I’m an ex-barista and I tested Cuisinart’s 'Breville-killer' — I don't think Breville has anything to worry about

The Cuisinart Grind, Tamp and Brew is a bit of a weird one. While priced at $649, it doesn’t have the looks — or the functionality — this MSRP suggests.

Many of the best espresso machines will set you back over $600, so $649 isn’t considerably cheap or expensive. This is smack dab in the middle of the road for espresso machines. However, at this $600-$700 price point, you’re competing against your Brevilles and your De’Longhis, not your Casabrews and your Gevis. The Grind, Tamp and Brew is 100% Cuisinart’s attempt at a Breville-killing bean-to-cup.

To find out more about this head-scratcher, keep reading this Cuisinart Grind, Tamp and Brew review.

Cuisinart Grind, Tamp and Brew review: Cheat sheet

• Who is it for? People who don’t want Brevilles or De’Longhis
• What does it cost? $649 / £449
• What does it do well? The steam wand is great!
• What are its weaknesses? It’s very overpriced, and it’s ugly
• What should you use it for? Beginners might like it, but everyone else look elsewhere

Cuisinart Grind, Tamp and Brew review: Specs

Cuisinart Grind, Tamp and Brew review: Price & availability

The Cuisinart Grind Tamp and Brew is priced at $649 on Amazon U.S. and £449 on Amazon U.K.. This puts it within the realm of premium De’Longhis and Brevilles rather than the budget Casabrews and Gevis which the Grind Tamp and Brew’s appearance suggests.

Cuisinart makes three other espresso machines: the Cuisinart Slim ($249), Cuisinart Espresso Machine ($379), and the Cuisinart Fully Automatic (£399), the latter of which is only available in the U.K.

These prices are a little baffling to me. Cuisinart feels more like a budget brand than, say, Breville or De’Longhi, yet the prices match premium options. I’ve tested the $299 Breville Bambino — only $50 pricier than the Cuisinart Slim — which has premium features like customizable pre-infusion and a PID controller.

In comparison, the Cuisinart Grind Tamp and Brew is a whopping $649. You can get the Breville Barista Express for $50 more! You could also get the 4.5-star De’Longhi La Specialista Arte Evo for an extra $50. And why wouldn’t you? It does everything the Grind, Tamp and Brew does and looks a heck of a lot better.

Cuisinart Grind, Tamp and Brew review: Design

Of course, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but in the eyes of this beholder, the Cuisinart Grind, Tamp and Brew sure is something.

At $649, there’s no room for failure. And the Grind Tamp and Brew is a design failure. It’s bulky. It’s plasticky. It’s square. Like, who signed off on this? Especially when similarly priced Brevilles and De’Longhis look how they look. I’m completely baffled.

On top of looking cheap, the machine feels cheap. The accessories — tamping collar, tamping disc, baskets, group handle, and milk jug — all scream “I cost $200” not “I’m the same price as a Breville”. The tamping collar is made of flimsy plastic and has rough edges. The group handle is, again, overly plasticky, and the machine only ships with dual-walled portafilter baskets.

At this price, there’s simply no excuse. De’Longhi and Breville’s accessories are made of weighty, high-quality metal. Cuisinart should be the same.

It’s not all bad, though. The on-machine buttons are tactile and easy to use, and the machine is relatively straightforward to use. But is it easier to use than the Barista Express or Arte Evo? No, and no. I would recommend both of those machines 100 times over before recommending the Cuisinart.

Cuisinart Grind, Tamp and Brew review: Grinder

The Grind, Tamp and Brew has a built-in conical stainless steel burr grinder. You’ll find 16 grinding settings, ranging from espresso-fine to coarse enough for French press. Now, I’m a little perplexed why the Grind, Tamp and Brew can grind coarse enough for French press when it’s an espresso machine, but I suppose if you have multiple brewing methods, you could use the grinder on this machine for everything.

Even so, I’d rather Cuisinart have perfected making an espresso grinder rather than including grind settings up to French press.

As this is an espresso machine grinder, I tested the grind settings for espresso. Using my Kruve coffee sieves, I sifted coffee ground on setting 1, setting 8, and setting 16 through the 500um sieve. You want to see big jumps — so 0% to 100% — as this shows a consistent, uniform grinder, where all the coffee granules are the same size.

Here are my testing results.

As you can see, these results suggest an inconsistent grind. The non-uniform grind size of the Cuisinart Grind, Tamp and Brew’s grinder will result in a lackluster coffee. If the granules are all different sizes, some coffee will be overextracted, while some will be underextracted.

The grinder also doses way too much coffee. The default ‘double’ dose is 23g — 5g over the optimal dose of 18g — and the coffee doesn’t actually fit in the basket. You can reprogram this by holding down the grind button and releasing when you reach your ideal dose. But, ideally, Cuisinart should ship the machine with the optimal dose volume preprogrammed.

Thankfully, Cuisinart provides you with a grinding collar and a tamping puck, which are both easy to use. You simply put the collar around the portafilter basket to prevent splatters while grinding, then twist on the tamping puck, slot it back in the machine, and pull the smart tamping handle down. The machine effectively tamps for you (once you remove the overflow from the grinder dose).

This is great for beginners, and similar to the De’Longhi Arte Evo’s assisted tamping and the De’Longhi Opera’s smart tamping system. Even so, I’d recommend the Arte Evo over the Cuisinart due to its premium features like PID controller and pre-infusion. The Cuisinart has neither.

Cuisinart Grind, Tamp and Brew review: Espresso

Alright, now onto the good stuff. Well, mediocre stuff. Ahem.

I’ve mentioned this briefly already, but the Cuisinart Grind, Tamp and Brew only comes with dual-walled baskets. If you’re looking at your screen and thinking I may as well be speaking Klingon, let me explain.

There are two types of basket (the metal basket where coffee goes): single-walled/non-pressurized, and dual-walled/pressurized. If you’re predominantly using pre-ground coffee, you’ll want dual-walled/pressurized, as these baskets force the espresso through a tiny hole, which aerates the coffee to create fake crema, and overall looks better.

If you’re using freshly ground coffee, you’ll want single-walled/non-pressurized baskets. These use the pressure of ground coffee to create the right environment for espresso, resulting in a more nuanced, complex, and overall barista-quality espresso. These are the baskets to use if you grind your own beans.

‘Bottomless’’ simply refers to the cover on the bottom of the portafilter, below the basket — is it open and showing the basket or does it have a bottom with a spout? Bottomless portafilters are generally considered ideal if you’re a coffee snob like me, as you can watch your espresso extract to check texture and color. But single-walled baskets (bottomless portafilter or otherwise) are what you’ll want as an espresso enthusiast.

Unfortunately, the Cuisinart Grind, Tamp and Brew only comes with dual-walled baskets. This is baffling because the machine literally has a grinder. I’m not sure why Cuisinart would shoot itself in the foot by giving users a grinder and then supplying them with portafilter baskets that will destroy all nuance and complexity in the resulting shot.

Anyway, here’s a photo of an example shot. You have to customize shot volume: the default is a huge 54g. Instead of reprogramming the machine to the optimal 36g (you physically cannot program the double-shot button to dose any less than 50g), I just pressed the shot button again to stop extraction.

As you can see, the top of the shot (crema) is way too foamy, and the body of the shot is mostly dark. The espresso tasted strong, with a lasting bitterness and none of the nuanced juicy notes I know are present in my testing beans. I was really disappointed by this shot. I actually threw away half of my flat white.

Cuisinart Grind, Tamp and Brew review: Milk

For all its grinding-related and espresso-related flaws, I will say that the Grind, Tamp and Brew has a gorgeous steam wand. Despite being only a single-hole wand, the 20 bars of pressure provide a pleasant steaming experience.

The steam wand takes thirty seconds to heat up once you finish espresso extraction, which is frustrating, but once it gets going, it’s pretty impressive.

This is a flat white I made with dairy milk. The milk texture is pretty perfect. You can see the velvety texture on top, the pretty latte art, and the lack of uneven bubbles. This is what you want.

I also made an oat milk flat white, and I was pleasantly surprised by the texture.

Again, this milk texture is all you can ask for with plant-based milk. I’m an oat milk lover, and I struggle to achieve texture like this on the majority of machines I test.

So for all its espresso-related issues, I can’t find fault with the Grind, Tamp and Brew’s steam wand. I know you don’t spend $649 on an espresso machine for it to be good at steaming milk and pretty meh at everything else, but there’s a silver lining here — and it looks like a milk moustache.

Cuisinart Grind, Tamp and Brew review: Storage & maintenance

As the Grind, Tamp and Brew is effectively a 16 x 16 x 16-inch cube, it’ll take up a decent amount of space in your kitchen. This size isn’t unheard of for espresso machines, though. The Breville Barista Express is 13 x 12 x 15 inches, and the De’Longhi Arte Evo is 11 x 14 x 16 inches. The largest espresso machine I’ve ever tested is the $3,000 Breville Oracle Dual Boiler, a whopping 18 x 17 x 15 inches.

Compared to the Oracle Dual Boiler, the Grind, Tamp and Brew doesn’t seem so oversized now, does it?

If you’ve got enough space for it, Cuisinart offers a 3-year warranty, which is much better than the 1/2-year warranty offered by De’Longhi, Breville, and Ninja.

Cuisinart Grind, Tamp and Brew review: Verdict

If you couldn’t already tell, I think the Cuisinart Grind, Tamp and Brew is horrendously overpriced. It looks like a Casabrews or Gevi, but priced like a Breville or De’Longhi. At $649, you can’t really get away with a budget appearance.

I would never buy this machine for myself or recommend it in good faith. When you’re spending $650, I would just save up an extra $50 and get a Breville or a De’Longhi. With both of those brands, you get a PID controller, customizable pre-infusion, a powerful steam wand, and a gorgeous design — for just $50 more.

If you want to upgrade your home cafe with a bean-to-cup manual machine, go for the De’Longhi Arte Evo ($699) or the Breville Barista Express ($699).