Countertop beanery.

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Once Americans got really serious about their cottee, things began to change rapidly in the kitchen. It certainly became clear that instant coffee wasn't going to do it any longer. Next, just plucking a can off the supermarket shelf became a sign of laziness and overreliance on the status quo. To satisfy the yen for a superior-tasting brew, an effort had to be made to get the best ingredients possible. That, in many people's minds, meant grinding their own beans, so coffee grinders began to appear on the kitchen counter alongside the coffeemakers that had replaced percolators a while back. Americans sat back to savor freshground and -brewed coffee, and all was well.

However, this is an age of synergy, and why have two machines when one can do both tasks? This sort of thinking brought about the clock radio and the toaster oven, and now, obviating the need for a pair of appliances side by side on the counter, Cuisinart, East Windsor, N.J., has created the Grind & Brew Thermal 10-Cup Automatic Coffeemaker, a machine as imposing as its name.

Somewhat resembling a...