Burr vs. Blade cuisinart Grind and Brew Coffee Maker?

December 29, 2007 3:02 PM

Are the new burr grinder versions of Cuisinart Grind & Brew coffee makers better than the initial blade-grinder models?

I bought one of the blade-grinder Cuisinart Grind and Brew coffee makers (link http://www.cuisinart.com/catalog/product.php?product_id=14&item_id=34&cat_id=3). I'm a big fan of it, for freshly ground and brewed coffee on a timer. I do not like the way it grinds the coffee, due to the strange design of the blade grinder. This produces a less even grind that ends up being too course (resulting in under-exposed coffee). I'm a big fan of this brewer overall, I accept these trade-offs.

I was shopping today and saw a new Burr grinder version of this coffee maker (link http://www.cuisinart.com/catalog/product.php?product_id=513&item_id=625&cat_id=3).

Does anyone out there have experience with the new version? Any thoughts about comparison versus the original?

I'm hoping for a better grind quality and tastier coffee due to it. If it's easier to clean and maintain, all the better. any thoughts and comments very much appreciated.

posted by morallybass to Food & Drink (5 answers total)

Response by poster: Oops, sorry for the incorrect links above.

This is the Blade grinder model I have now.

This is the new Burr grinder model I saw.

Admins feels free to edit the original post for ugly links.
posted by morallybass at 3:04 PM on December 29, 2007

I don't use a Grind and Brew coffee maker (being an Aerobie Aeropress fan) but I recently bought a Cuisinart burr grinder because I was finding an uneven grind from using a blade grinder.

The burr grinder produces a very even grind, much more so than the blade, with the result that the coffee is consistent in quality.

If the burr grinder in the Grind & Brew is of the same quality as the free-standing one (and looking at the spec, it's adjustable so you can tweak the grind to your taste), I think you'll definitely notice a difference in the quality of the brew.
posted by essexjan at 3:41 PM on December 29, 2007

Common wisdom is that burr grinders do a much better job than blade. I've never used that model, but I can't see how it possibly wouldn't do a better job.
posted by middleclasstool at 4:22 PM on December 29, 2007

I have a cuisinart burr grinder (the one essexjan links to, or an earlier version), and it is not as good as a higher end blade grinder. Mine does not produce an even grind, or rather the parts that are intentionally produced are even, and it also produces a ton of fine dust no matter the setting (possibly if you are grinding for an aeropress you won't notice this, as it requires a pretty fine grind already). A blade grinder is also easier to clean, mainly because the problematic fine dust gets everywhere. Based on my experience I wouldn't buy a cuisinart grinder again without having tried out someone elses a fair amount, and I wouldn't buy a cheap burr grinder again (sadly, decent burr grinders are well out of my price range). It is possible they learned from their mistakes in the model you are asking about, since the problem of the uneven grind in the standalone grinder was pretty universally noted in reviews on the internet.
posted by advil at 5:11 PM on December 29, 2007

I'm another Aerobie Aeropress user and for xmas I got a Rancilio Burr Grinder (to replace my Capressso burr grinder, which replaced a blade grinder).

The Rancilio is as much better than the Capresso as the capresso was than the blade.
posted by unSane at 7:54 PM on December 29, 2007