Cuisinart SS-300 Single Serve Brewing System - Powered by Keurig Review

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List Price: $235.00
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I had wanted a Keurig coffee maker, but was not thrilled with the quality of the 'Keurig' brand models available. They seem cheap, mostly made of plastic.

I was pleased to see that Keurig had made the K-cup design available for other manufacturers. Having trust in Cuisinart's quality owning two other great appliances, i figured this compact model would be perfect. Unfortunately, the SS-300 was not available in stores when I purchased it from Amazon, so I was only able to try out the SS-700, the larger, more expensive model, in a local store. The build of the SS-700 is mostly metal and sturdy. Although the two models look like the same build quality in photos, sadly, the SS-300 is made of cheap plastic, just like the Keurig brand models I have seen.

I have used it to make several cups of coffee and it works perfectly. All of the features make it the best model for my 5 cups a week consumption. Although the plastic is BPA free, it is still plastic.

4 stars were given because I had compared it to the SS-700. Perhaps if I had never seen the larger, more durable model, I would be thrilled with this one. I thought the difference in price reflected the lack of a digital display and water reservoir, not the quality of the components.

UPDATE-

I have now made over 12 cups of coffee with this machine. So far so good!

The coffee is consitantly good. Cleaning the SS-300 is so easy. I do not regret this purchas at all and I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a single serving coffee maker.

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I wanted the convenience of the K-Cups but have friends who have had bad experiences with the Keurig model coffee makers. Decided on the Cuisinart and it worked great for 3 cups. Now it will not recognize that I have filled it with water and it will not brew. Since it is only 2 weeks old Cuisinart is waving their shipping fee and a new one is on the way.

Update

Looking more at the unit I noticed when I opened the filter compartment for the charcoal water filter, the entire plastic assembly melted down into boiler. Somehow the heating element ran with no water and melted everything. Since this is a fire hazard I am lowering my rating to one star.

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Browsing the reviews, I have to say that some seem not to have read the instructions before use. The manner in which the machine is set up and the order in which you are to do stuff is not entirely intuitive, so best to carefully read the instructions first. I saw one review from a person who plainly was opening the charcoal filter holder and trying to pour the water down in there, then complaining that it was hard to open and close for each cup. Well...yeah. So, Step One is read the instructions; the thing is probably more likely to work properly if you do.

That said, this is a nice light-duty unit. I personally like the fact that you pour the water in for each cup. I don't use the charcoal filter as I have filtered water at my sink. I put as much water as I want to the level that I want on my mug, then just open the flip-top and pour it in. I do check that the amount is between 6 and 10 ounces using the gauge, but that's all I use the gauge for. Family members and visitors do the same, and then you know right up front how much liquid is going to come out and to what level in your cup.

To my mind, the unit is attractive, solid, and easy to operate. It has a smaller footprint that works well for us. It heats the water as hot as I would ever want my hot beverage to come out. It takes less than two minutes to heat the water.

Since Christmas, it has stood up to some significant use. A family member was recovering from an injury, so nurses, trainers, friends and family members were all trooping through the house and were offered hot beverages. We have burned through probably 30 cups of addictive Dunkin' Donuts hot chocolate, 28 cups of Twinings Green Tea (that I bought on Amazon), 28 cups of Dunkin Donuts original coffee, and most of the 35-cup sampler that I bought here on Amazon, as well as the nice little selection of coffees that came in the box with the unit. We just wipe it off and it keeps going.

UPDATE: Well, after 6 glorious, addictive months since Christmas Day, it just quit. It powers up, but it doesn't recognize that you have put water in it and just shuts itself off. I tried the troubleshooting steps in the manual, then called Cuisinart. Yep, it's broken. Nope, no more troubleshooting steps. It has a 3-year manufacturer's warranty. Their procedure is you pay them $10 for "shipping" (uh-huh) by UPS Ground. They send you a new one right away, and ask you to return the old one at your expense once you get the new one, with an RMA Number and a description of what's wrong. Oddly, they asked if this was my first warranty return of this item. I said, "It's only 6 months old." "Right, so is it your first return?" "Yes." "Great." I usually ignore the "It broke after X days" reviews, figuring that 100 percent of the people who that happens to will report it. However, add this reviewer to the pile of folks who were sad to find that their machine just quit on them, much sooner than they expected it to.

COMPARISON: And in the meantime, I purchased for my City apartment the sort-of-equivalent Keurig-brand single-cup unit, only because it came in red. They are very-very-similar designs and maybe even made by the same (Chinese) manufacturer. The Keurig one is smaller. Main differences: The Cuisinart unit starts brewing noticeably-faster and the water is a little hotter, you can put a slightly-taller mug in the Cuisinart one without removing the drip dray, and the measuring thingy in the Cuisinart one is more intuitive. Also the Cuisinart one comes with a put-your-own-grounds-in-it basket, while the Keurig one doesn't. However, there don't seem to be as many Keurig reviews claiming that it met an untimely demise.

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I originally had the very first Keurig single serve and although it made a decent cup of coffee my husband thought it was a bit weak. Since we use it only for ourselves we didnt need such a big resevoir for water. When Cuisinart came out with the small single server we thought we should give it a try and donated the big Keurig to a friend. My husband said it made much better coffee than the original keurig and it takes up alot less space on the counter. So far we are very happy with the item. Glad we bought it.

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I purchased this today, so please note this only reflects initial impressions. Set up took about 15 minutes. You first run some water through it and also need to soak the filter for 15 minutes. It was not difficult, but I was impatient to make coffee. :) First cup I guessed on how much coffee to use in the filter provided and it came out a bit weak. Second time the adjustment worked out just fine, but I wonder if folks are looking for a bolder brew how this would fair. Perhaps just fine. I ran it several times to use the hot water function and adore this option. I will likely use this as much as brewing coffee. It does not take up much space at all, but this is in part to not having any type of reservoir other than the 1 cup you brew. Hence, every time you want a cup of coffee you will fill it. The machine is indeed a cheap plastic. I feel the need to be very gentle when opening up the compartment that takes the k-cup. It also feels like you are prying it open a bit to get to the k-cup, but this is my first unit of this style so perhaps this is just how it is. Overall though, it does what I hoped it would. I now can crank out a cup of coffee in my classroom with out worrying about a hot pot sitting around and it is ready quickly. From the point you put the water in to the cup of coffee being ready is about 2 minutes. Coffee comes out hot, but not blazing hot. I am fairly picky about coffee temperature and it is hot enough for me. I would be willing to pay a bit more for a better quality machine, but I do not want a larger unit so hopefully the plastic does ok. Not sure if I would buy it again, but like it enough to not return it. 4 stars due to cheap feel.

Update: I have grown to love the machine, and it works beautifully. I use regular tea bags in the filter that normally would hold loose coffee, and the tea is wonderful. Super easy clean up this way, and far cheaper than buying pods. I do adore using the coffee pods, but try to avoid them consistently due to price. I absolutely am glad that I bought this, and will always keep this or something similar at work. I think I will also pick up one at home as well.

Update: I have now used it regularly for a year. Still quite happy with it overall. We bought a Keurig Mini for the house, and it stopped working within 6 months. Glad in retrospect I purchased this model for my classroom. Overall though, my husband and I have decided that once it breaks we will simply use an electric tea kettle and instant coffee. More cost effective, and my Cuisinart is used more for hot water than coffee at this point.