GE Profile Smart Grind and Brew review: Just the basics

At the top of the 16.5-inch caffeine station is a removable opening that covers a slanted bean hopper, which maxed out at about 100 grams of light roast, whole-bean coffee in my testing. On the right is a grind-sized dial with six separate positions that are easy to land between with a slight touch. The best setting on the profile is nowhere near the best setting on my Bodum Bistro grinder, but this isn’t an espresso machine, so it’s hard to say that this really matters. The built-in grinder is often the weak link in all-in-ones, but the in-profile grinder feels stiff and in need of adjustments despite users being urged to choose one of six preset grind sizes. A short rotation of the chute cover inside the hopper exposes ridges for easy access when the machine tells you it’s time to clean the grinder.

Behind the hopper is a detachable tank marked 8, 12, 16, 20 and 24 ounces, in addition to the recommended maximum of 90 ounces. It has a replaceable filter included in the box, and it’s easy to remove the entire tank to refill it in the sink without dripping water everywhere. The removable cap cover allows for refilling while the tank remains attached to the unit.

Photo: Pete Kotel

At the top of the unit’s front panel is a black-and-white LCD display surrounded by 11 soft-touch buttons that provide quick access to features and settings with minimal menu diving. Before implementing our standardized test, I submitted the profile to a test similar to Aiden’s, where I did my best to make a cup of coffee as quickly as possible without reading the manual. I was pleasantly surprised by the ease of control regarding the variety of brewing options available. The GE profile asked: “Can I get a cup of coffee out of this thing in less than 10 minutes without teaching myself how to use it properly?” Test with volatile colours. I plugged it in, filled it with water and beans, pressed a few buttons, and in five minutes, my 10-ounce cup of coffee was ready to go.

Comfort over craft

The first fork in your workflow is whether you want to brew a large batch in the included carafe, or the “podless single-serve mode,” which is industry-speak for brewing directly into the cup of your choice without a K-Cup. There’s a button for each option that scrolls through the different output sizes — from 4 to 10 cups for carafe mode, and from 6 to 24 ounces for a cup. The strength can be adjusted between light, medium, bold, extra bold, and “gold” (more on this later) using the titular button, and the brew temperature can be adjusted from 185 to 205 degrees F using the temperature button.

Press “Brew” to brew now, or press Delay Brew to open a submenu where a custom brew time is set using dedicated hour and minute buttons. The My Brew button will save your current brew preparation into memory for later use. Press it again at any time to load your My Brew setting, then press Brew to brew coffee using that preset. A “Grind Off” button disables the grinder during the next brew cycle, and a gear icon scrolls through three maintenance options: descaling, filter replacement, and grinder cleaning.

As such, the levers one can pull to adjust the end result are grind size, brewing temperature, and brewing strength. I started with the “Gold” option, which acts as a “Start Here” preset for people who agree to take the machine’s advice on what constitutes a delicious cup of coffee according to the Specialty Coffee Association. Using my trusty Kirkland Signature Organic Ethiopia on a 5 out of 6 grind setting as the input, this produced a smooth cup that averaged about 202°F after the brewing cycle. The bean’s typical tasting notes—soft tannic flavors with hints of orange pulp and white wine—are refined in a simple, earthy cup finished with flavors of fresh grass and woodshop aromas. Acceptable, but I can’t think of a single coffee professional who would give this product a gold medal. Such is the yin and yang of comfort and flavour.