Yesterday I purchased a Cuisinart Keurig – model SS-700 to replace my Keurig B70 single serve coffee maker.
I loved my B70. We used it for years without issue. I cleaned it with vinegar monthly and took good care of it.
But recently – it started to become unreliable.
It would – what they call short cup – meaning that the amount of coffee brewed was smaller than a cup.
Sometimes I would have to go through several brew cycles to get a full cup – and then usually I had to have an overflow cup on hand to handle the excess.
I called Keurig customer service and they were helpful and sympathetic and even sent me a part to try and fix the issue.
But my brewer was out of warranty – so I was pretty much out of luck.
Time to Buy a new machine.
So - I finally bit the bullet and decided to replace my erratic B70.
Armed with my 20% off coupon for Bed Bath & Beyond, I headed to the store – not really sure which model I was going to buy.
Usually, I research the heck out of appliances but time was against me – and I was going in blind.
Which Model?
I really thought that I would just buy another B70.
But I found 3 brewers that I liked.
Yes – the updated version of my B70. The Cuisinart Keurig SS-700. And the Breville model.
The Breville was nice but it was much more costly than the other two – so I passed it by.
Comparing the other 2 I found that the Cuisinart had a larger water reservoir than the B70, it also came with a water filter, and with one of those “make your own kCup” doodads.
Although it was slightly more expensive than Keurig’s own brand – these little extras made up for the price difference.
When I brought it home I found it to also be much quieter than my old model.
And Then I Went to Amazon
Lesson learned: Never read reviews after you buy something. You will sleep better.
The reviews at Amazon
So – what I want to know is this – if you have one of these, tell me about it. Tell me if you love it or hate it, and include all the details like how long you have had it, how many times you make coffee every day etc.
Was this a good investment or a bad one?
{ 28 comments… read them below or add one }
Dear Neena;
We have a lot of problems with this. We got it for Christmas just this past year. We have been routinely short cupped, which I could live with, but it intermittently stopped brewing, and now has stopped entirely. Tried vinegar and use filtered water from our own water supply. I am not sure what I am going to do. I am upset because I, too, paid the extra cost to gain the nice features. I had been shopping and waiting to buy this type of coffee maker for over two years and this model seemed to solve all the concerns I had with the other models, such as variable cup size, rinse, etc. The rinse button light has also stopped working. I have read where this was a known problem so I don’t know why it wasn’t pulled off the market.
Dan and Sandy Wilson
Michigan
Dan and Sandy,
That is just awful!
I am so weary of our machine because of all the issues.
I do believe that Cuisinart does offer a three year warranty, so I would definitely call them.
If you still have the receipt – you could even try taking it back to the store.
What a headache, though.
Do check back in and let me know how you resolved the issue.
Neena,
I stumbled across your page and thought I would share my experience with you. My wife and I have owned both the Keurig B-70 Platinum and the above mentioned Quisinart. We have had issues with both. The common pump is running, but no coffee is coming out – air in the lines – might I suggest, never ever move the water carafe off the unit – fill with a pitcher, the clogged needles and lastly they just don’t turn on. The B-70 lasted only a year and was just out of warranty, although others reviews had mentioned that Keurig had been helpful and allowed a replacement unit sent, we were not that fortunate. Frustrated, we jumped to the Quisinart. After a little over a year and 10 months this unit died on us too. I left for the gym in the morning, (unit was on), came home a couple of hours later and it was off and refused to turn on. I called customer service and they were helpful at replacing the unit for us. We did have to fork over $10 to cover the shipping and they want us to ship our broken unit back, on our dime. I guess that beats $200 for a new one.
We are heavy coffee drinkers, mainly on the weekend. We tried both units with the on/off timers and just left off, then turned on as needed, they both just seemed to “crap out”. Other reviews I have read blame the heating unit inside for this problem, I guess that makes sense, but for $200 you would think that it would last longer than the time we have had them. Anyway, the new unit is scheduled for delivery today. Hopefully, I am not writing another post in a year and half with the same issue.
Overall, we have loved the machines, the Cuisinart one the best. The added bonus of the coffee basket and holder included is a plus. The extra buttons that just dispense water, although a good idea, we feel are not needed with all the cup-size options available, who needs a pre-rinse button of 4 oz. when we have the ice coffee setting of 4 0z?
All in all we have been satisfied with idea of cup at a time coffee and the convenience of selecting the flavors we want, when we want. If someone is on the fence about these machines I would run with one of the smaller units to give it a try. If you like it and want a unit with more options, then give the smaller away and make the jump. Another option to cup at a time coffee is this clever little brewer from Melita called Ready Set Joe, it sits on top of the cup with a #2 coffee filter and uses your regular ground coffee. Almost as convenient as a Keurig brewer, but no buttons. It did the job while I have been waiting for my replacement from Cuisinart, not to mention it is great for camping too!
Mike -
Thank you so much for taking the time to leave such a thoughtful and insightful comment.
Everyday I look at my Cuisinart Keurig and wonder – how much longer? Is that terrible or what?
I am happy to hear that customer service was helpful and that they are sending you out a new machine. But the shipping is a bummer, after all – it’s not your fault that it doesn’t work!
Let us know how the new one works out – here’s hoping for many caffeinated years to come.
Neena,
New machine did arrive yesterday and as promised by the Cuisinart rep. it was a complete brand new machine just as you would buy off the shell, with a mfg date of May 2011. It works just fine, but for how long???? I will keep you posted.
Mike
I have a Keurig B70 Platinum. It is hypersensitive to descaling and requires it at least ONCE PER WEEK….and I do not have hard water. My profession includes Robust Design such that issues like hard water are minimized by the design process that predicts and accomodates such “noise” as dissolved calcium and magnesium salts. The idea is that you do this research on the front end instead of p***ing off your clientelle. I can tell you categorically that Keurig has NOT performed such a robust design process (Design for Six Sigma, DOE, Taguchi).
My B70 was a piece of crap right out of the box. Not only does it make varying levels of coffee when it has been recently descaled…as mentioned above, it requires WEEKLY descaling which requires a good 30-45 minutes of time flushing out the vinegar (or acetetic acid in the coffe pot cleaner).
Further, there is a pressue switch that sometimes will re-route the water back into the reservoir…again sometimes only a day or two after descaling.
The solution would be for Keurig to run a series of DOEs to determine the proper diameter of internal piping to accommodate levels of calcium and magnesium salt impregnation for at LEAST ONE MONTH before the system fails.
I bought this thing to accommodate my need for ONE cup of coffee on my way out the door in the AM….and of course…that is exactly WHEN I’m confronted with the Failure Mode (clogging).
Keurig needs to get its act together. Its a good concept….but VERY poorly engineered.
DBass –
It is very frustrating when things don’t work as they should. Weekly descaling is just impossible to keep up with. Is your brewer still under warranty? Maybe Keurig customer service will be able to help you out.
I had to retire my B70 after 3 years because it was short cupping regularly. I don’t know what caused the issue – I did descale it monthly but maybe that wasn’t enough.
I now have the Cuisinart Keurig machine and am keeping my fingers crossed. It has a water filter attachment that fits into the tank and I also use filtered water – do I guess that qualifies as double filtered. I use my monthly descale regimen – on the first of the month like clockwork.
Only time will tell.
Neena- My SS-700 makes really weak coffee. I bought this machine thinking i would grind my own coffee and not use KCups. i’ve tried everything i can think of. i think the machine itself is a great idea, i just can’t make a decent cup of coffee.
Chris,
That is disappointing. I have not tried using my own coffee with the adapter – but have you tried this?
Brew 2 small cups to make a big one.
First fill the adapter with your freshly ground coffee and brew a 4 oz cup.
Clean out the adapter, refill it with fresh grounds, and then brew a second 4 oz cup into the first one.
This way you will end up with an 8 oz cup of stronger coffee.
I know it is a pain – but if it does work, you could buy a second adapter and just fill both at the same time and brew one right after the other.
Let me know what works!
Hi Neena,
I thought I would share my experience too. We have our cuisinart keurig here in the office. We are on our second one, and it just stopped working. We have now gone through 2 in 7 months. We would brew at least 5-10 cups of coffee a day. Each day would be different, sometimes it would work, other days it would not. We would unplug for 30 seconds and plug back in and usually that would get it working again. But alas, it didn’t work the last time. This second one was replaced for free except for the 10$ shipping. We did not ship back the old machine because we still got the new one. I too think this machine is a piece of junk. We will not buy another one.
Heidi
Hi Heidi,
Thanks for sharing your experience with us.
I am just wondering if you could provide a few more details though.
How often did you descale both Keurigs?
I am personally trying to figure out if frequent descaling prevents these issues or if it is unrelated.
I descale my brewer once a month – and it is really a pain to flush the vinegar through and then follow with several cycles of water to keep the coffee from tasting like vinegar.
Often, I wonder if it is really worth it.
Anyhow, let us know how the new machine works out – good luck with it!
I purchased a Cuisinart SS 700 in May 2011 for my wife (Mother’s day) who loves her coffee fresh and hot. I did do some research and chose the Cuisinart over Keurig for the “My K-Cup” and large water resevoir capacity features (K Cups are very expensive as compared to Lbs of good quality coffee and not very ‘green” either with all that extra packaging)
The unit worked very well for about 2 mns and met our expectations, she was thrilled with it. Then it began to sporadicly serve short sized cups. Note: we almost exclusively use the MY K Cup. I followed the all the trouble shooting instructions in the manual, and found the descaling process to be ridculous; 60 oz of vinegar, 4 hr process, WOW, and we use bottled spring water with the provided charcoal filter exclusively.
Followed the process twice as recommended, then a third time and gave up. Called customer service who revealed that they would gladly ship me a new one but I needed to pay shipping both ways (atleast $20), which I was not happy with, why should the customer pay shipping for a manufacturing defect!
So I called the dept store (Macys) where I purchased it, and eventhough I had thrown out the box they were willing to do an exchange as long as I had my original receipt, which I did.
New one worked as designed for exactly 4 days, now it’s short brewing again, we never know what size we’re going to get, very frustrating!!
Not sure what my next move is as I read various reviews it appears all of these single serve brand experience (eventually atleast) similar issues and at $ 200 I do not consider this a one year and replace type small appliance, it should last at least a few years at that price point.
My wife is now hooked on the single serve convenience and I do see a good alternative and am very hesitant to exchange for another SS 700.
Dave,
What a shame about the new one! Maybe you can return it and pick a different model.
It is hard to give up the single serve convenience but I will consider switching back if this machine doesn’t last for me.
For now, my main line of defense is religious descaling on the first of every month. In addition, I also replace the included charcoal filter on the first of every month as well. (I ordered a bunch from Amazon on the same day that I bought the Cuisinart Keurig machine.)
AND, on top of all that, I only use filtered water in the reservoir – so the water is double filtered.
If all that doesn’t work – then I guess nothing will.
Here’s keeping my fingers crossed!
Keep us updated with your progress too.
Thanks for sharing your story.
I am on my third Cuisinart SS700. The first one lasted 6 months the second one lasted three months. The first one I descaled every month with vinegar the second one I descaled every two weeks with the coffee maker cleaner. The girl at Bed Bath and Beyond said this is what I should descale with. Now I wonder if I should go back to using the vinegar.
I used this machine on and off through out the day.
I love this machine but I am now thinking I will get a few months from this third machine and then what?
Ginger
This page is a load of Crap. It’s a given the machine has design flaws but all this “I’m sorry”, “that’s ashame”, be sure and descale every month, change your filter every month stuff is propaganda. You are either a Cuisinart Employee, or a Keurig employee seeding positive thoughts on the k-cup system or overall company image touting customer service etc. I mean come on.
Hahaha Carl! I can tell you are a cynic.
I assure you that I am not a Cuisinart employee, nor do I receive any compensation from Cuisinart.
I am an owner of a Cuisinart Keurig machine and a previous owner of a Keurig brewer.
Every day I cross my fingers that my Cuisinart will continue to work as it should because I love the convenience of single serve brewing.
That said – you could argue that I take better care of my coffee machine than I do of my car.
I use OmniFocus for my to do lists – and I have one for the first of every month. First item on the list, descale the brewer and change the filter. My grocery list for the week before includes a big jug of white vinegar.
I only use filtered water in the brewer as well.
Call me a nerd for staying on top of the process – but I want this brewer to last, because I will not invest in a new one if this breaks down.
As far as sympathizing with my readers – what more can I do?
If I worked for Cuisinart, maybe I would actually be able to help them out further – but since I don’t, the most that I can do is commiserate.
I would tell you that “I’m sorry” that you don’t like this page – but it seems that you do not like this terminology.
This is my story, take it at face value. I don’t play games.
I have both the Keurig B70 and the Cuisinart and prefer the Cuisinart. However, i have had some poor luck with the Keurig. I have discovered that if I run a cup of water without a coffee cup in the machine, it rinses out the needles and works great. I used to have to clean it far too often with that vinegar procedure – now it has not needed to be cleaned for several months. I also leave it open without a cup when I am not using it. Keeps the needles cleaner as well. so – I have just one problem. I lost my water filter holder (Cuisinart) – bought another but it was too long. Where can I buy the holder for the SS780PC??
Hi Ginger,
This page on the Cuisinart site has a replacement filter holder for the SS700 – http://www.cuisinart.com/parts/coffee_bar/ss-700.html , but I am not sure if it will work with the SS780PC. It is probably best to call Cuisinart directly and ask if it will fit your model before you order.
HELLO LOL WILLLL ITS JUNK OR ARE ALL KERIUG BREWERS THAT WAY TO, I BOUGHT THE SS700 CUISINART, YA AT FIRST BEST THING ON EARTH, THEN THE WORD JUNK TRASH AND WORDS I CANT SAY ON HERE STARTED COMING OUT, AFTER 2 TO 3 MONTHS IT WAS SHORT CUPPING OR JUST SITTIN HUMMING AND NOTHING COMING OUT, I CLEANED IT I DONE EVERYTHING THEY SAID AND MORE, AFTER ME HAVING TO PAY THEM 10 BUX TO SEND ME A REPLACEMENT AND ME PAY 25BUX TO SEND THE JUNK 1 BACK I DONE THAT 2 TIMES, I CANT AFFORD TO PAY THAT KINDA MONEY FOR SOMETHING THEN HAVE TO PAY TO SEND BACK THERE TRASH,,,,,,, SO I DONE THE RIGHT THING I THINKK LOL AND BOUGHT A BUNN MCA MY CAFE SO FAR MUCH BETTER AND THE PODS ARE A LOT CHEAPER THEN BEING AT THE MERCY OF GREEN KERIUG MOUNTAIN, IVE NEVER BEEN SO SORRY ABOUT BUYING ANYTHING TILL THIS, THEY SHOULDA BEEN MADE TO REFUND ALL OUR MONEY AND PAID RETURN SHIPPING ON DEFECTIVE JUNK COFFEE BREWERS, BECAUSE THEY WONT FIX IT, BECAUSE THEY DONT LOOSE ANYTHING WE PAY TILL THE WARRANTY RUNS OUT THEN ITS OOO WILL THNK U :} ILL NEVER BUY ANOTHER ANYTHING THAT SAY KCUP OR KERIUG, I HOPE U HAVE BETTER LUCK THEN THE OTHER 50,000 PEOPLE LIKE ME :}
HI AGAIN YA I BOUGHT THE BUNN MCA MY CAFE OR EVEN THE BUNN MC IS GREAT , MY WIFE AND I REALLY LIKE THE PODS . THERE CHEAPER AND YOU CAN MAKE YOUR OWN PODS OUTTA WHAT U WANT, AT 200.00 FOR SS700 IM THINKING ITS A 5 YR OR LONGER DEAL, NOT NO 2 MONTHS, I HAVE INVISTED OR 300.00 IN THE SS700 AND THE 3RD HAS QUIT, IM DONE TRHEY SAID THEYLL GIVE ME CREDIT TOWARDS CUISINART ITEMS IF I DONT WANT A 4TH REPLACEMENT, LOL IT WAS MY MONEY I SHOULD GET IT BACK, BUT I WONT, GOOD PEOPLE, WE ALL KNOW THERE TRASH DEFECTIVE JUNK THAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN RECALLED BY THE BETTER BUISSNESS BUREAU, HAVE IM OUTTA HERE DRINKIN PODS WITH MY BUNN :}}}
I’m on my 3rd Kuerig system machine and my first Cuisinart. The only one that ever worked right was the first Kuerig machine. We bought a 2nd Kuerig and returned it less then a week later because it would not draw in water properly. We replaced it with the Cuisinart and after 2 monthes it is doing the same thing. Both the new machines had the filter system and I’m guessing that that’s the problem because the first one (without the filter system) worked perfectly for 3 years till it gave out. We used to recommend the Kuerig system to all our friends. Now we don’t.
I really am interested in one of these machines, but I am a little wary. What machine is really going to work? We have a Kuerig system at work with two cup sizes. Am looking at one with the 4 – 5 cup size machine. Any suggestions???
Hi, Neena,
We this is our third morning with our Cuisinart SS 780 and although the concept lives up to our expectations the strength of the brew does not.
Here’s how it has gone:
Friday evening: brewed a sample Green Mtn Kcup, 6 oz water and found it on the low end of the strength acceptability.
Saturday/Sunday experimenting with the MyKcup with medium grind locally roasted coffee with 4 ounces of water it was just okay, tried a second run of water through @ 4 ounces and that came out better than a single run @ 6 ounces. We tried several incarnations of this and different grinds on both days til we were over caffeinated yet unsatisfied — Never did we get to the point of feeling happy in our purchase.
Monday: After a lot of thinking I wondered whether the brew temperature was not hot enough even though on Saturday one of my first acts to counter weak brew was to maximize the temperature. After brewing a couple cups of coffee I ran a 4 oz hot water cycle and put my thermometer* in it to ‘soak’ then I ran a second hot water cycle and placed the thermometer in it as the water came out and it registered 180. Made a cups of ‘coffee’ after this and never reached that high of a temperature again.
Additionally, the amount of coffee the Kcups have in them is about 3/8 ounce while the MyKcup (filled not over the mesh) holds about 1/4 ounce — n.b.: this is two scant scoops with the utensil provided, measured by weight with a digital kitchen scale. This could make a difference in the taste with that amount of water but that seems immaterial as, by my math, we use 12 of these scoops to make at 10 x 5 oz. cup pot of drip that is really very dark brown and not see-through (this is the same as 2 scoops per 6 ounces)
There is an other insert calle ‘ekobrew’ which drops in like a regular Kcup and possibly holds more coffee.
I called Cuisinart and they said to return and/or trade this machine. I am hoping that it is something with the heating element. After doing what I thought was a lot of research you could currently color us disappointed.
Any suggestions? It is snowing and cruddy and I am not doing town until tomorrow.
*not an instant read but having the tool ready to go at 165 should compensate for time.
Amy ~
It definitely could be that your machine is faulty.
However, one suffestion that I have is to try a darker roast k-cup.
We find that the product called Dark Magic by Green Mountain Coffee is quite strong. In fact, I usually brew this at the full 12 oz cup setting because I find it too strong at the 10 oz cup.
A good 10 oz brew for us is the Lake and Lodge by Green Mountain.
It really is hit and miss until you find the right kcup to please your palate.
That being said, I do have my brewer set at the maximum of 192 degrees and I feel that it does get hot enough for a good brew.
For some reason, the first cup in the morning seems a little cooler than the second – and I often do stick it in the microwave for 30 seconds.
Keep us updated on how you solve your issue with the Cuisinart.
Well, since it’s getting harder and harder to find the Tassimo coffees – I started thinking it might be time to switch to Keurig. After reading here though – I’m worried! We’ve had our Tassimo machine for about 3 years now – NEVER had to ‘descale it’ or whatever – and it still works WONDERFULLY!
I’m wondering how YOU’RE Cuisinart has worked out now that you’ve had it awhile??
Thanks!!
Hi Hope,
I’m taking the risk of jinxing myself – so with a good solid knock on wood – I will tell you: so far so good.
BUT I do descale religiously. Once a month without fail. I pump vinegar through the machine and replace the water filter. I also use filtered water in the reservoir – so in effect I am double filtering the water.
But the convenience is worth it to me at this point in my life.
That being said – I also used to descale my regular drip coffeemaker pretty regularly.
Let us know whether you pick a Keurig up and how it works for you.
Bed Bath & Beyond will take the item back at ANY TIME FRAME. Here is my online chat with them.
Michael: Welcome to Bed Bath and Beyond LiveChat. My name is
Michael. How may I help you?
Dave Dunham: do you sell extended warantee for Cruisinart Single
Serve Brewing system
Michael: We do not offer warranties for items; you will have to reach
out to the manufacturer directly.
Dave Dunham: how many days is your return policy
Michael: Any items purchased online or in-store can be returned to
any stores nationwide. You can receive an even exchange or store
credit for the item. If you have your receipt or invoice, a refund will be
processed in the manner you paid for the item. Please note, we do not
require the original packaging and the item can be used/laundered.
There is no time limit to make a return.</
Dave Dunham: an item can be returned 90 days?
Michael: I'm not understanding your question
Dave Dunham: if I purchase this item, how long do I get to return it if I
decide not to keep it
Michael: There is no time limit to make a return.
Dave Dunham: even it its been used?
Michael: Any items purchased online or in-store can be returned to
any stores nationwide. You can receive an even exchange or store
credit for the item. If you have your receipt or invoice, a refund will be
processed in the manner you paid for the item. Please note, we do not
require the original packaging and the item can be used/laundered.
Dave Dunham: wow that's great! So if this item stops working after 6
months I can return it to you
Michael: Correct
Dave Dunham: after 18 months?
Michael: Again, there is no time limit to make a return.
Dave Dunham: Thanks!
Michael: You're welcome. Is there anything else I can assist you with
today?
Dave Dunham: No … there just has been a lot of reviews stating this
unit brakes after several months. Its nice to know I can just bring it back
I have had the SS700 for a year. The only problem we have had with it is that it needs to be descaled often. It gets used several times every day. Usually 2-3 cups of coffee for me in the morning and 1-2 cups for hubby. During the colder months I will often use it’s hot water feature for tea or cocoa in the afternoons too. The kids use it 3-4 times a week at least for anything from hot beverages to ramen noodles or instant oatmeal. I’ve noticed our experience seems to the the exception rather than the rule. We’ve been very pleased with ours, and I hope yours contines to work well for you.
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