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“Wake Up and Smell the Delicious Coffee”
There is nothing more appealing than waking up to the aroma of delicious smelling freshly brewed coffee. This aroma livens up your senses and perks you up. With the Cuisinart DTC-975 Programmable Automatic Brew-and-Serve 12-Cup Thermal Coffee Maker, you would surely want to wake up since it has all the features that you would want in your coffee maker.
The classic design of the Cuisinart DTC-975 Programmable Automatic Brew-and-Serve 12-Cup Thermal Coffee Maker Stainless Programmable Automatic Brew and Serve Coffeemaker comes in a crisp white color and has stainless accents. This gadget would be a great addition to any coffee loving household. Also, it would fit any kitchen countertop since its dimensions are only 7 by 11 by 15 inches.
The Cuisinart DTC-975 Programmable Automatic Brew-and-Serve 12-Cup Thermal Coffee Maker has a programmability of 24 hours, which allows you to schedule what time you want your coffee to brew. This machine can also make up to 12 cups of java, a practical feature to have especially when you are entertaining guests. The carafe of the Cuisinart DTC-975 Programmable Automatic Brew-and-Serve 12-Cup Thermal Coffee Maker is made out of stainless steel and has a double-wall insulation that would keep your coffee hot anytime of the day. Its unique lid maintains the freshness of your coffee by effectively keeping the air out. Another feature of this gadget is its brew and pause function that allows you to get your dose of coffee even if the brew process is not yet over. It shuts off automatically and makes a beep sound when brewing is complete. Another good thing about the Cuisinart DTC-975 Programmable Automatic Brew-and-Serve 12-Cup Thermal Coffee Maker is that it has an easy to see indicator of water level that makes brewing more convenient.
The advantage of having a Cuisinart DTC-975 Programmable Automatic Brew-and-Serve 12-Cup Thermal Coffee Maker is that it would only take you 12 minutes to brew your coffee. You do not even have to hover around the coffee maker because this gadget is automatic. All you have to do is program it and then leave it for a few minutes. After a short time, you will have great tasting freshly brewed coffee. The other things included with the Cuisinart DTC-975 Programmable Automatic Brew-and-Serve 12-Cup Thermal Coffee Maker are an instruction book and a limited warranty of up to three years.
Problems with the Cuisinart DTC-975 Programmable Automatic Brew-and-Serve 12-Cup Thermal Coffee Maker
A few users have complained that after some time, their Cuisinart DTC-975 Programmable Automatic Brew-and-Serve 12-Cup Thermal Coffee Maker did not work so effectively. It would take about 30 minutes for them to brew their coffee. Eventually, the machine would not work at all. But maybe this is just an isolated case. Another user has complained about the noise that the coffee maker produces. Sometimes it would sound as if you were living next to an airport. There are also other complaints that water from the reservoir may leak out and you would end up with a wet kitchen floor. But overall, most users are happy with their Cuisinart DTC-975 Programmable Automatic Brew-and-Serve 12-Cup Thermal Coffee Maker. A lot of people agree that it is a reliable machine and it also does not cost that much. It is a great value for your money. The Cuisinart DTC-975 Programmable Automatic Brew-and-Serve 12-Cup Thermal Coffee Maker would be a good addition to any household.
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B Ryan says
Dave Mann (#5/7) Thank you so much! I wish I would have done my research a year ago. My first pot, 12 cup programmable grind and brew with small internal hopper, began overflowing last summer, and thinking it had served me faithfully for over 6 years, I replaced it with a similar model, only with 2lb hopper atop the unit. I was distressed at the beginning of this week when it began overflowing after only one year.
I found this blog, and took Dave Mann’s advice. I cleaned the lid of the carafe by getting under the little “water entry dome” where the little “button looking piece” is. The amount of dried coffee sediment that came loose was surprising. Although I had started running it through the dishwasher, and later opted to just run it under the hot tap, still, the amount that I “pryed free” was enlightening.
It runs beautifully now, and I am so relieved. In my Dad’s words, “take care of your things, and they will last you a very long time.”.
Thank you Dave.
J Quinn says
Now that mine just up & died for no reason, I think back on all the times it misfired & made a mess if the apparatus wasn’t completely snapped in snug each time and the length of time it took to fill the pot. And now that Cuisinart denied honoring the warranty, I’m realizing that this wasn’t a good purchase. Getting a different brand next time.
NewsView says
Cuisinart has an excellent three-year warranty but John (#6) has a point. They aren’t serviceable coffeemakers. Most appliances these days aren’t. Manufacturers and retailers want consumers to buy and upgrade to the latest/greatest —— not to service the appliance when it breaks down.
Long before “Green” came into vogue household electrics were more green in the sense that they were built to stand up to actual use. That’s why there are still working ranges, mixers, percolators and other kitchen electrics from the 40s/50s/60s/70s to be found in antique shops. Very little of our modern electronics and appliances will be around 40-50 years from now to bring back the nostalgia that you can find today in any antique/collectible store. I own a Sunbeam hand mixer that is older than I am, a family hand-me-down. Dropped it and it still works — can’t say I’ve had that sort of luck with anything built in the past 20 years.
John, Cuisinart really isn’t guilty of starting this trend. As soon as globalization came along in the late 1970s and things got cheaper to produce overseas, the disposable mentality came into vogue just as soon as consumers realized that it was cheaper to buy a new widget than repair the old one. One way to fight the wastefulness is to buy a product that is essentially unchanged from the way things were built prior to the advent of cheap imports. That product is the electric perc. Contrary to conventional wisdom, not all percs boil coffee, at least not the Presto Percolator I bought and decided to keep. Not only are there fewer parts to break down when compared to a drip coffeemaker but those parts that are in contact with the coffee are made of metal, which means you skip the health hazards associated with hot liquid + plastic in other coffeemakers.
I’m not sure how much longer Cuisinart will keep their generous 3-year warranty. There are a disproportionate amount of people complaining in reviews on the web about the durability of their entire product line, from coffeemakers to immersion blenders. The exceptions are out there, but there are a whole lot more people who report that the warranty isn’t even up when the item stops working. Sure, you get other complaints with the cheaper competitors, but frequent reports of the item simply failing to power on are not typically among them. Cuisinarts brew coffee at a decent brew temperature but the price is no indicator of how long their product will last.
Dave Mann says
After seven years, my unit is still going strong. I can only guess that other experiences are user issues.
I DID FIGURE OUT HOW TO CLEAN THE CARAFE.
Take some dishwasher powder, put it into the pot and fill with hot water. A few hours later, the stainless steel looks bright as new!
John Lombardo says
This coffee maker is a throw-away, non-repairable device. I was very dissapointed to find that out from the factory service center. I will never buy another Cuisinart product, since I feel it is socially irresponsible to manufacture such a large disposable item that barely lasts for 2 years.
Dave Mann says
Unique among compounds, liquid WATER DOES NOT EXPAND APPRECIABLY when it is heated. It does, however, expand as it freezes, which is why glass containers can shatter when used for freezing liquids. Simple high-school science.
The carafe should indeed be used to fill the reservoir. That way, you know that you are not overfilling. Besides, the markers inside the reservoir are difficult to read.
I have had my unit since they were first released some years ago. It has been totally reliable, no problems at all. Yes, cleaning the several parts is inconvenient, but quick and easy once you get the hang of it. It is worth noting that the grinding unit must be dry to be used … so if you want a second carafe of coffee, you’ll need dry that beforehand.
Leakage described by some is entirely user error … failure to seat the parts properly, and/or failure to follow the instructions to periodically do a complete cleanup of the unit. As with any device that grinds product, there will be product buildup in various places. I clean mine thoroughly about once a month. I take it to my shower and use the hand-hled shower unit, being careful not to spray onto the control surface.
A hot plate causes far more damage to coffee being kept warm than does a thermal carafe. Hot plates generate hot spots … the coffee in contact with those hot spots burns. A thermal carafe has drawn its heat energy from the hot coffee itself and is never hotter than the liquid; carafe and coffee are part of a system that is cooling together. A knowledge of simple physics would show you that the carafe itself is slightly cooler than the coffee at all times. Think about it.
I certainly agree that this carafe is hard to clean. I have not yet worked out that problem. On the other hand, I have not noticed any degradation in coffee flavor. Has anyone worked out a simple chemical cleaning technique?
MJCafe says
There is an interesting comment in one of the reviews on amazon about the overflow problem. The reviewer makes a good point that the water reservoir is larger than the carafe so the carafe should be used to fill the reservoir, which leaves plenty of room in the reservoir for the water to expand as it heats. This should prevent the water leaking from the reservoir and also from overflowing the carafe. A simple solution and well worth a try!
NewsView says
It is possible to avoid overflows by making sure everything is hinged, snapped into place, aligned properly and clean, including the Brew Pause mechanism and the lid, for the reason Terry stated. Also, I find that using an inexpensive unbleached paper filter absorbs some of the coffee flavor. I get better taste using a permanent filter, whereas on my Mr. Coffee MRX35 with shower-head dispersion and flat-bottom permanent filter I find it more forgiving and less likely to produce a bitter note to the brew.
Unlike John, I find that the DTC-975’s biggest advantage when compared to competing models is that it more effectively seals in heat so well that it really doesn’t need the carafe to be preheated with hot water prior to brewing. The coffee will keep warm as long as it is at least half full. The caveat is that the last cup will cool down faster just because most of the carafe is empty. This would be true of any coffeemaker with an insulated stainless steel decanter, however.
The biggest drawback to this type of coffeemaker, in my experience, is that the stainless steel carafe is hard to clean. The opening on this model won’t let anything bigger than a bottle brush inside. And unlike glass the inside of a stainless carafe doesn’t deodorize with cleaning. No matter how much baking soda, vinegar and dish soap I use it still smells of coffee from the initial use onward. I question how fresh the coffee will taste after a year or two of this when there is no way to completely get the odors of old coffee to stop clinging to the metal lining. I think these thermal carafes should be lined with glass just like an Air Pot or a normal thermal carafe that you buy separately for keeping coffee hot. Glass doesn’t react or retain odors the way stainless steel seemingly does. Yet you see people saying the coffee is so much better when brewed into a stainless steel thermal carafe because it doesn’t bake on a warming plate. Well, yes and no. Personally, I feel this type of coffeemaker is a better solution not for improved taste but for those who seek a carafe that is less likely to break (for the accident prone who don’t want the glass around), and secondarily for those who want to save electricity and/or eliminate the risk of the electrical warming plate malfunctioning, burning pets or small children or leading to a fire hazard. As for taste, however, you really want to consume the coffee that brews into a thermal decanter within one hour just like you would with any other coffeemaker. That is because an hour or less is the optimum timeframe for best taste. After that it is going to degrade whether the source of warming is a hot plate or the trapped heat inside a thermal carafe. That’s my 2¢ anyhow.
John Weaver says
It’s really poorly designed. If even a few grounds get around the paper filter the machine clogs and overflows onto the counter and possible the floor. This could also be a safety problem with children around who could get burned ! Would highly recommend not buying this coffee maker. I’ve had quite a few coffee makers and never had this problem.
Terry Wright says
2 comments:
1. As with any machine with a carafe, pre-heat the carafe with hot water to keep the coffee hotter for longer.
2. Regarding leaking: Remove the device that cuts off the coffee if you remove the carafe (on the bottom of the coffee basket). Coffee grounds can collect here and cause that problem. Also, screw off the top of the carafe lid, and remove coffee grounds from there. They jam the ball that shuts off the vent and causes the coffee to overflow.
Otherwise a great machine!