twelfelt's Full Review: Cuisinart Supreme Grind DBM-8 Electric Burr Grinde...
I had been hinting LOUDLY to my wife that I really wanted a burr grinder for Christmas this year. I know we didn't have a whole lot of $$ to spend on a grinder so I did my best to steer her towards a more 'affordable' grinder. I love my coffee, but I couldn't contemplate spending $150 on a grinder....
Well, on Christmas Day Santa showed up with the Cuisinart burr grinder. I was very excited to brew sof coffee I had opened recently (Jamacian Blue Mountain - Wallenford Estate!!) so I opened the grinder, added the beans and started grinding. But I'm getting a little ahead of myself.
Question #1 - why get a burr grinder? Well I guess it really comes down to taste. Coffee beans have a VERY delicate flavor. Each cup of coffee has 200+ DIFFERENT flavor compounds (wine only has about 40) and it is amazing how little things make a BIG difference in flavor. If you buy good beans from your local coffee shop and take them home to a blade grinder you literally beat the taste out of them. The blade spins at high RPM's and heats up the beans enough to dissipate the coffee flavor before it is dissolved in the water. It is also very difficult to generate consistency with a blade grinder. I noticed several times that I would have some beans powdered while some of the beans were nearly whole. That does not make for good coffee.
The burr grinder has two metal plates with sharp ridges on them. The user sets the height of these burrs and the resulting grind is slow and consistent. Best of all it prevents heat build up and allows the bean to retain as much of the flavor as possible before brewing.
I found this unit very easy to use. You add your beans in the large hopper on top - up to 1/2 pound. After it is loaded with beans you twist the entire hopper to select either fine or coarse grind. Once grind is selected you move a slider switch on the front of the unit to the number of cups you'd like to brew and hit start. The unit kicks on and starts grinding away. The grounds are deposited in a plastic catch cup nestled in the front of the unit.
I did find one problem with the unit. When I move the slider switch to 8 cups and hit grind I find that my results vary. Sometimes I have enough grounds (measured in a standard scoop) to brew 4 cups, sometimes 6, but so far never 8. It seems like the switch only activates a timer and if there isn't a constant flow of beans into the grind chamber your individual results will vary. Really I find it isn't much of a problem. I simply measure out the coffee that I need from the ground bin and, if short, I start the grinder up again. It is a little annoying, but not too bad.
I also discovered that you really shouldn't put flavored coffee beans in the unit. I purchased some Amaretto flavored coffee beans and the oils on the beans deformed the hopper and started to stick. I called Cuisinart and they sent me a new one free of charge. Stick to the regular coffee and manually grind the flavored stuff.
My overall impression is that this is a great unit for someone who is on the verge of becoming a true coffee geek. While it may not have the flash and style of the $150 units out there, it does the job pretty well and I personally like the way it looks sitting on my counter. While it is not perfect I know it is built to last and will carry me into full coffee geek status. You know the one - you build a house with a separate mini kitchen area JUST FOR YOUR COFFEE.... Yeah, I'll get there someday....
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