Cuisinart SS 700 Brewing System Review
Rated by Jennifer
4.1 Stars
UPDATED: 3/22/20
For my Cuisinart SS 700 review, we’ll take a look at style combined with functionality. The Cuisinart SS-700 is a brewer capable of working with K-cups and is not fussy about what type either. It features a generous reservoir, an iced coffee setting, and an adjustable temp setting. Its styling is modern and sleek and will complement most all the decor.
It also has a side compartment for the brew holder assembly for those who like to use the option of the refillable My K-Cups, as one is included for your enjoyment.
The SS-700 has been recently discontinued (you can still find a few preowned units), but there is an updated version, the SS-10, with similar features, so most of what I discuss here will still apply.
Table of Contents
Dimensions
The Cuisinart SS-700 Single-Serve Brewing System is 13.5 inches high x 12.125 inches wide x 10.25 inches deep is what as quoted on the Amazon sales page, but on the manufacturer’s site, the measurements are quoted as L 10.25″, W13.50″ and H 12.10″. Sometimes “length” appears as “depth” on varying sites.
When the chamber is fully raised, the height reaches 16 3/8″, so something to factor in if you plan to keep yours under or near a cabinet.
It looks to be accommodating in the case of taller mugs and tumblers, especially if you remove the drip tray. The max height of a cup you can use with the drip tray – is about 6″, and without the drip tray – 7″
What’s Included?
This machine includes a bonus charcoal water filter, user guide, coffee scoop, and a K-cup reusable filter which enables you to use your own blend of coffee grounds sized just right. The refillable K-cup is dishwasher safe and also stores neatly in a little hideaway compartment on the upper right of the machine when not in use.
Also included is a Limited 3-Year Warranty (pretty much the standard with Cuisinart products per se)
The unboxing video below shows everything close up very well.
Video Courtesy of WebCat
Features
- Accommodates a variety of different-size mugs; and a removable drip tray for taller travel cups.
- Programmable with an LCD display and blue backlighting, auto shutoff, temperature control and clock features
- Comes with a charcoal filter to improve the purity of water
- Brew sizes: 4, 6, 8, 10, and 12 oz, It also has an iced beverage setting as well. The 4 oz setting is recommended for these.
- Roomy reservoir; holds 80 oz of water, so there is less need for frequent refilling if you are hosting multiple coffee-drinking guests.
- Available in black, chrome, or silver finish
- Uses K-cups and dispenses hot water for other beverages and edibles. You can also use your own handmade grounds with one of the reusable My K-Cup filters.
- Rinse function
Uh…Why does it say “Keurig Brewed” on the front?
Glad you asked! And I was wondering about that, too. Back in 2013, these two companies had a cooperative going. Not 100% sure about that; just what I read. You may notice that the Cuisinart SS-700 includes a “My K-Cup” bonus accessory, which is the proprietary name Keurig’s refillable cup is known under.
Buttons and Controls
The front of the control panel shows the window with a nice blue backlighting feature, from which you can easily make adjustments like choosing which brew size, when to turn it on and off, etc., with the help of the illumination. There are three buttons right below this window that read “Menu” and up and down arrows that you’ll push to make changes.
Is coffee not hot enough? You can fix that…
Sometimes there’s a little guesswork involved in getting just the “right” temperature, with the SS-700, there is a range of 5 different temperature settings from 187 to 192 degrees (F) that you can play around with if you’re not happy with a resulting temp.
The manual will show you how to do that via the Menu button and the Temp settings if you’re unsure. It takes about three minutes to go from room temperature to brew-ready, so you can set it to twenty or thirty minutes before you get up in the morning. You can set the brewer to the Auto Off option as well if you want. Just specify the when and the power off button on the right side, just in case.
Below these are the round and semicircle buttons that read “Hot Water” “Rinse” and then there’s the self-explanatory Brew button above them which also illuminate.
An 8oz cup size is the default/factory setting; it maintains a solid color to indicate it is active, but you can change it to a different size via the arrow keys to scroll through them. For the next brew, it will “highlight” the cup size you choose instead of in black and remain until you decide to change it again.
You can make iced coffee, too!
Want to make a nice iced cup of joe in the summertime? No problem, you can, by choosing the 4oz setting and choosing a glass filled with ice (but don’t use actual “glass”)
There is a power switch near the back which is hard to see at first, but you can also change or program the Auto-Off or On function via the arrow buttons – be sure to set the digital clock first, though, as the time to goes off cannot be programmed without setting the actual time.
Rinse Function
When you first get a brewer out of the box, your first priority is to do a “cleansing brew” – that is what the Rinse function is made to do. When doing this periodically for maintenance reasons, you’d want to select the 4 oz option and ensure the coffee K-cup chamber remains empty.
Reservoir
The SS-700 has an 80-oz reservoir which is considered on the large side (it’s not gawky, though) and will last through many brews before refilling again. The reservoir is also illuminated, which is a nice feature and helps you gauge the amount needed for future brews as it drops – when the water level gets low, it will blink to get your attention.
Charcoal Filter
The charcoal water filter goes into the left side reservoir compartment; it is similar to that one included with some of the filters in the Keurig 1.0 models, in which you can set the date and know when to change the cartridge. This is helpful and very important to use if you live in a hard-water environment.
If you’re used to using bottled water, you probably won’t need this apparatus – maybe save it for later? In case you should end up out of bottled water out of the blue…
Drip Tray
I like the look of the drip tray, it’s nice and sturdy with a metal grate on top that you can pull out through a round opening in the middle, and you can remove the plastic tray under it, to reveal the base to set larger cups on. The base is solid black (and even though it’s hard to tell at first glance, the back/side panels are black too- the facade is silver color.)
K-Cup Holder, Refillable Cup, and Compartment
The Cuisinart SS-700 has got you covered if you want to use your own grounds, if you grind your own beans, or want to do coffee the green way…it includes a refillable K-cup which consists of several parts – the cup with a lid that you have to twist off – inside is the perfectly-sized brew basket which you fill with your own grounds.
For the record, it will hold up to two tablespoons.
To use this, it’s important first to pop out the holder within the brewing chamber. Both the holder and the refillable cup are easy to clean. Don’t forget about the little hideaway compartment near the top of the machine, which you can use to stow the refillable cup, or the holder, whichever you do not need now.
Oh, and did I mention you don’t have to worry about what brand of K-cup pod you use, either? So you’ve got a fair amount of leeway here!
Cuisinart SS-700 Consumer Reviews
Since the SS-700 has quite a long history (I noticed on the sale page – it has been on the market since 2003? Wow…this could be why it’s getting supplanted by newer models), Reviews, however, date back to around 2010. When I first began this review almost five years ago, I thought the overall average was a little better than it stands now, so I wanted to explore what might have caused the drop.
There are still plenty of positive and satisfactory ratings, citing the programmable time function, the backlit touchscreen and reservoir, the overall coffee temp, and its appearance.
Now for the negatives (mainly the newer reviews from the last few years gave me something to work with), The main things that came up were: partial brews, pump failures, and not so many leak reports as I’ve found with the SS-5, a few leak reports do come up now and then but upon closer inspection, they seem to be related to seating the reservoir. If you can fill the reservoir from a pitcher without removing it, it is much better.
What I think may have pushed the ratings down the most lately was from consumers who had purchased refurbished units. If you know me, you know I don’t hate refurbs, but in the case of the SS-700, an overwhelmingly large number of the “refurb” reviews cited big issues like broken or damaged parts. I’m glad they were able to get their issues resolved, but…wow.
With regard to some of the older reviews, some people claimed the machines quit in about two years. Ugh – Two years? My little Keurig has had its fourth birthday and is still chugging along. While there are a good number of fans of the SS-700, there are many who are less than delighted. I’m kinda chalking this up to being a design flaw present within the unit.
Pros
- The Cuisinart SS-700 is compatible with a wide variety of K-cups.
- The charcoal water filter helps to keep the impurities at bay.
- Longer warranty period than comparable brewers
- The backlighting helps, especially in a dimly lit room.
- You can program it to turn on or off at a given time
- The refillable K-cup hideaway chamber is a neat idea
- You can change the brewing temperature within a 5-degree parameter.
Cons
- The power switch is on the lower right side of the machine; easy to forget since everything else is shown on the front.
- Some reviews mention that parts of it don’t last long term
- Sometimes has faulty or misleading readouts
- Newer models are supplanting this model, and thus harder to find
Price
As I understand, the Cuisinart SS-700 has been discontinued by the manufacturer, so quantities have become less abundant. As the SS-700 still maintains some popularity, there are consumers willing to accept a preowned model. As far as used models go, the prices I saw probably could have been a little lower – I wonder if that was due to the whole “supply and demand” factor.
If some of the features, like the temperature adjustment, are what sold you, I will take a look at the Keurig K-Elite. It’s got the same temp adjustment 5-degree window, in addition to a range of brew sizes that go up to 12 oz. The prices stated look close to that of the SS-700, but it’s a lot newer and shows a much more reliable track record.
Like the SS-700, but don’t want to settle for a used model? I would check out the upgrade, the Cuisinart SS-10, instead, as it’s very similar, and the design is almost identical in ways.
Cuisinart SS-700 Conclusion
My final opinion: It’s fair
Not the best, but not the worst either. Overall, a decent single-serve brewer seems to work well accepts all types of K-cups regardless of brand, and looks nice in the kitchen. It has done well enough for an older model, as some people are still looking for it after ten or so years on the market. I think it could use a little improvement, though.
It’s an open-platform brewer, looks good, works well, and has a longer warranty period which is big plus. The longevity seems to be where the rubber hits the road.
