Review of the Cuisinart DBM-8 Supreme Grind Automatic Burr Coffee Mill
Would you believe it if we said that Cuisinart makes an electric burr grinder that sells for less than a quarter the price of its competitors? Oh yes.
Usually, a low price means inferior quality, but we’ve heard some great things about it. So we wanted to get our hands on a Cuisinart Supreme Grind Automatic Burr Mill to find what it brings to the coffee grinding game, besides a long name.
Read on as we put the Cuisinart DBM 8 through the grinder in our detailed review.
Summary: The Cuisinart DBM-8 Supreme Grind
- Unbelievably low price
- Simple to use
- Lots of “fines” at the coarse setting
Your beans are guaranteed to be consistently ground to the right grade, maximizing the oils, aromas, and flavours for a better cup of coffee.
– Cuisinart
The Cuisinart Supreme Grind Automatic Burr Mill Review
The DBM-8 is a budget-friendly, entry-level grinder that has the added benefit of being fitted with burr mill instead of blades. We really like this grinder as it makes the process of grinding your beans fresh extremely approachable.
Cuisinart has priced and packaged the DBM-8 well-enough to make a compelling case for it. Especially when pitted against blade grinders. Read on for our detailed coverage of this grinder.
Cuisinart DBM-8 Supreme Grind
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Design
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Durability
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Ease Of Use
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Grinding Capability
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Value For Money
Design – 3.5/5
Cuisinart designed this burr grinder for the newbie and made sure it fulfilled all their needs. It’s small, good-looking, and uncomplicated to use.
Burr & Motor Design: This grinder comes equipped with a set of ceramic block burrs (1). For a beginner grinder, that is not unexpected. Cuisinart doesn’t specify the burr size or the motor power in its manual. But we can tell you one thing — it is one of the loudest burr grinders we’ve come across.
Additional Features: The DBM-8 has an in-built safety feature that makes sure the grinder won’t run until the bean hopper and the grounds bin are properly in place. That means you’ll have to go through the additional hassle of transferring the grounds from the bin to your coffee equipment. Still, we appreciate the safety afforded by this feature.
Hopper & Grounds Bin: This Cuisinart burr coffee grinder has removable plastic bean hopper with 225-g capacity.
The plastic grounds bin is capable of holding up to 32 cups worth of ground coffee. However, the grounds bin isn’t airtight, and we wouldn’t recommend storing ground coffee in it.
Aesthetics: Despite having an all-plastic body, the DBM-8’s fit and finish are up to the standards of Cuisinart’s premium products. The exterior of the grinder has an aluminium finish and black accents, which ensures it will look good in your kitchen.
Storability/Portability: The grinder measures 15.2 x 18.1 x 27.3 cm with the hopper attached, and weighs just over 2 kilos. It is a compact, lightweight machine that won’t occupy much space whether you keep it on your countertop or inside a cabinet.
Ease Of Cleaning: All burr grinders need to be cleaned periodically to keep them in working order. To help you do that, the DBM-8 has a removable hopper. The top burr is attached to the base of the hopper and comes out with it. This gives you access to dust off the coffee residue from the bottom burr. Read our article to learn more about how to properly clean your burr grinder.
We should point out that since this burr grinder is all-plastic, and is prone to static. This means that fine coffee dust tends to stick to the coffee dispensing chute and the top of the grounds bin. So be careful while taking the bin out. Otherwise you’ll end up with coffee dust all around you.
Durability – 2.5/5
This is one of the cheapest burr grinders on the market, so expecting it to last for years is a bit of a stretch. For the price, though, the build quality is pretty good. With a little bit of regular maintenance, you might be able to get a couple of years of use out of it. However, it doesn’t even come close to the sturdiness of some of the best burr grinders.
Cuisinart offers an 18-month warranty on this grinder. If something goes wrong with it outside of the warranty period (or the warranty doesn’t cover it), it’ll be much more cost-effective to buy a new grinder than trying to get it fixed.
Ease Of Use – 3.5/5
Cuisinart DBM-8 is a beginner’s grinder and is relatively simple to use. Plug it in, load the beans into the hopper, and make sure the grounds bin is in the correct position. Then all you have to do is select the grind setting by twisting the hopper, select the number of cups to grind for (from 4 to 18), and hit the start button.
Don’t go by the numbers on the cup-selector; how much ground coffee you want depends on your personal preferences and brewing method.
The cup-selector is just a timed grinding switch. The machine will grind for a preset time. To stop grinding midway (if you want to grind just enough for one cup), just push the cup selector switch to “off.”
Grinding Capability (Settings, Range, & Consistency) – 2.5/5
The DBM-8 offers 18 stepped grind-size adjustments, from “fine” to “coarse.” Cuisinart claims that it can grind for espresso, but we’d beg to differ. You could get away with making espresso with its finest setting, but only if you’re using a pressurized portafilter. But it won’t even come close to the espresso you get at your local cafe.
To grind for French Press, you’ll have to select the coarser settings. However, this machine is quite inconsistent in its grind and produces a lot of fines. So you might be left with quite a bit of “sludge” if you make French Press coffee. Due to its grind inconsistency, we wouldn’t recommend it if you’re looking for that perfect, sweet cup of pour-over coffee either.
We still like this grinder because it makes freshly ground coffee accessible to everyone. That’s a good thing according to coffee equipment experts, as it stops oxygen from spoiling your freshly ground coffee: (2)
The oxygen will begin to act on the coffee, breaking apart the oils, thus ageing the coffee and flattening out the flavour.
Cuisinart claims that this machine can grind for 12 cups of coffee in about 40 seconds, and for 18 cups in 55 seconds. Take that with a pinch of salt, though. (Not literally!) Grinding time also depends on what kind of coffee you’re making, what bean you’re using, etc.
If you aren’t interested in extraction rate, coffee-to-water ratio, ideal brewing temperature, etc., Cuisinart DBM-8 Supreme Grind Automatic Burr Mill will make you happy. Its grind quality is superior to blade grinders, and grinding coffee fresh will always make a better brew.
Value For Money – 5/5
Coming in at a price point just over those nasty blade grinders, and equivalent to some hand grinders, we can’t help but praise this tiny machine.
A coffee date at Starbucks will cost you more than this grinder!
For a few bucks more than the price of a blade grinder, you can get a superior cup of coffee from your drip-machine. At the risk of sounding like a cheesy advertisement — get it on Amazon, and you’ll never go back to a blade grinder.
Do Not Buy The Cuisinart DBM-8 Supreme Grind If…
You want a highly consistent grind – The Capresso Infinity offers a superior grind quality, greater versatility, and quieter operation. It is more expensive than the Cuisinart, but it is also more capable.
Read more in our full review of the Capresso Infinity.
You want the best entry-level burr grinder – If only the best will do, the Baratza Encore is on a completely different level than the Cuisinart Supreme Grind, the perfect entry-level grinder for specialty coffee beans.
We reviewed it some time ago and concluded that it offers tremendous value for money.
You want grind consistency on a budget – A manual burr grinder can produce the results of a more expensive electric grinder at a fraction of the price, but you’ll need to rely on your muscles to do the work. The manual Hario Skerton can deliver a grind large enough for cold brew or fine enough for Turkish coffee.
Read our Hario Skerton review to find out why it’s such a hit with professional baristas and home brewers alike.
You want a portable grinder for travel – The Porlex Mini hand grinder’s brushed stainless steel exterior and small size make it a stylish travel companion, and for the cost of a blade grinder, it offers a grind quality superior to the Cuisinart DBM-8.
Read our review to find out all its pros and cons.
The Verdict
Not every home brewer needs one of those high-quality $100+ burr grinder. Many coffee enthusiasts would prefer an inexpensive burr grinder to accompany their trusty drip coffee machine. For them, the Cuisinart Supreme Grind Automatic Burr Mill is a great way to go.
If you want a great shot of espresso, a clean cup of pour-over, or sludge free French Press coffee, this is not the grinder for you. But if you’re looking to buy your first coffee grinder or planning to upgrade from a blade grinder, we wholeheartedly recommend the Cuisinart DBM-8.
FAQs
No, the DBM-8 is not a conical burr grinder. It has block burrs, which are inferior to conical burrs. Thus, the Cuisinart DBM-8’s quality and consistency of grind are not comparable to that of an entry-level conical burr grinder like the Capresso Infinity.
This grinder is made in China. As with most mass-produced appliances, China is the manufacturing hub. That doesn’t mean that it is of low-quality. Cuisinart ensures strict manufacturing standards are maintained while making all its products.
Yes, this grinder can be used to grind grains, nuts, spices, etc. However, we wouldn’t recommend doing so. One reason is, obviously, flavour contamination. You wouldn’t want to drink coffee that tastes like cumin, would you? The other reason is that some spices like cinnamon may be too hard for this machine to grind, leading to motor or burr damage. Please, use a standard blade grinder for grinding everything other than coffee.
References
- Does Burr Shape Matter? | Flat vs Conical vs Block. (2017, June 16). Retrieved from https://youtu.be/iEU4YOvd3as
- Lemos, C. (2018, January 09). Grinder Basics. Retrieved from https://coffeetechniciansguild.org/blog/2018/1/9/grinder-basics
