Review:
Cuisinart SS-1 Cup-O-Matic Single Serve Coffee Maker – Use Coffee Pods or Ground Coffee

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jEPf5hXWkB4
With the introduction of the Cuisinart SS-1 Cup-O-Matic Single Serve Coffee Maker, you can finally purchase a single serve coffee maker that uses ground coffee and coffee pods all in the same filter basket. This is also the first coffee pod brewer to feature a charcoal water filter inside the water reservoir. We’ve written quite a few articles to round out our review since the launch of the Cuisinart SS-1 Cup-O-Matic Single Serve Coffee Maker including:

• Cuisinart SS-1 Cup-O-Matic Single Serve Coffee Maker first news
• Unboxing, the Cuisinart SS-1 Cup-O-Matic Single Serve Coffee Maker
• First Impressions of the Cuisinart SS-1 Cup-O-Matic Single Serve Coffee Maker
• Using Ground Coffee in the Cuisinart SS-1 Cup-O-Matic Single Serve Coffee Maker

This review will feature highlights from the earlier articles we’ve published and our final pros and cons of the Cuisinart SS-1 Cup-O-Matic Single Serve Coffee Maker.

Features of the Cuisinart SS-1 Cup-O-Matic Single Serve Coffee Maker

Here are the features of the Cuisinart SS-1 Cup-O-Matic Single Serve Coffee Maker:

• Brew basket can accommodate coffee pods as well as ground coffee
• 60-oz. water reservoir holds enough for ten 6-ounce cups of coffee
• Low pressure pump and boiler system
• Patented tamping and sealing method for better tasting coffee
• Cup size selector – 4 to 12 ounces
• Can select regular or bold coffee flavor
• Removable drip tray can accommodate coffee cup from 4 ounces to Cuisinart’s travel mug (170mm)
• 2 minute pre-heat time
• Charcoal water filter removes impurities
• Auto shut-off (2 hours from last use)
• Water level indicator on front
• Scoop included
• Easy to clean

The water filter and instructional DVD video.

At launch this was the only single serve coffee maker to come with charcoal filter, and the ability to use ground coffee in the machine using a filter basket that comes with the machine. Now however if you would prefer to use K Cups over coffee pods, the Breville BKC600XL Single Cup Gourmet brewer has debuted, and features a charcoal filter, and a resuesable My Cup coffee filter that allows you to use your own ground coffee.

Our overall impressions of the machine from a design point of view is the machine is very narrow and looks taller than other single serve coffee machines. The water reservoir is slightly hard to grab given the square shape, and the stainless steel look of the machine makes the machine appear substantial and solid.

The buttons on the front are very pleasing to push. Each lights up with a luminescent border, and the settings couldn’t be easier.

Making A Cup of Coffee with the Cuisinart SS-1 Cup-O-Matic Single Serve Coffee Maker

To make a cup of coffee you simply put in a coffee pod or ground coffee, pick regular or bold, select pod or ground coffee, and then push the cup size and brew.

The settings light up and we love the blue LED lights.

Note: See our First Impressions of the Cuisinart SS-1 Cup-O-Matic Single Serve Coffee Maker and also Using Ground Coffee with the Cuisinart SS-1 Cup-O-Matic Single Serve Coffee Maker to get more background n this feature.

We found that warm up times and brew times were however some of the longest and most involved we’ve ever seen in a single serve coffee machine. On average the machine took about 2 minutes to heat up, and average brew times depending on cup volume were over a minute to almost two minutes in length. Is the coffee produced worth the wait? Indeed it is. This is some of the best coffee we’ve had produced from either coffee pods or ground coffee using the same filter basket.

Brew and clean cycles are easy to access.

And that takes us to one of the key features of the Cuisinart SS-1 Cup-O-Matic Single Serve Coffee Maker – the coffee tamping piston in the brew filter basket chamber. At the end of each brew cycle this piston comes down and tamps out the rest of the coffee goodness from the coffee pod or ground coffee you’re using. This makes for a great cup of coffee and also much less mess. You don’t have a wet soppy coffee pod, and you don’t have wet soppy grounds – both are more or less dry, and easy to remove from the filter basket.

The piston pushes down into the filter basket during

the brew cycle.

Brewing a cup of coffee with the Cuisinart SS-1 Cup-O-Matic Single Serve Coffee Maker however is loud and a bit noisy. The machine does a pulse cycle that vibrates the machine quite a bit, but this pulsing is also why the Cuisinart SS-1 Cup-O-Matic Single Serve Coffee Maker makes such an amazing cup of coffee. We do wish however that the drip tray was a little bigger, as the vibration moves your mug until there is coffee in it quite a bit. You can also remove the drip tray altogether to alleviate the cup vibrating, and this also allows for the use of tall travel mugs.