Thermal carafe. Intent of a single closed system (bean grinder to coffee).
Negative Product Points
Cheap construction -eventually broke. Chronic problem with basket/pot interactions. Dumped several loads of water and coffee grounds all over the countertop because (1) carafe lid wasn't on/on correctly, (2) basket drawer popped open, (3) it doesn't like me? Grinder was inconsistent. Hard to clean. Power cord is way too short to be convenient.
Detailed Commentary
I'm -so sorry- I spent the $$ to buy this. Although it's nice having the grinder as part of the pot, the system as a whole fails. The grinder doesn't produce a consistent grind. More importantly, problems between the basket/pot interface have caused the machine to many times dump a load of water and coffee grounds all over the countertop. Usually this happens when the basket isn't draining into the pot, resulting in basket overflow, but lately the basket drawer has started popping open, resulting in another kind of overflow and big mess.
Today I discovered that the plastic basket holder as part of the basket drawer is broken.
The system is hard to clean.
Dumping water on the counter twice in two days is enough mess! I'm through with this piece of <effluent>.
Buying Experience
Normal price is $150. It's often on sale for $100, which is how I got it. At that price, it's still too expensive for all its flaws. I didn't keep the receipt so I have no basis for a return or warranty.
Life is too short to put up with piss-poor engineering! I'll not bother with another Cuisinart product.
