Grinder-Brewer Combos

Grinder-brewer combos eliminate the need for two appliances

If you're not too picky about your coffee, an automatic drip coffee maker and pre-ground coffee likely will suit you just fine. But coffee aficionados say truly great coffee starts with whole beans, freshly ground just before brewing. You can buy an expensive blade grinder to chop beans to the proper consistency for an auto-drip coffee machine, but some models combine those two functions. Grinder-brewer combos can save you some counter space, but in general, reviews for this type of coffee maker aren't good. In fact, editors at Consumer Reports don't recommend them at all. We did find a couple machines worth mentioning, but none of them had enough consistently good reviews to deem them a best-reviewed model.

The Krups Grinder and Brewer KM7000 (*Est. $160) has a 10-cup capacity glass carafe, a conical burr grinder with five grind levels (experts say burr grinders do a better job than cheaper blade grinders), three coffee-strength settings, a digital programmer, automatic shutoff and a setting for a smaller, two-to-four cup pot of coffee. The Krups Grinder and Brewer KM7000 earns the highest overall rating among six grinder/brewer coffee makers evaluated by one consumer testing organization, receiving excellent scores for brew temperature, good scores for convenience and very good scores for carafe handling.

However, owners aren't that positive about this grinder/brewer coffee maker. About 350 owners posting to Amazon.com give the Krups Grinder and Brewer KM7000 an average rating of 3 stars out of 5, and there are many more 1-star ratings than 5star raves. There are a number of complaints about the water pump, which owners say tends to stop working after several months of consistent use. Some owners report that oily beans must be hand-fed into the grinder, but others say the grinder function performs adequately for all types of coffee beans. Some also say the grinder malfunctions after a few months. Overall, about one-third of owners report malfunctioning units -- either the grinder or the brewer -- by the two-year mark.

Cuisinart also makes a number of grinder/brewer combos. CoffeeDaydreams.com recommends the Cuisinart Grind and Brew DGB-550BK (Discontinued) , which has a 12-cup capacity, 24-hour programming, automatic shutoff (which can be set for up to four hours), water filter, a pause- brew function for sneaking a cup mid-brew and an option to turn off the grinder. More than 250 owners posting reviews to Amazon.com contribute to an average rating of 3.5 stars out of 5. But there are some complaints that the grinder is noisy. It's not the easiest unit to clean, with several grinder parts to remove and clean. It has only one grind setting, which some owners say is too coarse and produces weaker coffee. There are only a few isolated complaints about machines that stop working after about a year, however.

Overall, we didn't find reviews for any grind-and-brew coffee maker strong enough to recommend a particular model. If you're interested in grinding your own beans, our separate report on coffee grinders will help you choose a model.