The Brew Central brews stale coffee beans very well. If the beans are freshly roasted, the foam is too much and spills grounds out into other parts of the machine.
Positive Product Points
Looks elegant on the counter Acceptably hot brewing temperature Great brewer for stale coffee
Negative Product Points
Grounds overflow into water reservoir and the pot 12 cups worth of grounds will not fit in filter basket
Detailed Commentary
A couple of years ago coffee grabbed my attention. One year ago "gourmet" coffee compelled me to purchase the Cuisinart Brew Central DCC-1200 to replace the old Sunbeam (a leftover wedding gift from 12 years prior). I also purchased Cuisinart's "Gold-toned permanent coffee filter."
The Brew Central, out-of-the-box, brewed the Millstone coffees I enjoyed at the time much better than the 'ol Sunbeam. I initially had GREAT results, which compelled me to upgrade my taste in coffee to the fabulous Roasterie brand of air roasted coffee. The Roasterie roasted-to-order, and I could pick up coffee the same day it was roasted!
Note: I brew 8 cups of coffee each morning. The label says this is a 12 cup machine. I found I could not put enough grounds in for 12 cups. Even 10 cups caused me trouble. But as you read, understand that the trouble occurred consistently brewing only 8 cups of coffee each morning (and sometimes again in the evening). I have the Cuisinart burr grinder set a couple of clicks coarser than the middle, medium setting...
The Brew Central had trouble with the fresh coffee, where it didn't with the stale Millstone. Now the grounds would regularly cover the spray head, and overflow into the water reservoir and into the pot. My Brew Central required daily thorough cleaning. Often the grounds would clog the drip hole mechanism and severely restrict the flow. This regular trouble persisted until one day the coffee maker protested and only brewed a couple of cups, then beeped as if it were done.
I now roast my own coffee, so the beans are never more than 2 or 3 days old. It is my opinion that this coffee maker works well with stale coffee and doesn't work at all for fresh coffee. I think the fresh coffee foams and rises more, and causes trouble for this machine.
I had owned the Brew Central for about 12 months now, but decided to test Bed Bath and Beyond's return policy... they allowed me to exchange mine for a brand new Brew Central! Very impressive.
Anyway, same trouble with the new one. The first 8-cup pot sent the grounds up into the spray head, and into the water reservoir. I returned the item again after a week of frustration, and now am awaiting shipment of a Bunn NHBX.
Buying Experience
I can't say enough about Bed Bath and Beyond. The allowed me to exchange after 12 months, then accepted another exchange for a different model drip, the Bunn NHBX!
