I bought this coffeemaker for my wife as a Christmas present (2011). We love it a lot. It makes great, HOT coffee, and the hot water system works perfectly. If you are like me, you are reading these comments in order to learn whether or not you should buy this product. With that in mind, let me give you a few things to consider:
The Not So Good
1. Plastic taste - A number of folks have complained about a plasticy taste, especially on the hot water side, and I can verify that we have experienced a little of that, but only on the coffee side. It took us about 3-4 pots of coffee before the plastic aftertaste went away, and we haven't tasted it since. We have never tasted it on the hot water side. It's possible that the people who keep tasting it truly have models that have a problem, but it's also possible that they just imagine they are tasting it. Either way, at least for us, whatever plastic taste was there before seems to be gone now.
2. Hard to fill the coffee reservoir - It is true that the hole you pour water through to fill the coffee side is poorly positioned and quite small. Some folks use a funnel, others rotate around to the side of the coffeemaker to improve their pouring angle. Me? I just pour carefully. I have not spilled any water (yet). My biggest issue is that I find the last 1/2 cup of water difficult to get out of the carafe. If I try to pour 8 cups of water into the reservoir I can get the first 7 1/2 out easily, but that last little bit is tough. To compensate I just fill the carafe with a cup or so more water than what I intend to pour into the reservoir - say, 9+ cups if I want to brew 8 - and then discard whatever extra water is left in the carafe. Problem solved.
3. Slight residue from coffee grounds - We use the bundled reusable coffee filter. We have found that it leaves a very fine residue from the coffee grounds at the bottom of our coffee, which isn't a big deal, but is at least something worth mentioning in case that sort of thing bothers you.
4. Coffee brewing time - The coffeemaker is not slow, but it certainly is not fast. Reading some reviews led me to think this thing made really fast coffee, which just is not the case. I would say it's average, which really isn't bad, per se, but you should temper your expectations. A Bunn this is not.
The Good
1. Great coffee - Isn't this why you buy a coffeemaker? This unit makes really good coffee, period. It is VERY hot. I mean, you can put cold milk/creamer in your coffee and it'll still be hot when you're through, especially if you select the hottest carafe heat setting (a nice touch, I might add). A coffeemaker should make good coffee, and this one does not disappoint.
2. Speedy hot water system - I was very impressed with how fast the hot water system heated the water. Once again, after reading some reviews you would think this thing took forever. It doesn't. In just a few minutes it does its job as advertised. It's certainly faster than heating up a pot on the stove, although it only heats one serving or so at a time. But the reheats in between each serving take less time than the initial heating of the first serving, a real plus if you plan on making more than one hot drink at a time. But keep in mind that this hot water system is not intended to completely replace a kettle if you intend to fix a lot of tea or hot cocoa at one time. If you are making hot drinks for more than 2-3 people at a time, it might be faster to heat a lot of water on your stove rather than waiting for multiple reheats. As long as you keep this in mind I don't think you will be at all disappointed with the hot water system. It really does work well.
3. Simultaneous dual function - I got the impression from previous reviewers that you could not make coffee and hot water at the same time. This is not true. My unit will brew coffee on one side and heat up water on the other side simultaneously. Perhaps Cuisinart updated this model to add this function, or perhaps the previous reviewers were simply wrong. All I know is that mine does both at the same time and they both perfectly.
I disagree with some of the reviewers who complained about other various issues with this coffeemaker. The hot water drain plug on the bottom of the unit is positioned exactly where it should be, and is simple enough to use. If you are using simple tap water for the hot water system it'll work just fine. The five beeps that indicate that the coffee is finished brewing are not too loud, nor intrusive. My microwave makes more noise when it beeps. The hot water reservoir should be drained occasionally (since you canot dispense all the water you put in), but this isn't as big of a deal as previous reviewers make it out to be. This takes about 10 seconds of your week. The electrical cord is a little short, but do people expect it to be 10 feet long? In the end, just like with any product being reviewed by hundreds of people, every possible flaw will be brought to light. But all in all I think this is a great product that is worth the money (assuming you buy it on sale - the retail price on this thing is outrageous; I got it for $85). I highly recommend it.
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Color: Black
Color: Grey
Cup Capacity: Up to 4 Cups
Cup Capacity: 5 to 8 Cups
Product Grade: Commercial Grade
Boiler Material: Borosilicate Glass
Boiler Material: Ceramic
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From the manufacturer
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| Cuisinart Coffee Plus 12-Cup Programmable Coffeemaker & Hot Water Dispenser | Cuisinart 12-Cup Programmable Coffeemaker & Hot Water System | Cuisinart Coffee-on-Demand 12-Cup Programmable Coffeemaker | Cuisinart Coffee Center 12-Cup Programmable Coffeemaker | |
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| Customer Reviews |
8,794
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163
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12,365
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535
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| Price | — | $84.99 | $89.54 | $119.95 |
| Model # | CHW-12P1 | CHW-16 | DCC-3000 | DCC-4000P1 |
| Hot Water System | ✓ | ✓ | ||
| Carafe | 12-Cup Glass | 12-Cup Glass | Up to 12-Cups | 12-Cup Glass |
| Adjustable Carafe Temperature | ✓ | ✓ | ||
| Controls | Push Button/Dial | Push Button | Push Button/Dial | Push Button |
| 24-Hour Programmable | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Auto-Off | ✓ | ✓ | 0-4 Hours | ✓ |
| Clean Function | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Gold-Tone Filter | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Videos
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Cuisinart Coffee Maker Review
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I LOVE Cuisinart Coffee Maker Plus Hot Water System
JUST A DAD
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Our Point of View on Cuisinart 12-Cup Coffee Makers
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Can you really choose coffee or tea
✅ Facts no Fluff
Compare with similar items
This Item  Cuisinart Plus 12-Cup Hot Water Coffee Maker, Black/Stainless |  |  |  |  |  | |
| Price | Currently unavailable. | -35% $84.99 List: $129.95 | $69.99 | $69.99 | $109.95 | -19% $144.95 List: $179.95 |
| Delivery | — | Get it as soon as Wednesday, May 15 | Get it as soon as Wednesday, May 15 | Get it as soon as Monday, May 13 | Get it as soon as Wednesday, May 15 | Get it as soon as Monday, May 13 |
| Customer Ratings | ||||||
| Flavor | ||||||
| Easy to clean | ||||||
| Easy to use | ||||||
| Sold By | — | Beach Camera Same Day Shipping | Amazon.com | Amazon.com | Lifestyle by Focus | Amazon.com |
| capacity | 12 cups | 12 cups | 70 fluid ounces | 12 cups | 14.0 cups, 4.0 cups, 1.0 cups | 50 ounces |
| material | Stainless Steel | Glass | Plastic, Glass, Stainless Steel | Plastic, Glass | Stainless Steel | Stainless Steel, Plastic, Aluminum |
| input interface | buttons | buttons | buttons | buttons | buttons | touch screen, buttons, dial |
| wattage | 400.6 watts | — | 1025 watts | 950 watts | 1050 watts | 1600 watts |
| model name | Coffee Plus 12-Cup | Cuisinart CHW-16 12-Cup Programmable Coffeemaker & Hot Water System | Hamilton Beach 14 Cup Programmable | Hamilton Beach 2-Way 12 Cup Programmable Drip | — | MultiServe Plus 10- Cup Pod Free Drip Coffee Maker, |
| weight | 10 pounds | 1 pounds | 6.17 pounds | 7.4 pounds | 1 pounds | 10 pounds |
Reviews with images
HOT coffee with Cuisinart vs lukewarm with the Braun: Cuisinart wins.
2.0 stars on the water system; 5.0 stars on the coffee maker —Update 3: so, customer service is great; they sent me another coffee maker but the second one also had a malfunctioning hot water maker—so now they are sending me yet another one. At no cost to me since it is still under the warranty, but, I’d rather have the coffee maker only without the water system if it’s not going to work right. Have to lower my star rating because of the water system.Get you a Cuisinart coffee maker but leave off the water system.——-Update 2: I called customer service and they are sending me a new coffee maker! I didn’t expect this but it’s still under warranty—still, pretty awesome! So back to 5stars—if the second one malfunctions, I’ll be back; otherwise, YAY! I will say that the coffee maker part always has worked well—I probably would not purchase a dual one again.Updated Review. While the coffee maker continues to brew great coffee, the hot water side of the unit is terrible. After not even a year of having the machine, and using the hot water side only a few times, it is already malfunctioning. I’ve contacted Cuisinart so we will see but I have to take off at least one star from my 5 star rating. I should take off two!a——-I love Cuisinart coffee makers. And after my recent experience with a Braun Multi-Serve coffee maker (that cost twice as much as this one), I’ll never use another coffee make than Cuisinart. Cuisinart has been consistent for my coffee-making for over 20 years. Why I chose to change is beyond me! Welcome Home Cuisinart! I missed you these 4 long lukewarm coffee, problems-with-Braun long months!This is my first time to try a coffee and hot water combo, but this is perfect for my needs since my microwave broke over a year ago. But, when I want hot water for hot chocolate or a cup of hot tea occasionally, this aspect of my new Cuisinart is super nice!What I like about Cuisinart is that you can set the hot plate thing to your designed temperature, which I always leave on HOT! I like my coffee hot (the Braun always served me sort-of-kind-of-hot coffee that quickly turned lukewarm less than halfway through my cup of coffee! Yuck!). The grind and brew coffee maker I had before didn’t have this feature (though that was a nice coffee maker that lasted at least 10 years), as well, the Braun gave you an hour limited time to drink your coffee before it switched off and then the hot plate was barely hot enough to sustain any leftover coffee.There is the usual timer and clock but I don’t use either one of those. I unplug my coffee maker every morning and just make it fresh when I arise. I grind my own beans with my Capresso grinder (Cuisinart does make a good grinder as well and I do have one of those), and pour the grinder beans into the provided gold filter—I never use the paper ones, though they do give you a few of those along with the gold permanent filter (don’t use both together or your coffee won’t be good!). It is awkward to pour in the water—there is a water indicator on the left side but I don’t use that as I measure my coffee water right in the carafe, but yes, the place you pour the coffee water is a little difficult but I don’t mind it. I’m able to pour in my water without making a mess.I do sometimes wish this one had a ‘bold’ coffee feature like my other Cuisinart but I’m okay without it; I just add extra beans if I want, and my coffee always tastes great either way. The Braun did have a bold coffee feature, but if my coffee is mostly lukewarm, then it’s not going to taste good bold, or not bold.The carafe is well made—the glass feels a little bit more substantial than the Braun. But the biggest feature that makes the Cuisinart carafe better than the Braun is the top to the carafe stays CLOSED when you pour your coffee—the Braun would flip open and if you weren’t careful, your coffee would spill out; as well, the top of the Cuisinart is wider and the Braun was narrow—it was a little more difficult to clean the Braun with that narrow top opening.The hot water feature is nice. Pour in water and you can keep it there for at the ready if you like, or pour in when you are ready for some hot water. You can brew coffee and make hot water at the same time! I like that. I have a friend who likes tea, so I can prepare tea and my coffee together. The water comes out hot enough, as well. There’s a plate to put your cup, or you can remove the plate for something taller. The Braun multi-serve didn’t have this feature—sure, you could brew only one cup of coffee, or use the iced coffee feature, but not while you are brewing regular coffee. And, if you wanted just hot water, forget it, since nothing HOT came out of that machine.This fits on my counter just fine. It’s actually a little smaller than the Braun multi-serve, but a little wider than the regular Cuisinart coffee makers I had before—of course because of the hot water feature.I’m so happy I quickly came back to Cuisinart. It works for my needs; it’s reliable; and my coffee is always good and hot.Completely happy!
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Top reviews from other countries
Mario Rodríguez
Excelente calidad
Reviewed in Mexico on October 23, 2021Color: Black/StainlessVerified Purchase
Amazon Customer
Five Stars
Reviewed in Canada on October 14, 2016Color: Black/StainlessVerified Purchase
Karen
Muy recomendable
Reviewed in Mexico on September 17, 2021Color: Black/StainlessVerified Purchase
Carlos M.
Excelente producto!!
Reviewed in Mexico on September 18, 2020Color: Black/StainlessVerified Purchase
