, the optimal grind for this type of coffeemaker.
Element 4: Proportion
Coffee that is too strong or too weak is always a disappointment. Follow the recommended portions of ground coffee in the instructions included with every Grind & Brew, and later adjust the amount to suit your taste. The Grind & Brew makes up to twelve (12) 5-ounce cups of coffee
- Charcoal Water Filter
- Grinder Basket and Lid
- #4 Basket Paper Filters
Please refer to user guide or user manual or user guide (provided below in PDF) before first use
24-hour programmability with 12-Cup glass carafe featuring an ergonomic handle, dripless pour spout and knuckle guard
Grinds whole beans right before brewing to produce fresh and flavorful coffee. Grind off feature for pre ground coffee
Brew-pause feature, auto shutoff from 0 to 4 hours, and 1- to 4-Cup feature
Please make sure the 1-4 setting button is pushed on. This setting does make a stronger cup of coffee due to the slower brewing process
Product Built to North American Electrical Standards. Separate grinder chamber and filter area make for easy cleanup
n1cf2 –
At last!
I decided that using a Keurig coffee maker on a daily basis was a waste of money and decided to return to using a coffee maker. I have a Technivorm Mochamaster, but I dislike performing a separate process to grind the beans and the lack of an automatic start feature. Waking up to a freshly brewed pot of coffee instead of stumbling around to make it is the best.In the past, I had a couple of Toshiba My Cafe Mill & Drip Coffee Makers that made excellent coffee. When the last one was worn out, I could not replace it due to the Toshiba sanctions imposed in 1990, so I switched to the first generation of the Cuisinart Grind and Brew coffee makers which were good enough.Recently, I tried three highly-rated and much more expensive grind and brew coffeemakers that failed to meet my expectations. All produced a weak brew, regardless of increasing the coffee-to-water ratio or changing the brew and grind settings.So this coffee maker is the is the winner!I used the formula for water to coffee recommended by Mochamaster (based on the SCAA Golden Ratio –– 1000 ml water to 55 g coffee). I ignored the stepladder measure inside the coffee maker water tank and used a 1-liter measuring pitcher for this and a food scale to measure 55 grams of coffee beans. This filled the grinder container to the maximum capacity, so making a larger brew is not possible (unless you prefer your coffee weaker and choose to add more than 1000 ml to the tank).One of the reviews that I saw online recommended engaging the 1-4 cup button for a stronger brew. I did this for the first batch yesterday, and it was intense, really too strong — and I like a bold cup. This morning, I used the same water-to-coffee ratio but did not engage the 1-4 cup button. I am happy to report that this produced a great cup of coffee.Now, here’s a word about cleaning the parts. What’s all the fuss? It’s not such a big deal and takes just a few minutes. As soon as the coffee stops brewing, I remove the grinder and cover, the filter basket and cover, and the filter; rinse them off, submerge them in sudsy water in the sink, pour my first cup of coffee while they soak, enjoy a few sips while they briefly soak, rinse them off and put them on the dish rack to air dry. I replace them in the machine later when they are dry. Easy and fast.
Ethan Wells –
A 4-1/2 star marvel
So I purchased this to replace my Cuisinart CHW-12 Coffee Plus 12-Cup Programmable Coffeemaker with Hot Water System, Black/Stainless. I was very pleased with the *coffeemaker* component of this latter (its hot water system being another matter), and was looking for a similar coffeemaker that also had a grind and brew function. I have had it now for just shy of a year, and am almost entirely pleased with it. Let me address the pros and cons, both as I see them and as they have been discussed in other reviews:Pros:(1) This coffeemaker is able to produce an excellent cup of coffee in very little time.(2) The grind function allows you to control precisely how much coffee you want ground. Other models – such as the Krups KM7005 Grind and Brew coffeemaker – essentially have a reservoir for beans that are ground according to your selection of coffee-strength. Effectively, this means it uses a timer to determine how much coffee to grind. In my experience, this resulted in an imperfect and – more importantly – inconsistent cup of coffee. This Cuisinart coffeemaker, by contrast, will grind precisely how much coffee you put in the grinder. I have been surprised to find no residue, or almost no residue, in the grinder after each use. This allows you to control the strength of your coffee, and produce a consistent cup.(3) You can easily turn the grinder off. I keep a stash of ground coffee at the ready for those days when I’m running behind and want to save a step. It doesn’t save a lot of time – but it’s a nice feature.Cons(1) A number of people have noted in their reviews that this coffeemaker is a lot of work to clean. While I don’t find this in fact to be the case, it does require you to wash, in addition to the components common to any coffeemaker, the grinder after each use. The only systems with which I am familiar that do not require this are those with a coffee reservoir; the drawback of these systems, as I note above, is that it is difficult to get a consistently good cup of coffee out of them. So I think this is a have your cake or eat it predicament: if you want a consistently good cup of coffee from a grind and brew coffeemaker, you’re probably going to need to buy one requiring additional cleaning.(2) I was surprised to find how much I missed the carafe temperature control function of my old Cuisinart CHW-12 coffeemaker. I find this grind and brew coffeemaker produces coffee that is slightly too hot for my taste. That said, it is a minor drawback, easily corrected by waiting a few minutes after pouring a cup before drinking it.(3) Unlike the CHW-12, there is no transparent window that allows you to see how much water is in the reservoir from the side of the coffeemaker. Instead, you have to look down into the water reservoir, at a series of steps marking 2, 4, 6, 8 and so forth. This makes it difficult to fill the reservoir to, say, 3 cups or 5 cups or 7 cups etc. Why? Because when you are looking down, you lose the perspective necessary to determine when the water is halfway between, say, 4 and 6. This is a minor inconvenience that can be worked around by trial and error.(4) I agree with those reviewers who say the grinder is not large enough to make an entire pot of strong coffee. This doesn’t make the least difference for me since I only make half a pot per day. To make half a pot of coffee at my desired strength, however, I do need to fill the coffee grinder well more than 1/2 full. Upshot: a 12 cup pot of coffee is likely to be weaker than I would want it. So: if you want 12 cups every morning of strong coffee, this grind and brew coffee maker is likely to fall short of your expectations. If, on the other hand, you only occasionally make a full pot of coffee, I’d recommend that, on those occasions, you turn the grinder off and use the appropriate amount of pre-ground coffee instead.Overall, I would deduct a 1/2 star for cons (2) and (3). That not being an option, however, I have given this coffeemaker a 5 star rating since 4 stars would certainly not do credit to its many fine features.**UPDATE 05/12/2020**I have had this unit for just over a year. I stand by my original assessment. It is far and away the best coffee maker I have ever purchased, at least for my purposes.
Los Detalles –
El café que disfruto es perfecto
Tracy –
The taste is the number one factor for us and this coffee maker brews a great tasting coffee. This is our first time having a coffee maker with a grinder and we love it. Easy to use. We clean the grinder after each use. We are so happy with this purchase. Note: If you like your coffee stronger, use less water vs adding more beans because there is a max capacity for the bean grinder.
Jesus_Nuno –
Te entrega un buen sabor de cafè, caliente adecuado todo el tiempo. Relaciòn Precio – desempeño muy adcuado, solo dar su limpieza de molino en cada uso que es muy sencillo, y funciona perfecto.
iPod user –
We had the 10-cup equivalent for many years before it finally gave up the ghost. Given how much coffee we drink ( one or more pots every day, and usually ground from beans) it gave excellent service.This higher capacity unit is very similar, with a few small refinements which we appreciate. Once again we wake up to the sound of beans being ground and the perfume of brewing coffee wafting through the house. Best alarm there is.Heartily recommend this product to anyone who appreciates coffee reliably prepared.
Olivia Alvarez –
Exelente funciona muy bien me encantó muy linda y práctica para todo tipo café