Cuisinart DCG-12BC Grind Central Coffee Grinder

In the last year, I've had two of these. The first lasted days before it died. I was able to return it and get a replacement. The second lasted 9 months and just died. In the last year, I've only used it less than 25 times. I used it till the 8 oz of initial beans were I purchased were gound, then switch back to buying ground coffee. I recently pulled it out again during the holiday season to make some good coffee. It lasted 3 more uses and died.

This is JUNK.. Do not purchase.

Bought this to replace my aging Braun grinder, which seemed to be starting to show signs of wear after 15 years of use. The Cuisinart grinder stopped working after just a few uses. Got a replacement and same thing. Stopped working after a couple of weeks. This was a year ago. And guess what, my old Braun is still working.

We are serious coffee drinkers in my house. We make at least 1 pot every day and we grind our favorite whole bean organic coffee every morning. This grinder has lasted the longest out of any other we've had (12 months so far) and grinds to a very consistent texture. It's also fairly quiet. The thing I love the most about it are the measure marks on the side of the stainless cup and the fact that the cup twists off! I used to have the worst time tipping our old grinder upside down and making sure the coffee made it into the filter. The only thing I would wish for would be an adjustable grind feature.

We bought the grinder without reading the reviews, it was a Cuisinart. Their matching coffee maker is a Consumer Reports Best Buy and highly rated at Amazon. However we are returning our second grinder in less than two months, and expect the latest replacement to also fail. We were annoyed that we spent the amount of money that we did on this grinder and then had to pay shipping to get the first replacement (Cuisinart is paying the shipping on the second replacement). Cuisinart Customer service has been courteous, however do yourself a favor and don't buy this grinder.

I used this grinder for less than a month when the bowl got stuck in the machine. I called Cuisinart up and after some technical assistance over the phone, was unable to get the bowl out of the machine. I was able to send it back to Cuisinart for repair/new machine (paid for shipping costs - approx. $4) and have been using the new one for over a year now.

I had another close call with the bowl getting stuck again a couple months after I received the new one but luckily was able to twist it out, which was not easy. Now after each grind, I twist the bowl off immediately, which for some reason, seems to be helping with the bowl not getting stuck. Also, because the grinds tend to fall through the bowl at the attachment part, make sure that it's clean before grinding another batch.

Grinds well but unevenly - doesn't grind small batches well. For a more even grind, I tilt the machine and give it a little shake while grinding.

Purchased it because Cuisinart is known for quality and I like the look. Next grinder I purchase will probably not be made by Cuisinart. Too many tricks for basic usage.