We stopped using the grinder a long time ago since it really doesn't grind the coffee fine enough and often leaves very large chunks of coffee bean, and yes, it's really noisy.The big problem is that it unpredictably "blows up" - the door with the coffee basket flies open and hot water, coffee grounds and coffee go all over the counter and the floor. We're sure it's possessed by an evil spirit! If you want to make coffee, you're got to stand with it and babysit this machine every time unless you want a big mess!I'm surprised this machine is still on the market AND I'm surprised that Cuisinart designed such a bad coffee maker and hasn't fixed it!(It would be great if Cuisinart could take these back and replace them with coffee makers that really do work well) What's great about it? Insulated thermal carafe.