Cuisinart DCC-1200P1 Brew Central 12-Cup Programmable Coffeemaker Coffee Maker, Carafe, Brushed Chrome

First I'd like to say that these review sites really kill me. Invariably, you have to wade through countless trivial comments like, "I had to turn the spool wheel too many times before I could change the string on my string trimmer" or, here's a classic, "the stereo I bought is just too loud and I have to keep the volume at the number 5 setting all the time." (trust me, this is from an actual review). Well, you'll be happy to know that the reviews for the DCC-1200 are no different. Anywhere from "why do you have to turn the knob to brew and then flick a switch for on" to, "I can hear the plastic creaking as it heats up" (that one really makes me laugh) to, "it's just too tall and doesn't fit under my cabinets" (didn't you size it up before you bought it)?Look people, this unit makes coffee. It does it well and it does it like it's supposed to. You pour water in the top, add your favorite beans, wait a bit and, here's the kicker, coffee comes out the bottom! Holy smokes! It's got two knobs, an on and off switch and a few buttons to set things like the clock. To brew, turn the knob to brew and flick the on switch. To auto-brew, turn the knob to auto-brew and flick the on switch. To program the clock/auto on/auto off, turn the knob to clock/auto on/auto off and... press a button. Wow, this is really tough stuff. And, to make matters worse, omygosh, the LCD clock doesn't have a back light!! Armageddon here we come. You don't have enough clocks in your kitchen between the wall, the microwave, the oven, and every other stinking thing that has to tell you the time these days?The other knob adjusts the hot plate setting. Low-Med-High. Trust me, there are many complaints that the Cuisinart doesn't get their coffee hot enough. Not hot enough? How hot do you really want it? I'm sure Cuisinart wasn't thinking about their specs reaching boiling temperature when they designed this thing. Trust me folks, it's close enough. I'd say close to McDonald's scalding hot coffee but I won't even sue Cuisinart for potentially burning my crotch.As for the plastic creaking, when the temperature heats up, the plastic expands inside, what do you want anyway? Whatddya mean it's only stainless steel on the outside? I've been ripped off!!! I mean come on, if you really want a true stainless steel coffee maker, go spend the $2000 and buy professional so that you can mount it on the dash of your Beemer. Just don't waste our time with comments like this.Oh yeah and the alarm/beeping that everyone's complaining about? Well, let me just say that the "Hounds of the Baskervilles" comment is a little unjustified. I would hate to hear what this person does when their microwave goes off, or, if their telephone rings, or if one of the kids makes a noise. Folks, this is a series of 5 small beeps when the brewing cycle is near completion. Kind of a tee tee tee tee tee. So, unless you sleep with your coffee maker on your night stand, I wouldn't worry so much about this one.Condensation. I don't know one coffee maker out there that when you open the lid to dump your grounds just after the brewing is complete where some of it doesn't drip on the countertop. So, suck it up. Get your sink sponge and wipe it up. Are we that inconvenienced by this?And finally, the dreaded reservoir comment. "It's too small and I pour water all over the place." Blah blah. Pour water in, get coffee out. So far, I haven't missed the bullseye. Could I be doing something wrong here? And about those darned tank markers. Does anybody honestly use those things? Fill up the pot and pour it in. Now you know how much coffee you'll make. Huh?!The bottom line is that this is a good coffee maker. It has a self cleaning cycle to tell you when to decalcify, makes piping hot coffee but... oh no, produces condensation. It's kind of like when you heat water on the stove and it produces that steamy stuff, and it forms those... water droplets. Ah whatever.Look, if you're the type who doesn't have to have their maid do everything for them or worse flog the person who doesn't quite fold the towel right on the towel bar, go out and buy this product, you won't be disappointed.

When you read the product description you basically finish thinking, "It's a very nice coffee maker, but still just a coffee maker, nothing spectacular." In fact, I don't really know what inspired me to want this thing so much, but now that I have it I can tell you it's a very smart choice.Starting from the top, as coffee makers go this has a rather hefty lid that seals in the steam rather than letting so much of the water evaporate away. I believe it's this feature that makes it so that when you fill the pot up to a given line with water and pour it in instead of using the fill indicators on the inside, you actually get that amount of coffee. Put simply, pour in 12 cups of water (right to the line) and get 12 cups of coffee. Most coffee makers will actually advertise that this letting off of steam is a function to spread the aroma, but the truth is it's just a mark of poor design that this model wont have you suffering from.Inside that top is where the hot water comes out and sprays onto the coffee grinds. On this model the water comes out of a sort of showerhead which evenly distributes the water over the entire filter full of coffee, but more importantly it does so more gently than any model I've seen before so the coffee doesn't go flying up onto the top making a mess that never really gets cleaned up on every other machine I've ever owned. Normally I'd say you just have to live with a mess of coffee on the inside of the lid, but Cuisinart has made it so you don't have to.The basket in which the coffee filter sits is easily removable and washable, and actually prevents coffee grinds from getting all over other internal parts. As with the above, this makes for a clean machine that doesn't require more than the occassional wipe down with a damp cloth. I will never have to scrub this thing out in a futile attempt to have a clean coffee maker.And if you're not already convinced this is the most thoroughly thought out coffee maker design ever, look at the back and you will see this little gutter just below the level of the lid. This is so that when you open the top and all that absolutely pure water--from steam--that has condensed on the top flows off the hinge when you open it, it flows right back into the machine instead of all over your countertop.I also love the ability to set the temperature of the carafe.And of course it has a timer, clock, self-clean button, yadda-yadda, that many "high end" coffee makers have. I really think the features above this paragraph set this machine apart.Only one CON: The gold filter is fairly useless--but it's not an essential part of the machine anyway, so no problem. I would only use it if I was out of paper filters. On a medium size grind, the filter gets clogged and the water doesn't flow through properly, or as well as with paper filters. When using the gold filter, I ended up with coffee dregs in my cup. It's a nice "extra" especially if you're extremely conscientious about paper use, but I wouldn't pay extra for it.BOTTOM LINE: I found that while my typical selection of coffees do taste better when made in this machine, it's not significantly so, but that the ease of use and maintainence of this coffee maker is a real pleasure.Get it--if you love coffee but don't like the trouble of cleaning most coffee machines or living with the coffee grime they leave all over the machine. Don't get it--if you expect miracles.

Years ago I switched to the Cuisinart brand coffee maker because it lets you program the auto-off time in minutes (I prefer coffee cold to burned by sitting too long on the heater).I bought this one after mine rusted out and began leaking at the bottom. I have noticed a general decline in Cuisinart build quality (coffee maker and coffee grinder) over the years, but I was very surprised my old one failed after only a few years. However, this coffee maker brews great coffee and has the features I like, so hopefully this one will last longer. Oh yes, the so-called “retro styling” amounts to a metal toggle on-off switch instead of a knob. LOLI still like Cuisinart. But don't expect the same quality that once existed.