A quick search will show you that these PerfectTemp coffee makers are amongst some of the best reviewed and most popular mid-range brewers. The Cuisinart DCC-3200P1 PerfecTemp Coffee Maker with Glass Carafe has a ton of reviews, however since I recommend finding a coffee maker with a thermal carafe, I tested the Cuisinart DCC-3400P1 PerfecTemp Coffee Maker with Thermal Carafe. This machine is not SCA approved, but comes in at a lower price point than those brewers.

The machine has a lot of great features, it has a showerhead to drip the water over the grounds, it can be programmed for auto brew, it has a large capacity of 96 ounces (75% of a gallon), has a drip stop filter basket and makes good coffee. With the name PerfecTemp I wanted to compare the brew temperatures with other machines/methods. I used 24 ounces (around 700 ml) as a brew size and the Cuisinart PerfecTemp brewed coffee was 175F, the SCA approved Braun MultiServe I previously reviewed was also 175F (although I’m sure that was aided by the hot plate) and a V60 pour over with freshly boiled water was 178F.

While the brewer has good features and makes good coffee, the carafe is terrible. The way it is designed means you basically have to turn the carafe upside down to get out all the coffee, which would lead it to drip all over. Many people when making coffee in this type of brewer will first fill the carafe and use that to pour water into the machine, with the way the water tank is designed this can’t be done without pouring water all over. I resorted to using a large measuring cup or separate pitcher to fill the water tank. The way the brew pause and filter basket is designed you must brew into the provided carafe and cannot brew into a mug or anything else.

This brewer come with a reusable metal filter, but I recommend you use #4 cone paper filters for best results. The carafe for this machine was just too awkward to want to use on a daily basis. If you are ok with a brewer with a glass carafe and hot plate, I would recommend you get the Ninja Programmable Brewer (review). Or get the Bonavita Connoisseur (review) at a slightly higher price point.

While it looks like the carafe for the Cuisinart DCC-3200P1 is designed better, it has a 112 ounce capacity (87.5% of a gallon) and with my prior recommendation that you don’t keep a carafe on a hot plate for more than 20 minutes, I’m not sure this is the machine for smaller brew sizes or for keeping coffee warm all morning.

Check out the manual here.