Cuisinart Coffee Maker, Programmable, 14-Cup Glass Carafe, DCC-3200

Why it's worth it

Fourteen cups, 24-hour programmability, brew-strength control and an adjustable warming plate. It won't give you the clarity of an SCA-certified brewer, but it's hot, reliable, and ready when your alarm goes off.

Set it the night before and the coffee's waiting. That's the entire pitch, and for a lot of households it's the only feature that matters. You get 24-hour programming, a 1-to-4-cup setting for small batches, regular or bold strength, and a warming plate you can set to low, medium or high depending on how long the pot needs to last.

This is the most proven machine in the lineup by a wide margin. It's been on shelves for years and sells in enormous volume, and the owner feedback reflects that history — plenty of people report five, seven, even eight years of daily service before anything went wrong. Some are buying their second identical unit. That's a track record you can't get from a spec sheet.

From our review of 7 coffee makers, by Paul Evans, Technical Reviewer

What we like

• +Set it the night before and the coffee's waiting
• +This is the most proven machine in the lineup by a wide margin
• +The brew-pause feature is genuinely handy if you're the first one up and can't wait for the full cycle
• +Fourteen cups is a lot of coffee

What to know

• –The glass carafe sits on a hot plate, and a hot plate cooks coffee
• –New units frequently taste like plastic for the first few brews
• –Brew quality is fine, not special