Cuisinart Grind, Tamp and Brew Espresso machine review: A premium experience for coffee buffs

Cuisinart has recently taken the covers off no less than five new coffee machines, which is impressive. The Cuisinart Grind, Tamp and Brew Espresso model you see here sits at the more expensive end of the product spectrum, but for good reason. This is a coffee machine aimed at enthusiasts and budding baristas, with lots of manual controls along with no less than 16 grind settings.

The built-in burr grinder lets anyone passionate about their coffee get to work on their beans and get the best brew possible, while showing off a bit in the process. Not only that, the Cuisinart Grind, Tamp and Brew Espresso machine has a cold extraction setting, along with assisted tamping. It’s therefore going to take a little longer to produce coffee, unlike those frenetic best pod coffee machines that are seemingly everywhere.

So, if you’ve got time to spend on making coffee in the mornings – or evenings for that matter, then forget about the pod coffee systems you were thinking of buying and take a look at the Cuisinart Grind, Tamp and Brew Espresso offering. On paper, it’s easily up there with the best bean to cup coffee machine models we’ve looked at previously, so read on to find out how I’ve been getting on with it recently.

Cuisinart Grind, Tamp and Brew Espresso machine review: Price and availability

The Cuisinart Grind, Tamp and Brew Espresso machine is available now, has a RRP of £449.99 and can be purchased direct from Cuisinart or other online retailers, including Amazon.

Cuisinart Grind, Tamp and Brew Espresso machine review: Unboxing and set-up

One thing that’s immediately noticeable with the Cuisinart Grind, Tamp and Brew Espresso machine is its bulk. This appliance not only takes up quite a lot of countertop space, it’s a beefy thing too. Even getting it out of the sizable box it arrived in took a little bit of time. Nevertheless, once it was positioned into place, I thought it looked really good.

This is a reasonably pricey appliance and therefore the general quality of the components seems to be solid enough. It’s basically a mix of quality plastics and metal fixtures and fittings. Accessories like the jug and the filter component seem well made and likely to last the test of time. Cuisinart also supplied a decent manual with this machine too, which is just as well as there was a little to get my head around in terms of setup.

The other thing was to ensure all of the bits of packaging were removed, especially where the removable water tank was concerned and that all of the accessories were placed correctly. However, while this appliance does look like a bit of a handful, everything is actually nicely laid out, with key areas including the grind dial on the top and the major mode buttons on the front all being self-explanatory.

So, water tank topped up, beans loaded into the grinder at the top and we were good to go. There was a big circular power button on the front to press, once the reasonable length power cable was plugged in.

Cuisinart Grind, Tamp and Brew Espresso machine review: Design and features

The Cuisinart Grind, Tamp and Brew Espresso machine boasts an impressive specification, which is why it sits at the more premium end of the spectrum and has that high price tag. There are an impressive 16 different grind settings, which comes via a built-in conical burr grinder so that everything can be done in situ.

On top of that, the Cuisinart Grind, Tamp and Brew Espresso machine offers 20-bar of pressure, which means it’s easily able to deliver top dollar espressos. This is displayed via a small circular pressure dial on the front of the appliance. Add on assisted tamping, cold extraction capacity plus a steam wand and there’s everything onboard to make just about any kind of coffee that’s required, which in my case is lattes and cappuccinos. The 2.2-litre front-loading water tank makes it surprisingly low-maintenance too.

The Cuisinart Grind, Tamp and Brew Espresso machine feels very versatile.. The brewing area on the front can handle mugs right up to 600ml, and those components and accessories are nicely designed. The other thing is enough of it comes apart for proper cleaning duties, with easy access to the steam wand, plus a charcoal water filter and removable dishwasher safe parts all contributing to a fairly low fuss factor machine.

Cuisinart Grind, Tamp and Brew Espresso machine review: performance

One of the obvious benefits of the Cuisinart Grind, Tamp and Brew Espresso machine is the way it offers much more control over the coffee making process than many rival machines. This is a good thing if you’ve always fancied yourself as a bit of a barista as all of the tools are at your disposal with this model plus there’s the ability to pre-warm cups too. The downside is that, initially, it looks a little on the intimidating side for anyone not au fait with manual coffee making.

I took my time studying the manual before doing anything too drastic and decided to start off with a bare-bones coffee. The grind settings are handy, with a manual dial that can let you decide how much to grind whole beans. The water tank is generous too, which means that this is less fussy to maintain than some machines I’ve tried. I also liked the level of involvement I could have with the manual tamping lever, which was quite cool to get to grips with.

In terms of the results; I thought the Cuisinart Grind, Tamp and Brew Espresso machine produced commendable coffee. The cold option was great too, with quick and easy room temperature coffees on tap that could be a neat iced option in the hotter months. The frother wand was perhaps the trickiest aspect of this machine to get to grips with, although that’s no different to other models I’ve tried with this functionality. Maybe I'm just not cut out to be a barista.

Overall, though, the Cuisinart Grind, Tamp and Brew Espresso machine is a slick solution for people who don’t want to spend a small fortune but still want versatility and great coffee.

Cuisinart Grind, Tamp and Brew Espresso machine review: Verdict

I’ve been mightily impressed by the Cuisinart Grind, Tamp and Brew Espresso machine. It’s got a great specification and an array of features and functions that make it a good option for folks who need to make a wide variety of different coffees.

There’s a solid level of capability, plus the ability to customise drink orders. The cold extraction feature is a boon if you’re a sucker for iced lattes while the lever for manual control of the tamping process is cool if you’re a budding barista.

Cuisinart Grind, Tamp and Brew Espresso machine: Alternatives to consider

There are a lot of bean-to-cup coffee machines out there, so if you're a fan of fresh brews then the likes of the De'Longhi Rivelia or the Sage Barista Touch Impress are unlikely to disappoint. Elsewhere, something like the De'Longhi Eletta Explore is a recent arrival that has had us, here at T3 Towers, raving over the quality of its coffee production.

Elsewhere, the De’Longhi La Specialista Opera or the Dualit Espressivo Pro feature in our guide to the best bean-to-cup coffee machines and are therefore also very worthy options to consider. All are great if you like to be hands-on during the coffee making process.