Brand New In Sealed Packaging
Cuisinart DCC-1200 12-Cup Brew
Central Coffeemaker
The Cuisinart DCC-1200 Brew Central Coffeemaker

Enjoy Great Coffee with the DCC-1200
Cuisinart introduces a coffeemaker with retro styling and the latest in high
tech features, making it the centerpiece of any kitchen. The Cuisinart Brew
Central coffeemaker is reminiscent of the days of classic styling and durable
materials. A brushed metal exterior with retro-style controls houses the finest
in coffee making technology. This coffeemaker even includes a charcoal water
filter. The water filter ensures great tasting coffee by removing all of the
impurities from the water. The Brew Central coffeemaker also comes with advanced
features such as a programmable digital clock with 24 hour advanced-brew
setting, an automatic shutoff, a self-cleaning function, and an audible beep
that signals the end of the brew cycle, which makes brewing the best tasting
coffee easy.
The Quest for a Perfect Cup of Coffee
It is generally agreed that there are four basic elements critical to the
perfect cup:
Water & Coffee Filters
Element 1. Water:
Coffee is 98% water. Often overlooked, the
quality of the water is as important as the quality of the coffee. A good rule
of thumb is that if your water doesn’t taste good from the tap, it won’t taste
any better in your coffee. That’s why Cuisinart has added a water filter to the
Brew Central coffeemaker. The charcoal water filter removes chlorine, bad tastes
and odors, for the purest cup of coffee every time.
Element 2. Coffee:
While the bulk of the liquid is water, all of
the flavor should be from the coffee. To achieve the same great quality of
coffee you receive at a coffee bar, you need to use the same quality beans. Buy
the beans fresh and whole, only about a two weeks’ supply at a time for maximum
freshness. Once the coffee bean is broken, its flavor degrades very quickly. If
it is not practical to buy small supplies, we recommend you separate larger
amounts of beans into one to two week portions immediately after purchase, and
freeze them in airtight containers. The best way to maximize freshness is to
minimize exposure to air, light and moisture. So, once removed from the freezer,
beans should be maintained in a sealed container at room temperature, since
damaging condensation occurs every time the beans are removed from the freezer
or refrigerator. Note that some coffee experts advise against freezing
dark-roast beans, because freezing can cause the oils to coagulate. Other
experts disagree. We suggest you experiment and decide yourself.
The Perfect Cup of Coffee
Element 3. Grind:
The grind of the coffee is critical for proper
flavor extraction. If the grind is too fine, over extraction and bitterness will
result. Too fine a grind may also clog the filter. If the grind is too coarse,
the water will pass through too quickly and the desired flavors will not be
extracted. A medium-fine grind is recommended.
Element 4. Proportion:
The cups on the Cuisinart coffeemaker
measure 5 ounces. Add the amount of ground coffee that corresponds to the number
of cups being brewed. Many coffee bars and the Specialty Coffee Association of
America recommend adding 2 rounded tablespoons of coffee per 6 ounces of water.
Some coffee manufactures recommend using 1 tablespoon per cup. Cuisinart
recommends using 1 tablespoon of ground coffee per cup, but use more or less to
suit your taste. Note: the maximum capacity for ground coffee is 15 tablespoons
for the 12-cup coffeemaker. Exceeding this amount may cause overflow if the
coffee is too finely ground.
Features and Benefits
LCD & Controls
- Reservoir Cover: Flips back for easy filling.
- Water Reservoir: When filling the coffeemaker with water, refer to the
carafe height markings and fill to the desired number of cups. Be sure to add a
small amount of extra water to account for the amount of water lost in wetting
the grounds and lost as steam during the brewing process.
- Showerhead: Distributes water evenly over coffee, reducing temperature loss
as water passes through grounds.
- Water Filter: Charcoal water filter eliminates chlorine, calcium and bad
tastes or odors from tap water. Cuisinart recommends changing the water filter
every 60 days or 60 uses ‒ or more often if you have hard water.
- Filter Basket: Holds a #4 paper filter or a permanent filter.
- LCD Digital Clock: Displays the time of day and set time for automatic
functions.
- Function Knob and Flip Switch: Used to initiate programming of automatic
functions.
- The Auto On feature is used to program the start time of the brew cycle. The
Auto On can be set for any time, day or night. The PM indicator is displayed on
the LCD for nighttime program times. The Auto Off feature is used to shut off
the coffeemaker at a preset time, anywhere from 0 to 4 hours. Note: To program
the coffeemaker to shut off automatically, read the instructions included in the
Instruction Manual under 'To program the Variable Auto Off'
- Heater Plate Control Knob: For controlling the temperature of the coffee
after brewing. There are three temperature settings high, medium and low.
- 1-4 Cup Setting: The 1-4 cup setting button is used when you make small
amounts of coffee. Normal coffeemakers will produce a colder batch of coffee
when smaller amounts are made, because the heater doesn’t have enough time to
properly ‘warm up’ to heat a small amount. The 1-4 setting basically ‘double
heats’ the water, making your smaller amounts as piping hot as a full pot would
be. To use simply press the 1-4 button on the control panel after turning on the
unit.
- Retro-style flip switch is used to turn your coffeemaker on and off and
works in tandem with the function knob.
- Clean Setting: Tells you when it’s time to clean your coffeemaker. Remove
built-up calcification from the water reservoir, to help extend the life of your
coffeemaker.
- Brew Pause: Stops flow of coffee from basket when carafe is removed (30
seconds max) from the heater plate, so a cup can be poured in mid-brew. Since
the flavor extraction rate varies during the brew cycle, we recommend allowing
the brewing cycle to finish before pouring the coffee. The coffee brewed at the
beginning of the cycle has a flavor profile which is very different from the
flavor at the end of the cycle. Once the coffee has finished brewing, stir it
before serving to blend the flavors. The coffee at the bottom of the carafe will
be somewhat stronger than the coffee at the top.
- Carafe: The easy pour, no drip glass carafe has an ergonomic handle and
brewed coffee markings for two to twelve cups.
- Heating Plate: Scratch resistant with black, nonstick coating.
- Ready Tone: Signals the end of the brew cycle with five beeps (coffee will
continue to stream from the filter for a few seconds after the tone).
This state of the art coffeemaker lets you
fine tune the process from filtering the water you brew with to keeping the
brewed coffee at the precise temperature you desire. If you're the impatient
type you can grab a cup before brewing is complete (or program your coffee to be
ready and waiting at wake up time), and if you tend to be forgetful, this
appliance has auto shut off. Seems as though Cuisinart has covered all the bases
in this deluxe coffeemaker.