(Latest) Cuisinart DCC-3200 14 cup Coffee Maker Review 2020
Table of Contents
Here is a complete review of Cuisinart DCC-3200 perfectemp coffee maker to make it easy for you to decide whether to buy or not.
There are times when you want a delicious mug of coffee. And then there are times when you feel like taking it cup by cup just to get through the day. If that sounds like you, the Cuisinart 14-cup DCC-3200 Programmable Coffee Maker can satisfy your taste.
Cuisinart’s DCC 3200 programmable 14-cup coffee machines are undoubtedly one of the best coffee makers on the market today.
The company is renowned among coffee lovers for its well-designed and easy-to-use products that undoubtedly brought comfort and convenience to people’s lives. They are known to make long-lasting and high performing kitchen equipment.
Design
Let’s start the review with the design and build quality of this Cuisinart machine. It’s a good looking machine with brushed stainless steel, black plastic carafe holder that will compliment your kitchen. This Cuisinart DCC-3200 is not one of the most wonderful coffee machines on the market, but it reflects most of the company’s design trends. The blue light display isn’t striking but kind of gives it a retro feel.
The main body is perfectly shaped and the elegant and decorative stainless steel handle further adorns it. The high-quality glass jar perfectly adapts to the product base. The overall design exudes the minimalist and simple approach that we love. I like the full black version as well, goes with my style but I can’t ignore the temptation of brush steel. You can also go for the blue or copper finish as well.
The size is smaller (7.75 x 9 inches), but with a height of 14 inches, it may fit tightly under large cabinets. If you’re going to place it in a small cabinet, be sure with the measurements first. The weight is 8.75 Pounds. (convert pound to KG Here). The blue backlit LCD screen is easy to read even in the dark, though the buttons only light up when an option has been selected.
I kind of think the brush metal body shows smudges more. But they are pretty easy to clean so no worries about that.
Always use the filter holder with the filter in it. It helps prevent the coffee grounds to get into the heating system.
Features you’re going to love
One of the most unusual things about the machine is Cuisinart’s advanced coffee making technology. It includes state of the art technology that makes sure your coffee stays hot without sacrificing the flavor or the quality of your coffee. You can set it to automatically start brewing hot coffee for you in the morning. How cool is that?
The brew taste selector is also a very welcoming feature. We noticed that there is a significant difference between the regular and the bolder brewing option.
You can program it to run for 24 hours to brew from 1-4 cups of coffee to up to 14 cups of delicious coffee, self-clean and auto-shutoff.
The gold-tone filter is a commercial type permanent filter.
If you can’t wait for the whole jar to be brewed, the Cuisinart has a brew-pause function that allows you to pour a cup during the brewing process. This way you get hotter coffee from the machine without sacrificing quality or taste.
The disruption may be slightly inappropriate because the coffee machine continues to dispense water to the grounds. Cuisinart recommends you to return the pot in 20 seconds. Otherwise, the coffee tray may overflow.
There is a water level display window on the side of the water reservoir. There are gold-tone coffee filters and a charcoal water filter that Cuisinart says should be replaced every 60 days or every 60 brews.
Showerhead
The “showerhead” design ensures equal water spray to all the grounds ensuring uniform extraction of the ground coffee. Some manufacturers tend to concentrate their streamflow in a small area, which can lead to the excessive extraction of some coffee grounds and the inadequate extraction of others.
In case there’s a power failure (less than 60 seconds), this does not affect the quality of brew because the 60 seconds reset function restores the settings and position of the brewing process. You also benefit from a 1 to 4 cup setting, an auto-shutoff (0 to 4 hours) and an optional ready alarm tone.
Performance
Our tests proved that the DCC-3200 is one of the simplest and most intuitive drip coffee machines we have used for years. With this machine, you have several options to enjoy your cup of coffee in the morning or whenever you want.
The various elements for making coffee can be easily adjusted with this machine and everything works smoothly till you have the cup of black coffee in your hands. The Brew Pause and other functions mentioned above work perfectly.
To start, load some ground coffee, select the number of cups (1-4) you want and choose if you want to roast regular or bolder. The whole process takes less than 30 seconds after doing it multiple times.
With this device, you can get the quality of the coffee you need as soon as you know how it works.
Learning how to make the program work will take a while, but once you get to know the machine, it’s a reliable coffee machine that will make you get cups as tasty and hot as you want.
There’s a valve pretty cleverly opens only once you tip the carafe to pour. The carafe never gets burned which is a welcoming feature.
Easy to use
The Cuisinart DCC-3200 is one of the simplest filter coffee systems we have used in recent years, but not because of the lack of options available. If you really want to personalize your brew, there are many options for a user.
Fill the container with water, place the ground coffee in the filter basket and press the brew button. If you want bolder coffee or produce a smaller batch, press the bold button or the button for 1 to 4 cups before pressing the brew button.
The automatic shutdown and automatic power-on functions are integrated into the brew button and program button respectively. They are activated by long-pressing.
We believe that almost anyone can use the coffee machine for its simple operating system.
There are no complicated options, dial parameters or control parameters to manage.
I also have noticed that they made the bottom panel easier to remove. All you need is a regular screwdriver. This is a welcoming trend.
How to clean Cuisinart DCC-3200 coffee maker?
Remove the commercial-grade, permanent carbon filter. Fill the tank with 1 part vinegar in 2 part water and simply press and hold the cleaning button until the machine is in cleaning mode.
Then brew it with clean water to make sure everything gets washed well. Although the filter should be okay throughout the product’s life cycle, it’s a good idea to rinse it on regular basis with water.
The self-cleaning function is one of the most effective we have tested in recent years. Which is very easy to configure.
You need to take ‘cleaning the coffee machine’ seriously because it also affects the quality and safety of the coffee you make from it. We feel compelled to praise again about the self-cleaning aspect of this object.
You will also be notified if you need a cleaning, as the “Clean” LED lights up. However, it is not always necessary to wait for this light to come on before cleaning the machine.
Coffee overflow?
It was a big problem with the 1200 model. There’s no overflow issue with our 3200 so far. Looks pretty good. I guess this is because of the larger basket and a bigger drip opening.
Water Tank
The water tank is bigger as well as the water filling hole. The lid of this model opens up 90 degrees straight providing you ample space for you to pour water in. The reservoir is deeper and the case is longer.
Water filter
The water filter fits in the more snugly in its hole. This helps prevent any kind of clogging. The filter is the same carbon filter as the 1200 model.
Brewing
Cuisinart DCC-3200 offers more features than the usual drip coffee machines. It provides you the ability to control the brewing strength: regular and bold.
With a strong brew, brewing takes a little longer because the water is filtered more slowly for stronger extraction. It takes more than 5 minutes to prepare about 8 cups of hot coffee.
We have found the speed to be quite alright, especially in terms of the quality of the coffee.
You can sneak a cup during brewing, works great without any interference.
Taste
Based on our experience, the DCC-3200 produces some of the tastiest coffee we have had recently from a reasonable drip coffee machine.
There are many coffee machines that give you terribly burnt cups of coffee once the temperature reaches a certain level. This is not the case with this Cuisinart unit.
Once the brewer knows what it is doing, the brew tastes good in every case. We didn’t notice any taste difference when we made all 14 cups. It also didn’t provide any “burnt” flavoring or other odd-flavored artifacts that appear in low-end units.
In my opinion, the coffee this 3200 model brews is more flavorful. They’ve improved the temperature and flow control resulting in a more flavorful coffee.
Programmability
It is also automatic with 24-hour programmability. Set the time when you need coffee, then press the program/auto start button. The water reservoir and ground basket must be filled before using.
Controls
The control includes all push buttons, no touch or switches. Push buttons tend to last longer in my opinion. The control is pretty easy if you ask me. You can program it using hours and minutes which is great. You can also set the clock.
Bold stands for stronger flavored coffee. You can keep the ‘hot plate’ hot for up to 4 hours.
Glass carafe
It comes with a see-through glass carafe enabling you to see how far along your cup of coffee is. The carafe is larger than the older ones. The carafe works perfectly with or without the lid on. The complaint some users had with the spring-based lid, Cuisinart had fixed the issue by going back to the 1200 style.
I don’t mind a glass carafe so what I’ve decided is to go and buy a thermal carafe. I can use both. I kind of think the glass carafe isn’t bad at all. Coffee stays hotter almost the same in the glass carafe.
You need to keep the glass carafe on the hot plate to keep the coffee warm. The Cuisinart 14 cups DCC-3200 has 3 settings for temperature control: high, medium, low.
Users can also choose how long the hot plate will stay on after it is prepared, with options ranging from 0 to 4 hours.
However, coffee is best served when fresh.
Value for money
It’s not a cheap coffee maker, not the expensive one either. It comes with a 3-year manufacturer warranty. With all the features and brew quality this coffee maker offers I think it’s not going to break your bank. Although it would be nice to have a thermal carafe instead of a glass carafe.
However, given everything it provides and considering the price point, I think it’s your money’s worth.
Pros:
- The coffee stays warm for a long time.
- We like the adjustable heating option
- Prepares quickly
- Has buttons for preparing 1-4 cups
- On/off settings for audible notifications
Cons:
- The lid must be completely removed to fill the water reservoir and pour from the carafe
- Dribbles while adding water to the tank, but not when you pour coffee
- Won’t do your laundry for you 😉
Verdict
So now comes the final question, should you buy the Cuisinart DCC-3200? Based on the high number of users giving it a high rating on Amazon, considering how easy it is to use and the brew quality, we would certainly advise you to go ahead and buy it.
You can’t go wrong with such a simple to operate coffee maker that performs great, looks beautiful and brews delicious cups of coffee. so if you’re looking for a coffee maker that brews a delicious cup of coffee for you in the morning or brew many cups for the next hangout going to take place at your home, the Cuisinart DCC-3200 won’t let you down. All in all, it’s a great improvement over the 1200 model and the few extra money you’re going to spend is definitely worth it.
Questions about Cuisinart DCC-3200 14 cups coffee maker
Question: Does Cuisinart DCC-3200 have a showerhead?
Ans: Yes!
Question: What’s the difference between 3200 and 1200?
Ans: 3200 is more flavorful than the 1200 model. They have improved the flow and temperature control in 3200. Resulting in tasty coffee. Also, 3200 can brew 14 cups compared to 12 cups by 1200.
Question: How high is the temperature of freshly brewed coffee?
Ans: 198-200 degrees Fahrenheit.
Question: How often do you have to replace the charcoal filter?
Ans: every 60 brews or every 60 days.
Question: is this Cuisinart DCC-3200 coffee maker BPA free?
Ans: Yes!
Question: Can you turn off the coffee ready ‘beep’?
Ans: Yes!
Note: Some of the users had complained about the black paint of the warmer plate is coming off.
