Review on Cuisinart DCC-T20 14-Cup Programmable Coffeemaker Touchscreen - Sleek Black Design for Convenient Brewing Experience by Brooke Nelson

UPDATE: 9/14/2021 I am so disappointed in this unit that I would think twice before buying a Cuisinart product again buy : The quality of the moonlight remains decent. Not great but good. I'm still sticking with most of my original "good" comments below. THE BAD: The glass carafe broke while cleaning! GOOD LUCK IN THE REPLACEMENT SEARCH! >:-/ Do this disposable brewery for $100! Access to the water tank is no longer a minor disadvantage - it's really annoying! It is almost impossible to fill the tank without spilling something. Ground material remains in the pan. This is more of a problem with Goldtone filters, I've had the same problem with residue in other brewers that use a Goldtone filter. I've experimented with different grind settings, and even the coarse settings have allowed residue to seep in - anyway, the coarse grind is just the wrong grind for acceptable extraction and flavor for this filter and brewer combination. While I love that it's essentially a lifetime filter, it just doesn't perform as well as the alternatives in my opinion. Difficult to clean. I am very careful about the cleanliness of my coffee sets: a general cleaning every day and a more thorough cleaning about every 2 weeks. It's quite difficult to get access to the tank and other internals to get a good clean, and with a lot of water and coffee spillage, you'll need to clean often! I can no longer recommend this particular model and personally would not buy another Cuisinart coffee. Machine.----- First Review Below----- I was looking for a brewing machine that would consistently give excellent results and be able to brew at least 10 cups. My wife and I will drink 8-10 cups by noon. "10 cups" in the brewery means a little over 2 cups each. I bought it based on its top ratings in Consumer Reports. I seriously considered a few other highly rated coffee makers, including the Technivorm, Breville, and Bonavita (all 2-3 times the price), according to coffee lovers. Everything else seemed too flashy, problematic and expensive. I kept coming back to this Cuisinart during my research. I thought it was worth a try for the price. So far, so good. This gets the water to the right temperature every time and brews a sturdy pot. It uses a shower drip of sorts that seems to impregnate the grind evenly. If you use a gold tone filter, it works well with a medium grind and leaves a little bit of grind residue at the bottom of the pot. Keeps the coffee hot without brewing it. It would be really nice if it had a short pre-wet feature to allow the grind to loosen up a bit before you continue brewing. The water tank isn't exactly easy to access. Located on the back of the unit, it can be a bit tricky to dilute with water, especially on smaller brew cycles. This is a small note. I found it easiest to fill the carafe with water to the 12 mark, then pour the required amount into the container and pour out the rest. The filter holder slides in a specific way and locks into place. It's easy to make, but you need to be absolutely sure it's on the right way or you run the risk of spilling, especially if you're the kind of person who picks up your first cup before it's finished brewing. The auto pause function, which stops the brewing process if you pull out the jug during brewing, is a mechanical/spring function that depends on the correct fitting of the portafilter. Reliability/durability remains to be seen. My newest coffee maker just stopped heating water to the right temperature and parts started breaking. If it can still heat up properly after a few years and doesn't fall apart, then that's a win!