Cuisinart Single-Serve Brewing System-SS-780SA

Hello. Hope this review is helpful to someone. Not sure how long all extras will be available but here is what it is for now.I put a lot of research into this coffee maker before purchasing. At first, the Keurig seemed more economical. Was going with the Keurig and then realized this was a better product with more features and comes with 56, yes 56, wonderful variety of Keurig coffee cups, 5 k-cup variety pack boxes with 12 in each box.Here's what is available in my Keurig coffee Cups assortment in each box: Timothy's columbian decafeine and Melange Italian, Newman;s own Extra Bold, special blendGreen Mountain Coffee Dark Magie Noire and French Roast Decaf and Nantucket Blend,Donut shop coffee,GloriaJ Jeans Hazelnut, Tully's french Roast,Van Houtte French Vanilla, Caribou Daybreak Morning blend, Bigelow Earl Grey tea. The "bold" varieties lend themselves best to using to make 2 cups of coffee with one K-Cup as they have more coffee in them or are stronger. There are 2 boxes (6 in each box) 12 of the water conditioner replacement filters alone which sell for over 20.00 for 6 at Walmart.It also comes with it's own k-Cup for use with your own coffee and tea with it's own hidden compartment I used it with my favorite Lipton Bavarian Wild Berry black tea in 12 oz size then hung the Lipton triangle bag in my cup for even more depth of flavor.All said and done this is a more affordable and higher end product at 199.00. It is worth the investment and extra cost.Think what you might spend on drive up coffee per month on the way to work. ( A friend spends 80-100 a month) Get yourself a tall, on the go, insulated coffee cup (12 oz) and pay for this coffee pot within 2-3 months. There is no waste with the coffee either. My son and I sometimes share one K-cup using 2 of the smaller size cup settings and one K-Cup and it works just great.I bought this mainly because my precious Mom has Alzheimers, her favorite thing in the whole world is coffee and she has broken coffee pots and glass carafes so I figured there is nothing to break on this or nothing which would hurt her. Just a water bin to fill with water and other than periodic cleaning and/or changing of water filters, that is it.We have a coffee station upstairs to make things a little more simple. It is on a wooden TV tray which holds the coffee maker, the Kuerig round caurosel K-Cup holder. a stack of disposable 12 oz coffee cups with lids, sugar cubes and the Coffee-mate liquid concentrated lightly sweetened 50.7 ounce pump creamer which does not require refrigeration. A great buy on Amazon but have not seen them in the stores.The features I like best is that you can do a 4,6,8,10 or 12 Oz cup size. The water is HOT not lukewarm. I like that. It takes about 4 minutes to heat the first time each day, but you can keep it on and it will keep a certain amount of water hot for needed instant use if preferred. We love that we can use this for our large assortment of Ramen type noodles, soups and other foods which require hot water.We have used Senseo in the past and other high rated regular coffee makers. For their purpose they were fine. But, I have to say, this Cuisinart makes the coffee taste like I always imagined it should taste; smooth. not overly strong and with no bitter aftertaste no matter which K-Cup I use. It will be difficult to even decide which to buy once these run out as all are so delicious. I always hated strong coffee before and the K-cups which have stronger coffee taste wonderful to me too. What a surprise! I look forward to my morning coffee which I never have before and my son who really does not care for coffee much has developed a taste for these -cups as well and is hooked. Also no old coffee taste from letting brewed coffee sit in the pot over a heated element all day.A biggie... I hated the cleanup process and this is the only coffee maker with virtually very little or no clean up. I love the push button hot water rinse feature we use after each cup to clean and disinfect from the cup before as well as rid it of taste from previous k-cup. No taking anything to the sink to wash. It is self contained and easy to care for. No messes!The fun part is you can choose which k-cup you want each time. I am looking forward to purchasing the hot apple cider and hot chocolate k-cups to try.What's not to like? Have not found anything yet. It is all pros with this for us.Do not know how long this will last yet, even thought of purchasing the expended warranty through Square Trade for 3 years. This only because over the years my coffee makers have never lasted 2 years.

There is only one thing that I can see that is missing, and that is the ability to adjust brew strength. This is something that we used in a prior, otherwise inferior machine, to offset a larger pour. Not sure how that other machine actually did it...Other than that -- This machine is solid and flexible.I like that the selections are made with buttons other than touch screen, that is what killed the prior machine.I hope that this lasts as long as other reviews lead me to believe.

None of the KCups on the market work in this model. This is a very poorly engineered product. Does not brew a full cup with any KCup. If set on 12 oz. you're lucky to get 4 oz...if set on 6 oz you're lucky to get 2 oz. Do not buy. The only way it works at all is if you use regualr coffee grounds in the wire mesh basket. - I threw away the box..if it wasn't such a pain to return it I'd return it even if I didn't get a refund. If it wasn't so expensive to sue for false and misleading advertising I'd do that. A clue was when I read the instruction manual that says basically not to be concerned if it doesn't brew a full cup of coffee... And they still sell this thing to unsuspecting customers...there should be a law!!My daughter has a Keurig that works like a charm. When I bought this Cuisinart I thought it was an upgrade...what a mistake.3/21/11.......UPDATE - replacemnt arrived today from Cuisinart. If you have a persistant problem could be a lemon...call Cuisinart - they sent me a new one at no cost. Works great after 6 cups! Said they would pick up the old one but still haven't - maybe they don't want the lemon either??:)

Loved this K-Cup machine, until one morning it went bad. The first cup of coffee takes about 15 minutes to brew. Tried all the tips and tricks in the manual and followed advice here - but no fixes. The motor just grinds and grinds until FINALLY, the coffee brews. Each cup after that is fine and it works normally, but this isn't normal, and isn't acceptable. Not for a $200 machine. It's as if Cuisinart made it to break. :(

Doesn't fill the cup up all of the way. I have to brew the coffee twice. I love the concept of the brewer, but I wish it would work! I love the hot water function on this machine...it's great for hot tea!