If plenty of coffee in one go is what you need, you should seriously consider picking up a Cuisinart 14-Cup Coffee Maker.
Now, while Cuisinart is a very popular appliance brand, they have let themselves down a bit when it comes to coffee makers. There is a number of unreliable models on the market from this manufacturer.
In the 14-cup capacity segment though they seem to have hit the sweet spot with at least one of the two coffee machines they offer. Let’s take a quick look.
Cuisinart DCC-2600 Brew Central 14-Cup Coffee Maker
The DCC-2600 is a fully programmable coffee maker with all the bells and whistles you’d expect. Here’s a quick summary of the features:
– 14-cup glass carafe
– Brew-pause function
– 1 to 4 cup setting
– Regular and bold strength settings
– Permanent gold tone filter
– Charcoal water filter
– Uses #4 filters
– 60 Second power loss backup system
– 3-year limited warranty
First look:
The machine lid flips open backwards up to 90 degrees, making it fairly easy to fill the reservoir. The water level indicator is on the right side of the side of the machine.
Some may question the use of a charcoal filter, but it definitely doesn’t do any harm and can remove bad odors or tastes from the water, which means you get a better cup of coffee.
The carafe lid is removable, but a bit tricky and can be easily damaged so care is needed when dealing with it.
The cord is extremely short (around 2 feet).
Adjustable settings:
The heater plate temperature is adjustable, you can choose between regular and bold strength and you also have the 1-4 cup setting to ensure that you still get perfect coffee even when not making a full carafe.
Being fully programmable you can of course also set it to start by itself.
Results:
The shower head spreads the water evenly over the coffee grounds. Temperature is hot, leading to consistently flavorful coffee. The bold and regular settings make a difference to the taste, and you can even save on coffee by using less grounds on the bold setting for a “regular” result.
This is a good 14-cup coffee maker. It has a few of Cuisinart’s typically silly design flaws (carafe lid, short cord, LCD not back-lit), but no real deal-breakers like on some of their other models. This is one of the better coffee makers Cuisinart has on the market right now.
Ratings:
Amazon: 4.4 out of 5
Macys: 4.7 out of 5
User Satisfaction Ratio: 85%
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Cuisinart PerfecTemp DCC-2800 14-Cup Coffee Maker
The second Cuisinart 14-cup coffee machine unfortunately falls short of the standard set by the DCC-2600. First a quick summary of the features, then I’ll summarize the highs and lows of this model for you.
Quick Features:
– Hot temperature
– Brew strength control
– Brew-pause feature
– 60 Second power loss backup system
– Brew strength setting
– Gold tone filter
– Charcoal water filter
– 1-4 Cup setting
First look:
This is a good looking coffee maker, with an easy to use control panel with an extra large LCD display. Unfortunately it has a few major design flaws. The first is the lid mechanism, which is prone to jamming and makes it hard to open.
The second is the construction, which is very plasticky for a unit that costs around $100.
Adjustable Settings:
You get your basic scoop of adjustable settings here, including a 1-4 cup setting and a regular or bold brew strength setting.
Results:
This machine makes a good carafe of hot coffee. The temperature technology really do make a difference and you won’t have to put up with tepid coffee here.
Unfortunately you have to balance this against the design flaws I noted above, and that makes this a hard product to recommend, especially with the much better DCC-2600 to choose from. The lukewarm user ratings also show that consumers aren’t particularly impressed by this product.
Ratings:
Amazon: 3.9 out of 5
Macys: 3.2 out of 5
User Satisfaction Ratio: 72%
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Cuisinart 14-Cup Coffee Maker Summary
So, there you have to two 14-cup models Cuisinart currently offers. For me it’s the DCC-2600 all the way, with sensible design and no deal-breaking flaws.
It is also the best rated 14-cup coffee machine around, comfortably beating competing models from Kitchenaid and Delonghi for user satisfaction and overall ratings.