Cuisinart DCC-900 User Manual

Filter Brew™Coffeemaker

DCC-900

1

IMPORTANT
SAFEGUARDS

When using electrical appliances, basic safety
precautions should always be followed to
reduce the risk of fire, electric shock and/or
injury to persons, including the following:

1. READ ALL INSTRUCTIONS

2. Do not touch hot surfaces. Use handles
and knobs.

3. To protect against electric shock, do not
place cord, plug, or base unit in water
other liquids.

4. Close supervision is necessary when any
appliance is used by or near children.

5. Always unplug from outlet when not in
use and before cleaning. Allow to cool
before putting on or taking off parts and
before cleaning the appliance.

6. Do not operate any appliance with a
damaged cord or plug or after the
appliance malfunctions or has been
dropped or damaged in any manner.
Return appliance to the nearest Cuisinart
Repair Center for examination, repair,
and electrical or mechanical adjustment.

7. The use of accessory attachments
not recommended by Cuisinart may
cause injuries.

8.Do not use outdoors.

9. Do not let cord hang over edge of table
or counter, or touch hot surface.

10. Do not place on or near a hot gas or
electric burner, or in a heated oven.

11. Always fill water reservoir first, then plug
cord into the wall outlet. To disconnect, turn
controls to “off”, then remove plug from
wall outlet.

12. Do not use appliance for other than
intended use.

13. Snap lid securely onto carafe before
serving any beverages.

14. Scalding may occur if the lid is removed
during the brewing cycle.

15. The glass carafe is designed for use with
these appliances only. It must never be
used on the range top.

16. Do not set a hot carafe on a wet or
cold surface.

17. Do not use cracked carafe or a carafe
having a loose or weakened handle.

18. Do not clean carafe or warming plate
with cleansers, steel wool pads, or other
abrasive materials.

19. WARNING: TO REDUCE THE RISK OF

FIRE OR ELECTRIC SHOCK, DO NOT
REMOVE THE BASE PANEL. NO USER
SERVICEABLE PARTS ARE INSIDE.
REPAIR SHOULD BE DONE ONLY BY
AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL.

20. Avoid contact with moving parts.

SAVE THESE
INSTRUCTIONS

FOR HOUSEHOLD
USE ONLY

The lightning flash with arrowhead symbol, within an equilateral triangle, is intended
to alert the user to the presence of uninsulated “dangerous voltage” within the prod­uct’s enclosure that may be of sufficient magnitude to constitute a risk of fire or elec­tric shock to persons.

The exclamation point within an equilateral triangle is intended to alert the user to
the presence of important operating and maintenance (servicing) instructions in the
literature accompanying the appliance.

WARNING: RISK OF FIRE OR ELECTRIC SHOCK

SPECIAL CORD
SET INSTRUCTIONS

A short power-supply cord is provided to
reduce the risks resulting from becoming
entangled in or tripping over a longer cord.
Longer extension cords are available and
may be used if care is exercised in their use.
If a long extension cord is used, the marked
electrical rating of the extension cord must
be at least as great as the electrical rating of
the appliance, and the longer cord should be
arranged so that it will not drape over the
counter top or table top where it can be
pulled on by children or tripped over.

NOTICE

This appliance has a polarized plug (one blade
is wider than the other.) To reduce the risk of
electric shock, this plug will fit in a polarized
outlet only one way. If the plug does not fit
fully in the outlet, reverse the plug. If it still
does not fit, contact a qualified electrician.
Do not modify the plug in any way.

OPERATING NOTICE

Clogging and backing up of water and/or
coffee in the filter basket can occur under
any or a combination of any of the following
conditions: The use of too finely ground coffee;
using two or more paper filters; using the gold
tone filter in conjunction with a paper filter or
not properly cleaning coffee grounds from the
gold tone filter; or allowing coffee grounds to
spill over the filter.

Caution: Never open the top cover during the
brewing cycle, even if no water is draining from

the filter basket, since extremely hot
water/coffee can spill out from the spreader
and cause injury. If water/coffee is not draining
from the filter basket during the brewing cycle,
unplug the unit and wait 10 minutes before
opening the top cover and checking the filter
basket.

IMPORTANT UNPACKING
INSTRUCTIONS

1. Place the box on a large, sturdy flat

surface.

2. Remove the instruction book and any other

literature.

3. Turn the box so that the back side of the

coffeemaker is down and slide the
coffeemaker from the box.

4. After the coffeemaker has been removed,

place the box out of the way and lift off the
top two polyfoam inserts.

5. Remove the cardboard insert between the

carafe lid and Brew Pause mechanism by
slding it out of the unit.

6. Grasp the carafe by its handle, remove

it from the heater plate and remove the
polybag.

7. Lift the coffeemaker off the remaining two

inserts and remove the polybag covering
the coffeemaker.

We suggest you save all packing materials in
the event that future shipping of the machine is
needed.

Keep all plastic bags away from children.

2

WARNING, TO REDUCE THE RISK OF FIRE OR ELECTRIC SHOCK,

REPAIR SHOULD BE DONE BY AUTHORIZED SERVICE PERSONNEL ONLY

W ARNING

RISK OF FIRE OR ELECTRIC SHOCK

DO NOT OPEN

DO NOT REMOVE COVER(OR BACK)

NO USER-SERVICEABLE PARTS INSIDE

3

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Important Safeguards . . . . . . . . . . . Page 1

Unpacking Instructions . . . . . . . . . .Page 2

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Page 3

The Quest for the

Perfect Cup of Coffee . . . . . . . . . . .Page 3

Features and Benefits . . . . . . . . . . .Page 4

Making Coffee . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Page 6

Cleaning and Maintenance . . . . . . .Page 7

Decalcification of Metal Parts . . . . . .Page 7

Replacing the Water Filter . . . . . . . .Page 7

Warranty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Page 8

INTRODUCTION

Congratulations on your purchase of the
Cuisinart

®

Filter BrewTMCoffeemaker. This
easy to use coffeemaker has a top of the
line brewing system with a charcoal filter that
makes pure, great tasting coffee possible
every time. You decide how many cups you
want to make without altering the flavor of the
brew. Or if you choose, the Brew Pause™
feature will let you sneak a cup before the
brewing cycle is complete. We also included
an automatic shutoff feature that turns the
machine off after 2 hours in case you forget.
Your Filter Brew

™

is easy to use, easy to clean

and looks great on any kitchen counter top.

THE QUEST FOR THE
PERFECT CUP OF COFFEE

It is generally agreed that there are four basic
elements critical to the perfect cup:

Element 1: Water

Coffee is 98% water. Often overlooked, the
quality of the water is as important as the
quality of the coffee. Agood 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 is why Cuisinart has added a built-in
water filter to the Filter Brew

™

. The charcoal
water filter removes chlorine, bad tastes,
odors and scale 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 in the coffee. Don’t expect to
achieve the same quality cup of coffee you’re
accustomed to drinking at a coffee bar if you
don’t use the same quality beans or grounds.
If you choose to grind your own beans before
brewing be sure to buy them fresh, ideally no
more than a two week supply at a time, and
buy them whole. Once the bean is broken, its
flavor degrades very quickly, so coffee should
be ground just prior to brewing. 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,
maintain the beans 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 it can cause the
oils to coagulate, while others disagree.
We suggest you experiment and decide
for yourself.

Element 3: Grind

The grind is critical in proper flavor extraction.
If the grind is too fine, overextraction and
bitterness will result; too fine a grind may also
clog your filter. If too coarse, the water will
pass too quickly and the desired flavors will
not be extracted. We recommend a medium­fine grind.

Element 4: Proportion

The cups on the Cuisinart coffeemaker are

4.5 ounces. Add the desired amount of ground
coffee, corresponding 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 manufacturers recommend using one
tablespoon per cup. We recommend 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 this 12 cup
coffeemaker. Exceeding these amounts
may cause overflow if the coffee is too
finely ground.