Cuisinart DGB-500C User Manual

Grind & Brew™Automatic Coffeemaker

DGB-500C Series

For your safety and continued enjoyment of this product, always read the instruction book carefully before using.

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 or
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,
push the Off button, 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 a 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.

21. Check grinder basket for presence of

foreign objects before using.

22. Use the coffee grinder to grind roasted

coffee beans only. Grinding other
substances, such as nuts, spices or
unroasted beans may dull the blade and
cause poor grinding or injury.

23. Do not place cloth or otherwise restrict
airflow beneath coffeemaker.

24. Use only the Cuisinart

®

Gold Tone
Commercial Style Filter or standard
#4 basket paper filter with this unit.
OTHER GOLD TONE PERMANENT
FILTERS MAY CAUSE THE
COFFEEMAKER TO OVERFLOW.

SAVE THESE
INSTRUCTIONS

FOR HOUSEHOLD
USE ONLY

WARNING: RISK OF FIRE
OR ELECTRIC SHOCK

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.

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
countertop or tabletop 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 into a polarized
outlet only one way. If the plug does not fit fully
into 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 filter basket during
the brewing cycle, even if no water is draining
from the filter basket, since extremely hot
water/coffee can spill out from the filter basket
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 and checking the filter basket.

2

WARNING

RISK OF FIRE OR ELECTRIC SHOCK

DO NOT OPEN

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

DO NOT REMOVE COVER (OR BACK)

NO USER-SERVICEABLE PARTS INSIDE

REPAIR SHOULD BE DONE BY AUTHORIZED SERVICE PERSONNEL ONLY

3

INTRODUCTION

Congratulations. You’ve just purchased a
coffeemaker that will make you want to retire
your alarm clock! Wake up, instead, to the rich
aroma of freshly ground, just brewed coffee,
with the Cuisinart

®

Grind & Brew™Automatic
Coffeemaker. One of the Premier Series,
this deluxe 12-cup model offers the best of
Cuisinart’s expert coffeemaking technology
to deliver unsurpassed ease of use and rich
full-bodied coffee flavour. With streamlined
European styling and a graceful carafe,
it’s a beautiful addition to any kitchen.

The Grind & Brew

™

Coffeemaker features a
separate grinding assembly and filter chamber
to make beans easy to add and used grounds
easy to remove. Aconvenient “grind off”
control turns the grinder off when preground
coffee is used.

Fully programmable, this is the ultimate
user-friendly coffeemaker. Simply add beans
and water, set the flavour control to 1-4 or 5+
cups, and program start time up to 24 hours in
advance. An auto-shutoff feature even lets you
set the unit to turn off up to 4 hours after the
brew cycle ends.

A charcoal water filter and a permanent
commercial-style gold tone coffee filter allow
only pure coffee flavour to flow through, and
the popular Brew Pause

™

feature lets you

sneak a cup before the cycle is finished.
Dishwasher safe parts. Separate grind and

filter chambers for easy cleanup. The freshest
tasting coffee outside of a coffee bar.
What more could a coffee lover ask for?

TABLE OF CONTENTS

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

Unpacking Instructions . . . . . . . . . . . Page 3

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

The Quest for the

Perfect Cup of Coffee . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 4

Features and Benefits. . . . . . . . . . . . Page 5

Control Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 7

Programming Your Coffeemaker . . . . Page 8

Setting the Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 8

Programming the Auto On. . . . . . . . . Page 8

Programming the Variable Auto Off . . Page 8

Changing the Water Filter . . . . . . . . . Page 9

Making Coffee. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 9

Cleaning and Maintenance . . . . . . . . Page 11

Warranty. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 12

IMPORTANT UNPACKING
INSTRUCTIONS

1. Place the box on a large, sturdy flat surface.

2. Removethe instruction book and any
other literature.

3. Turn the box sothat the backside ofthe
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 polyfoam insert.

5. Remove cardboard insert off carafe handle.

6. Remove the cardboard insert between the
carafe lid and Brew Pause mechanism by
sliding it out of the unit.

7. Grasp the carafe by its handle, remove it from
the heater plate and remove the polybag.

8. 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.

4

THE QUEST FOR
THE PERFECT CUP
OF COFFEE

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

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’s why Cuisinart has added a water filter to
the Grind & Brew

™

Coffeemaker. The charcoal
water filter removes chlorine, bad tastes and
odours, for the purest cup of coffee every time.

Element 2: Coffee

While the bulk of the liquid is water, all of the
flavour should be from the coffee. To achieve
the same great quality cup of coffee you
receive at a coffee bar, you need to use the
same quality beans.

Buy the beans fresh and whole, only about
two weeks’ supply at a time for maximum
freshness. Once the coffee bean is broken,
its flavour degrades very quickly. That’s why
the Grind & Brew

™

grinds your coffee 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 beans have
been removed from the freezer, maintain them
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 for yourself.

Element 3: Grind

The grind is critical for proper flavour extraction.
If the grind is too fine, overextraction and
bitterness will result. Too fine a grind may also
clog the filter. If grind is too coarse, the water
will pass through too quickly and the desired
flavours will not be extracted. The Grind &
Brew

™

is preset for a medium grind, the

optimal grind for this type of coffeemaker.

Element 4: Proportion

The Grind & Brew™makes up to twelve (12)
5-ounce cups of coffee.

Using Whole Beans:

• We recommend you use 1 scoop of whole
beans per cup. Maximum 14 scoops.
For 1 or 2 cups, use 1-1/2 level scoops
per cup. Adjust the recipe according
to individual taste.

DO NOT OVERFILL OR THE GRINDER
COULD MALFUNCTION AND/OR THE
COFFEEMAKER COULD OVERFLOW.

Using Pre-Ground Coffee:

Although it is preferable to use fresh, whole
beans, you can make coffee in the Grind &
Brew

™

using pre-ground beans.

To do so, turn off the grinder by pressing the
“Grind Off” button before turning on the unit.

Our recipe:

We suggest that you use 1 level scoop of
ground coffee per cup. Adjust the recipe to
your taste.

NOTE: The maximum capacity for ground
coffee is 16 level scoops, using either a
paper or permanent filter. Exceeding this
amount may cause overflow.