For the serious coffee connoisseur, nothing beats an all-in-one, automatic coffee grinder and brewer. I purchased the Cuisinart Burr Grind & Brew Thermal 12-Cup Automatic Coffeemaker last year for my husband and have been very happy with my choice. I did my homework before purchasing and had narrowed my options down to the Cuisinart and its slightly pricier competitor, the Krups KM7000 10-Cup Grind-and-Brew Coffeemaker. The Krups, though smaller, is priced about $20 more than the Cuisinart. After scrutinizing the specs of each, I determined that the higher price tag was solely due to the Krups label. The Cuisinart has a larger capacity (12 cups compared to 10), a stainless steel, thermal carafe as opposed to glass, and a three year warranty instead of a two year. The Cuisinart also looks nicer and has a more compact body that will take up less of your precious counter top space. It's faced mostly in stainless steel and has a solid, sturdy build. In comparison, the Krups has a lot of plastic, is oddly shaped, takes up more space despite its smaller capacity, and looks cheap for its price tag. The Cuisinart Burr Grind & Brew works like a dream. Though the grinder is a little loud, the other features more than make up for it. It's equipped with a clock and timer that allows me to set the machine to brew automatically so that we wake up to a fresh pot of coffee every morning. The thermal carafe keeps it hot all morning long. For those less patient coffee addicts, the carafe can be removed mid-brew for pouring. The machine will automatically pause, and then restart once the carafe is replaced. The grounds receptacle is easily removed for emptying and rinsing, and accommodates disposable or reusable filters. This is a quality product well worth the money.