Pre-ground coffee is an amazing convenience, but if you really want to have an amazing coffee experience, you’ll want to switch from pre-ground to fresh grounds. A Cuisinart DBM-8 Supreme Grind burr coffee mill is a great tool for making fresh ground coffee an easy part of your daily routine.
Many people avoid fresh ground coffee because a good mill grinder can be expensive. The Cuisinart DBM-8 is one of the most affordable burr coffee mills on the market, and it is also one of the most reliable. This Cuisinart coffee mill makes fresh ground coffee affordable for most budgets.
One of our favorite perks of the Cuisinart Supreme Grind burr coffee mill is its wide range of grind settings that allow you to make the perfect grind for every type of coffee you might enjoy.
From fine ground for espresso to a coarser grind for pour-over or drip coffee and everything in between, this burr grinder is a perfect solution for at-home brewing.
If you’ve recently purchased your first Cuisinart DBM-8 Supreme burr coffee mill, you might be a bit overwhelmed with all of the knobs and options. While this grinder seems complicated to use, it is, in fact, quite simple to use.
In this article, we’ll walk you through the steps of operating this budget coffee grinder and give you some helpful hints for how you can make the most of this handy kitchen appliance.
Want to know even more about the Cuisinart DBM-8 burr grinder? We have a full, in-depth review here: CUISINART DBM 8 REVIEW.
How to Use a Cuisinart DBM-8 Coffee Grinder
The nice thing about burr grinders like the Cuisinart DBM-8 is that they function so that you’ll get a very consistently sized grind. Instead of chopping your beans, a burr grinder crushes them between two rigid plates.
The distance between the plates determines the size of the grind. So, when you’re setting up your Cuisinart coffee mill, you need to know what size grind will be best for your desired coffee and how much ground coffee you’ll need.
This lightweight grinder is perfectly made for simple operation and a consistent grind every time. This burr mill is much easier to adjust than other mills, and it operates with a simple push of a button.
Here are the steps you need to take to get the best grind and optimal performance from the Cuisinart DBM-8 coffee mill.
Step 1
Remove the grinder from the box and assemble it according to the owner’s manual. Wipe down the hopper, hopper lid, and coffee grounds container to remove any debris from manufacturing or packaging.
Step 2
Find your favorite coffee beans. Remove the lid from the bean hopper and fill the hopper to the top with beans. Don’t fill it so full that the lid won’t sit securely on the hopper. If the lid isn’t secure, remove some of the beans.
Step 3
Plug the DBM-8’s cord into an electrical outlet. Turn the dial to set the grind selector. You’ll notice that you’ve got options ranging from fine to coarse on the dial. We recommend using a fine grind for espresso, a medium grind for your drip coffee maker, and coarse for pour-over or French press.
Step 4
Using the slide bar, adjust the mill to make the proper amount of grounds for the coffee you’ll be making. This mill gives you a range of 4 to 18 cups of coffee. You’ll want to keep in mind that this step will take some time to perfect, especially if you’ve never used a coffee mill before or if you’re trying to get the right amount of grounds for your automatic drip coffee maker.
Step 5
Press the power bar one time to start the grinder. The grinder will stop when it has ground the proper amount of beans for the quantity you’ve requested.
If, for some reason, you want the grinder to stop operating in the middle of the grinding process, move the selector bar to the off position, stopping the grinder. Before you start grinding again, you’ll need to reset the quantity selector bar.
Step 6
Carefully slide the grinds bin from the mill and pour or spoon your fresh grounds into your coffee maker.
Step 7
Brew your coffee and relax!
If you’re going to use the same coffee for your next grind, you can leave the beans in the hopper, and you don’t need to rinse out the grinds bin. If you use a different type of coffee bean, you’ll want to empty the bean hopper and rinse out the grinds bin so that it is ready for your next brewing experience.
Tips to Better Use a Cuisinart DBM-8 Coffee Grinder
Now that you know how to use your Cuisinart DBM-8 burr coffee mill, we’d like to offer tips on getting the best operation from your Cuisinart coffee grinder. We’ve found that these simple steps will make using your mill a great experience each time.
- The plastic bean hopper holds about 8-ounces of coffee beans. Don’t overfill the hopper, and don’t press the beans down. They need to move freely through the mill.
- Check the grind chamber if the grinder doesn’t run when you press the start button. The Cuisinart DBM-8 has a safety feature that will not allow the mill to operate if the grinds bin isn’t installed correctly.
- If you like to experiment with different beans, make sure that you thoroughly wipe out the bean hopper and rinse the grinds bin between each type of bean. Not cleaning these parts will leave flavors from the previous bean type that will alter the taste of the new beans.
- Be aware that this grinder is pretty loud.
- We’ve offered our recommendations for grind size for different coffee styles or makers, but they might not be right for you. Experiment with grind size and quantity to make your perfect cup of coffee.
Cuisinart DBM-8 Coffee Grinding Times
One of the best things about the Cuisinart DBM-8 is that it is fully automatic. The quantity selector stops at just the right time for the grind size and number of cups you’ve selected. If you’re making fine espresso grounds, the grinder will work longer for 4 cups worth of grinds than it will for 4 cups of coffee for your French press.
The Cuisinart DBM-8 takes around 40 seconds to mill enough medium-sized grounds for 12 cups of coffee (enough for an entire pot of coffee in your standard automatic drip machine). For 18 cups of coffee, the mill will run for around 55 seconds.
We’ve noticed that when our DBM-8 mills fine grounds for our espresso machine, we often need to grind more than we need for the quantity of espresso we want to brew because the fine grounds will compact into the filter of the espresso machine when you use the tamper.
Cuisinart DBM-8 Coffee Grinding Settings
The DBM-8 is one of the most versatile burr grinders on the market. Besides being fully automatic and grinding the perfect amount of beans, this coffee grinder also has a fully adjustable mill for various grind sizes, perfect for all of your favorite coffee styles.
When you look at the grind size selector, you’ll notice that it has three main sizes: fine, medium, and coarse. Each of these settings has six options for more individualized grind preferences, giving this coffee mill a total of 18 grind size settings, ranging from ultra-fine to very coarse. Each grind will bring a different flavor intensity to your coffee.
Espresso Settings – Ultra-Fine
This coffee mill won’t produce grounds as fine as the coffee grinders used in your local coffee shop, but it does a pretty good job. We use a steam pressure espresso machine, and the fine grounds provide a pretty decent cup of espresso.
Drip Settings – Medium
If you use your Cuisinart burr coffee mill to make grounds for your drip coffee maker, you’ll want to set the grinds selector to the “medium” setting.
A medium grind is the typical size of grounds that you’ll get in pre-ground bags of coffee at the grocery store. It’s a versatile grind that can be used in a drip machine and even in your pour-over or French press.
You might end up with some fines in your coffee when you use a medium grind for these brewing methods, but if you forget to change the mill setting, you’ll still have a good cup of coffee.
Pour-Over Settings – Medium-Coarse Grind
Pour-over coffee is best if you use a grind that is not so fine that you end up with a pile of grounds in the bottom of your cup, but not so coarse that the bloom takes too long. We recommend using a medium-coarse grind for pour-over.
You’ll still get some fine grinds in your cup, but at this size, water can pass easily around the grounds, providing a nice bloom and a slow enough flow that you get maximum flavor from the beans.
French Press Settings- Extra Coarse
For the best possible flavor experience from your French press, you’ll want to set your Cuisinart DBM-8 to the coarsest setting. This is an extra coarse grind, and is usually the best size for French press and even percolators.
French presses work by steeping the grounds in water, much like brewing a cup of tea. Coarse grounds provide more surface area for the water to work with and make a smooth but robust taste.
With French press grinds, size can significantly change the quality of the brewed coffee. Grounds that are too fine will make a bitter and cloudy coffee, while overly coarse grounds will result in a weak coffee.
Conclusion
When you want to make a perfectly delicious cup of coffee, you want to start with fresh ground beans. The easiest way to do this is with a coffee grinder at home. The Cuisinart DBM-8 is the perfect at-home coffee grinder.
This great automatic burr mill has a total of 18 grind size settings, a bean hopper that holds plenty of beans, and a grind bin that will hold enough grinds for 32 cups of coffee.
With all of these settings, it might seem that the Cuisinart DBM-8 Supreme Grind automatic coffee mill should be hard to use. However, it is quite simple to use, and performs well for a reasonably priced kitchen appliance.
If you’re in the market for a great coffee grinder that offers versatility, ease of use, and solid performance, you can’t go wrong with the Cuisinart DBM-8 Supreme Grind coffee grinder.
Happy Caffeinating!
