Often, life is best in combinations. Burgers and fries. Campfires and s’mores. Movies and popcorn. And drip coffee makers are no exception. When paired with a burr grinder, it brings an element of ease to your morning routine that’s indescribable.
Our pick for the best coffee maker with a built-in grinder is the Conair Cuisinart Grind & Brew DGB-700BC 12 Cup Coffeemaker.
If you’re looking for a coffee maker with a built-in grinder with a thermal carafe, you may want to upgrade to the 900BC. At Triple Bar, we go through coffee so quickly that we don’t need that feature, but if you sip on your coffee all day, you may want to consider it.
Pros
Burr grinder – The choice to integrate a burr grinder, rather than a blade grinder, shows that this device was intended for someone who understands coffee
Volume – The coffee maker can brew up to 12 cups, making this the perfect brewer for serving large groups or taking a lot of coffee on the go
Form factor – At 12.7 x 7.86 x 15.86 in, the coffee maker is not too big, but not too small and will fit under most cabinets
Design – Featuring a stainless steel housing with glossy black accents, this brewer is sure to express your style without overdoing
Cons
Grinder integration – One of the biggest problems with having a built-in grinder is that you may eventually want to upgrade to a better grinder, at which point you will also need to purchase a new coffee maker
Clogging – Burr grinders are prone to clogging, especially with darkly roasted, oily beans. Be sure to clean it out on the regular and you’ll be able to avoid this pitfall
Loud – It’s no secret that coffee grinders are loud. If your kitchen shares a wall with your neighbor’s bedroom, you may want to consider pre-grinding the coffee the day before
Filling with water – The water reservoir opening is difficult to access to fill the reservoir; this can be especially challenging if you house the brewer under a cabinet in the corner of the kitchen
A Coffee Maker with a Built-In Grinder
Drip coffee is not our favorite brewing method, but we understand the allure. Pre-program your machine, fill it with water, and wake up to freshly brewed coffee. But wait, what about the coffee beans?
If you’re anything like us, you like the freshest coffee possible and that can only come from grinding coffee right before you brew. However, for most drip coffee makers, you either have to sacrifice freshly ground coffee by filling it the night before or you have to go downstairs and grind the beans before you start the pot—ditching the convenience of the machine’s programmability.
Luckily, there are some new products on the market just for people like us who want the freshest coffee, while getting the most out of the bells and whistles on our coffee maker.
Note: If you’re looking for an espresso machine with a built-in burr grinder, be sure to check out our review of the Breville Barista Express.
Our Pick for Best Coffee Maker with Grinder
The Conair Cuisinart Grind & Brew DGB-700BC 12 Cup Coffeemaker
The Cuisinart Grind & Brew is a state-of-the-art coffee maker that comes with an integrated burr grinder. It’s important to note how much better a burr grinder is for coffee grinding than a blade grinder. Cuisinart’s attention to detail on this aspect of coffee shows that they are targeting the serious coffee enthusiast.
While most coffee makers have a plethora of buttons and settings, the Grind & Brew is rather minimalist for a drip brewer. With only four main buttons and a selector knob, it will take no time at all to get started grinding and brewing fresh coffee.
The coffee maker is housed in a sleek stainless steel enclosure and features delicate black accents. Measuring in at around 13 x 8 x 16 inches, it will look great in any kitchen and fit nicely underneath your cabinets.
The coffee quality on this brewer will be better than your typical drip coffee maker because of its charcoal water filter. If your tap water is filled with minerals or other bad-tasting components, you need a charcoal filter in your coffee maker to ensure you’re delivering the best tasting coffee every time you brew.
The built-in grinder can be a bit noisy, but that’s the case with any grinder. We don’t recommend leaving many beans in the grinder unless you’re planning to use them soon; light and air cause coffee to go stale rather quickly. If you need a good place to store them, we recommend picking up a Friis Coffee Vault.
Using the Grinder
The grinder is fairly simple to use. All you have to do is ensure the bean hopper is filled with beans, adjust the Grind Control Knob to the desired amount of coffee, set the strength of the coffee with the Strength Control button, and press the On button.
The grinder will begin to whirr and crush your whole beans into freshly ground coffee.
If for some reason you don’t want to use the grinder and would like to use pre-ground coffee, you can do that with this machine. All you have to do is press the Grind Off button on the device and insert your pre-ground coffee directly into the filter basket.
The grinder should be cleaned regularly to ensure it doesn’t get clogged. This is especially important if you tend to use dark roasted, oily beans. We like to clean our grinders at least every week or every time we change to a different batch of coffee beans.
Brewing Coffee
The coffee maker can brew coffee in either automatic or manual mode.
Automatic Mode
Using the Program button, you can select the time of day that you want the coffee maker to turn on and begin brewing.
If you have the Grind Off setting enabled, you will want to make sure that you have a filter basket with pre-ground coffee before the brewer begins to try to make coffee.
If you have the Grind Off setting disabled, all you need to do is make sure you have beans in the bean hopper and turn the Grind Control knob to the number of cups of coffee you want. When the device reaches the programmed time, the grinder will kick on. After finishing grinding, the brewer will turn on and begin making fresh coffee.
Manual Mode
If programming your coffee maker isn’t for you, don’t fret! The device can run in manual mode. After you’ve filled the hopper with beans, just adjust the Grind Control knob accordingly and press the On button. Within moments, you will have freshly brewed coffee dripping from your brand new Grind & Brew.
Other Coffee Maker Options
If you’re the kind of person who tends to enjoy your coffee over the span of hours, rather than minutes, you may be interested in upgrading to the thermal version of this Grind & Brew.
The Grind & Brew Thermal comes with a double-wall insulated carafe that does an excellent job of holding your coffee’s temperature.
Useful Accessories
After you’ve owned this brewer for a while, you may want to place the filter basket. You won’t have to do this regularly, but it’s something to think about as your machine ages. You’ll also need to replace the charcoal filters on a regular basis, per the manufacturer’s instructions. This will ensure the water you use doesn’t damage your machine or cause poor tasting coffee.