Specialty Grind and Brew Coffee Maker, Single-Serve Option, 10-Cup Thermal Carafe, WiFi Enabled Technology, Smart Home Kitchen Essentials, SCA Certified, Barista-Quality Brew, Matte Black

Ditching my bulky super-automatic for the Café Specialty Grind and Brew was a revelation! This sleek machine boasts top-notch build quality and a space-saving design that looks stunning on my countertop. No more leaky mornings either – the carafe and water tank have been flawless for a month now. But the real magic lies within: the integrated grinder delivers the freshest coffee, the single-serve option caters to solo cravings, and the thermal carafe keeps my brew piping hot for hours. Plus, WiFi connectivity makes remote brewing so much easier. I'm able to start my coffee while in bed, so by the time I come downstairs its ready to go! This machine does it all, without the fuss. If you're looking for a luxurious coffee experience that saves space and time, look no further!

I could tell you about the positives of the machine (it's attractive, coffee brewed on the "gold" setting is delicious, et.). However there is a design flaw that leads to leaking, and this is a fatal flaw in that you're most likely not going to want to keep this coffee maker. Let me explain. As other reviewers have noted, the screw-on water filter housing is very finnicky. It's an acrylic piece that screws onto the bottom of the acrylic water reservoir. You can't just screw it on and call it good. It has to be screwed on PERFECTLY, or it will leak. The only way to tell if it's on right is to either fill it with water and leave it sit for a few hours to see if there's a leak, or to look very closely at the black rubber gasket through the clear acrylic. This gasket needs to be perfectly seated, and if the piece isn't screwed on right, you can often see it by looking at the gasket very carefully--you'll see one side of the gasket is popped out of the recess where it's supposed to sit. Even if it looks right, I'd still recommend filling the reservoir with water and leaving it to sit on a towel on the counter for a few hours to make sure it doesn't leak. The problem is that even once you get the reservoir put together perfectly to where it doesn't leak sitting on the counter, it WILL leak once you put it in the machine. The reason for this is very simple, and it's due to a glaring design flaw you can see for yourself with careful study. The housing for the water filter has a small spring-loaded piece in the bottom center with a rubber gasket. When you put the water reservoir into its holder on the machine, this piece rests on the water intake, which pushes the spring-loaded stopper up, so water can flow/trickle out of the reservoir and be pulled into the machine. The deign flaw is that where these two pieces connect--the bottom of the water reservoir filter and the top of the water intake--is just two pieces of hard plastic resting together. There is no seal or gasket here, so no matter what you do, it's going to leak, because there's no water-tight seal to prevent it. This is why, when you take the water reservoir out, there is often water pooled in the holder on the machine. It's also why, if you fill the reservoir with water the night before, to brew in the morning with a timer, or via the app, you'll get a low water warning and find a puddle of water on your counter around the coffee maker. The more you fill the reservoir, the more and faster it leaks (e.g. it will leak more with 10 cups of water than with 4). I suspect the reason why there are good reviews for this coffee maker is people don't realize it's leaking. The leak is very slow, so you may only notice it if you use the timer function, or fill the water reservoir ahead of time. If you fill the water right before you make the coffee, you may not see or notice the leak, though you may still notice standing water in the reservoir holder on the machine. So if you do buy this machine (which you really shouldn't), I highly recommend that you fill the water reservoir and leave it on the counter for a few hours to make sure you've got the filer housing screwed on right. Then, if there's no leaking, fill it and leave it on the machine overnight and see if you're greeted by a puddle on your counter in the morning. It's possible that some units do have some kind of seal there, and I and others with this problem got units that are lacking this seal for some reason. Or (more likely, I think) they all have this flaw and some people are just not noticing. The worst thing about this, I think, is you may have the unit for a while before you do a timed brew, and so you don't find out about the leaking until the return window is closed. Packing this all up and sending it back for a refund was a hassle. There is either a design flaw in all these machines, or their quality control is so bad that some of the machines are lacking a crucial seal. Either way, your money can be better spent on a better brand. I ended up getting a separate coffee maker and grinder, both by Breville, and the build quality on those is much higher with no problems and no leaking.

I love this machine. It makes great coffee. It looks sharp and stylish. It's the third grind and brew coffee machine that I've owned. Previously had the Cuisinart, and then the breville. They both made terrible coffee. This machine makes wonderful coffee. It was amazing how good the coffee was. But after three weeks off daily use, it stopped making coffee. It would turn on. The screen would indicate that everything was correct, it would grind the correct quantity of beans, and the screen would indicate that the brewing cycle was starting. But no water was going through. It got to the end of the brewing cycle, and the water reservoir hadn't emptied at all. There was just a dry pile of unbrewed coffee grounds in the filter. I tried unplugging and replugging. Tried cleaning all the parts, opening and closing everything, tried brewing from the app, tried brewing from the control panel. Tried different batch sizes. Switched from carafe to mug and back. Tried brewing with the grinder off, with it on. Cleaned everything as well as I could. Nothing worked. Contacted GE customer service. They suggested all of the steps I had already tried. They said it was likely a problem with internal circuitry, and that these machines are not reparable. They did say they would send me a replacement machine if I wanted. But I don't feel like I can trust this model because it broke after such a short period of time. Luckily it happened within the Amazon return window. But now I'm stuck. No way I'm going back to the weak, under extracted coffee of the breville, even though it did work like a champ for 5+ years. And the Cuisinart was even worse. Guess I'll be using a manual.coffee brewing method from now on. I have a good grinder and an aeropress... It's really nice to have freshly brewed coffee just waiting for me when I awaken. But it seems that there is no machine that meets my specifications for high quality coffee brewing AND reliability. I give two stars because it does make really good coffee. It just stopped working so soon after I purchased it.

2 Months In: I finally experienced the leaking issue immediately after replacing the carbon filter. The closure was screwed in tight but not but turns out no quit tight enough. A little extra effort and the closure turned about a 1/8 of an inch. NO MORE LEAKING! Next filter change I plan to apply a thin layer of mineral oil (used for my cutting board) to the lower section of the threads of the closure and gasket. This will aid closure and improve the seal. 10 Days In: I wrote this not to dispute the reviews it runs counter to but for those that love the looks of this machine and appreciate its ability to brew the SCA Gold Cup. First I've had NO leaking from this machine whatsoever in the past 7 days since it arrived. I have, however, made a conscious choice NOT remove the water reservoir from the base for filing and instead just fill it with a pitcher. Even if I wanted to remove it it's too large to fit in the filtered water dispensers of most refrigerators. I've had no ground coffee ground mess from the machine in and around where it sits. Everything is contained in the brew basket. I've included a picture of the brew basket to show the only the only "mess" you will encounter which is normal and easily rinsed off when you replace the filter. I've also I closed a video representing how you must make sure the brew basket is firmly in place before brewing. It requires a small amount of effort. I use paper filters to ease cleanup and I could not be more pleased with the Gold Cup brew in the carafe and most surprisingly when using the single serve bean to cup feature. When brewing a single cup I do recommend you place something under short cups to minimize splash back on the machine. However if you use a travel tumbler you're all set for a clean brew. I'm very impressed with the speed of the brewing cycle and how easy the controls are to use. I've not tried the phone app but I'll update this review once I do. I recommend the machine and I recommend that you apply a very light layer of mineral oil on the "O-ring" gasket which by the way mine came with extra. I hope my review helps if you love how this machine looks but concerned about the leaking reported in other reviews.

ZERO STARS!! But a review requires at least one star to be submitted. I could write innumerable words about how inferior this product is but the most important message I can convey is this: DO NOT BUY THIS PRODUCT!!! RUN AWAY FROM THE BROWSING YOU ARE DOING AND BUY ANY OTHER AND I MEAN ANY OTHER PRODUCT THAT EVEN HOPES TO MAKE A CUP OF COFFEE!!! Because here is the most important and indisputable fact...the coffee machine and all its horrors do not even compare to the customer service you will NOT receive if you have a problem. When we first purchased this high price point machine, we were thrilled. We thought it was worth every penny because it made a delicious cup of coffee. Unfortunately, after less than four months of use, IT STOPPED WORKING. We tried every troubleshooting tip and nothing worked. The company who makes this machine outsources their customer service problems to GE Appliances, a Haier Company. Of course, we had registered this appliance. We dutifully jumped through every hoop in order to receive a replacement machine including additional troubleshooting, sending video coverage of the problem, pictures and other specific information about the machine and more. After three weeks, we felt we had passed the exam and after emailing numerous times to ask about the status of our case, we received a replacement. Hallelujah...or so we thought. THE REPLACEMENT DID NOT WORK!!! At this point, it has now been a month in our household without coffee and that is an unacceptable life condition. Immediately, we sent a video, pictures and every piece of information they had requested before. Guess what??? WE RECEIVED NO RESPONSE AT ALL!!! THEY IGNORED US COMPLETELY!!! I sent a second request for response and forwarded all the information again. AGAIN, THEY IGNORED MY EMAIL!!! Because I was requesting a refund at this point, I called the company and asked to speak to the supervisor or manager of the person who had managed, or should I say mismanaged, our case. Get a load of this...I was actually told the Case Managers at GE Appliances DO NOT HAVE SUPERVISORS and there is nothing that can be done to help us. WHAT?!? So it's official, I am stopping the odyssey with this troupe of customer service miscreants . I am not giving up. We have spent hours and hours on this issue and it is just no longer worth the time and therefore money it is costing to pursue this. So, in closing, our $282.02 plus tax lesson is...wait for it...DO NOT BUY THIS INFERIOR PRODUCT OR EVER CAUSE YOURSELF TO DEAL WITH GE APPLIANCES CUSTOMER SERVICE!!! I am 65 years old and this is the first negative review I have ever written. As I make the final keystroke of this ugly odyssey, I hope it has served its purpose.

I will preface by explaining that I did order this unit initially from Amazon. It arrived with the grinder broken (non-functional) out of the box, so returned. I ordered a second unit directly from the Café website. It took over two weeks with numerous phone calls to track and receive it, unimpressively (support outsourced by GE to Bodewell, poorly). It does have a number of reviews indicating defective grinders or leaking reservoirs. My coffee maker, once set up, appears to work, with the following observations. It's large, with an unusual, long counter footprint. Some describe it as needing an aircraft hangar - not quite, but.... The odds are excellent however that it is larger than whatever coffee maker you now have. Maybe a lot larger. It's plastic. Almost all of it. Not unusual for small appliances these days, but the only metal in the unit seems to be the carafe, (with plastic lid), the grinders, and the hinge and metal mesh inside the basket and filters. The design decisions with this coffee maker are odd - large, visible removable water storage, with removable filter: good. Thermal carafe that actually works (if a bit small): good. Wi-Fi connection with app: good. Multi-function digital screen: good. Burr grinder: good. Virtually entirely constructed of plastic (including the highest wear part, the removable plate under the carafe (which is just chrome-plated plastic): not so good. Non-removable coffee bin and non-detachable grinder: not so good. It's expensive. Well north of $300. But value, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder, and it does have countertop appeal. A more than minor inconvenience is that if you want to clean the grinders or empty the hopper to change beans, you need to completely empty the hopper by grinding all the beans or literally remove the water tank and turn the machine upside-down - the bean hopper is not removable (noted above), nor is the grinder. It does connect via Wi-Fi through GE's My HQ app, with some useful features like starting a brew remotely, tracking progress and tweaking the brew to fine-tune: brew time, grind time, temperature and infusion. It has a Gold SCA setting, which is technically some measure of standardization between brand and makers. You can control the coarseness of the grind, and it has different brew baskets for carafe or single serve. It has a large, visible water container (with a replaceable charcoal filter), and it holds more than 12 cups (max 75 oz.). And it doesn't leak, at least in my unit. The control panel is digital, large and easy to read and use. With all of the above, you should be able to tweak your brew exactly to your taste with either carafe or single serve. Well you can't, at least using the grind function and the single serve option with the small mesh filter. The first barrier is the single-serve cup size. The settings actually permit up to 24oz., but my 20 oz. Yeti barely fits under the brew basket, so you'll need to find a 24 oz. container no taller than that if that's what you prefer. Good luck because there's no way to create more height. If you use just a single 8 oz. cup, you're good to go, or if you use the carafe. The second and more important issue is brew strength. With light or medium roast beans, the Gold setting (which is not adjustable) will produce a brew not dissimilar from dishwater with the smaller brew basket. Weak dishwater. If that's the way you prefer your coffee, you're good to go. No accounting for tastes. If you prefer something closer to Caffè Americano, don't even think about it using single cup settings. The best I've achieved so far with a medium roast decaf, Bold setting, longest infusion, finest grind, is weak cafeteria (not diner) coffee with the single cup settings, particularly with larger travel mugs. Very weak. Very. You can bypass the grind function and use pre-ground coffee of your choice and get a decent result - it's not much of a chore to drip hot water through ground coffee, and you can use whatever amount suits your fancy. Defeating, of course, the purpose of having a built-in grinder. And it does make decent coffee using the carafe and tweaking the strength through the app, so you can just brew in the carafe and pour out a cup or fill your travel mug. Defeating the purpose of having individual cup settings. Still searching, and yet to try several dark roast blends, but the bottom line is to be prepared to adjust your tastes and technique with this maker. It has a lot to recommend it - ease of use and cleaning, sharp design, broad range of adjustments. Three stars for meeting the minimum requirements for making drip coffee in a very expensive automated coffee maker. It grinds coffee beans, it dumps them in a basket and it runs hot water over them. Good job at that. Otherwise, any number of other grind and brew drip makers will make a better - subjectively - individual cup of coffee that many or most would prefer (as in, it tastes closer to coffee than water rather than the reverse). And if you do use it as just a drip coffee maker (using pre-ground and bypassing the grinder), the excellent and gold standard drip maker Technivorm is $100 cheaper. Having said that, if you use the carafe settings exclusively and ignore the single cup, you can tweak your brew settings in detail to produce a good cup of coffee from your choice of beans (I found a dark roast, with every setting maxxed - infusion time, grind time, finest grind, Bold - works), so with mixed feelings about the overall package I'll add a star for that, with the observation that good coffee can be had cheaper. Recommended - sort of, with the above caveats if you like the looks and convenience and are willing to fiddle.

I purchased this coffee maker because I have the GE Cafe stove, refrigerator, microwave and dishwasher in the white and gold. The performance of the large appliances have proved to be far superior to other brands I have had in the past. IMO GE’s small appliance team is not up to par, and has come to market too quickly with this coffee maker. As far as grind and brew coffee makers I have owned a couple of Capresso grind and brews, and a Krups that I just replaced with the GE. Both of those brands let you set the measurement for the amount of beans you want for each pot, this one measures the water instead. I have been accused of drinking my coffee weak, however I think 1/3 of a 12 ounce bag of beans is over the top, so I measure my beans and put them in the basket for each brew. The taste of the coffee is inconsistent from day to day. My best guess is that the brew time is very quick and the vessel has no insulating or heating properties, so if you like to linger over a pot of coffee you will Want to put the coffee in a thermal vessel. I will say that the you can not make the pot drip while pouring a cup of coffee. I also like the water pulling from the side vessel. This design keeps you from dragging the brewer out from under the counter top and dripping while you are refilling the water. That said, I would not buy this coffee pot again. I love the look and the mess free design. The coffee quality is just not there yet.

It is the best coffee maker that I have purchased. The ease of taking it out of the box and setting it on my counter was in less that 10 minutes, ready for our first cup of ground coffee. We purchased the stainless matte silver to go with all our matching Cafe appliances, it looks very nice on our counter. The coffee decanter is easy to clean, keeps your coffee hot for approximately 4 hours (not that it lasts that long), and love the different coffee settings/temp for your 1 cup or the 10 cup pot. I use the paper filters for the pot but just have used the wire basket (included) for the 1 cup. The water decanter is a full 75 oz and is very ease to fill, either take it off or pour directly into it. I have never heard of the "bloom" but have somehow been able to drink the coffee without half and half, no more bitter taste. I say "try it , you will like it" Also the sound of the burr grinder is really quiet, not like the previous "747" we had!