The Cuisinart DCC-2600 14-Cup Programmable Coffeemaker

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 14-Cup Programmable 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:
Coffee that is too strong or too weak is always a disappointment. Add 1 level scoop of ground coffee per cup and adjust the amount according to taste. Note: the maximum capacity for ground coffee is 17 tablespoons for the 12-cup coffeemaker. Exceeding this amount may cause overflow if the coffee is too finely ground.

Features and Benefits

1. Reservoir Cover: Flips back for easy filling.
2. Water Reservoir with Water Level Indicator Window: Open the reservoir cover by lifting it up. Pour in the desired amount of water using the water level indicator located at the side of the coffeemaker window.
3. Showerhead: Distributes water evenly over coffee, reducing temperature loss as water passes through grounds.
4. Charcoal 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.
5. Filter Basket: Holds a #4 paper filter or a permanent filter.
6. Control Panel:


LCD & Controls

1. On/Off Button, Clock display, Hour and Minute Buttons.
2. Strength Selector: Regular and Bold buttons let you choose the intensity of coffee flavor you prefer.
3. Carafe Temperature Knob: For controlling the temperature of the coffee after brewing. There are three temperature settings high, medium and low.
4. 1- to 4-Cup Setting: The 1- to 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- to 4-cup 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- to 4-cup button on the control panel after turning on the unit.
5. Self-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.
7. Function Knob: Includes Program, Auto On, Auto Off, Brew, Clock and Audible Tone: Coffeemaker can be programmable to automatically start brewing up to 24 hours in advance and can be programmed to shut off up to 4 hours after brewing. The Audible 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).
8. 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.
9. Carafe: The easy pour, no drip 14-cup glass carafe has an ergonomic handle and brewed coffee markings for two to fourteen cups.
11. Adjustable Heater Plate: Allows you to keep brewed coffee at desired temperature. Scratch resistant with black, nonstick coating.
12. Cord Storage
13. Power Loss Backup System: One minute protection in case a breaker trips, the unit is unplugged, or the power fails. It holds all programmed information, including time of day, auto on time and auto off time.
14. Measuring Scoop