Cuisinart DCC-450BK manual Introduction

introduction

Whether you’re short on counter space, an occasional coffee drinker, or the only coffee drinker in your home, you’ll find that Cuisinart’s® 4-cup Coffeemaker fits your size needs as well as your desire for a stylish appliance with high-end features. This compact coffeemaker is small enough to store easily

or leave on your counter, and it comes with practical features such as Brew Pause™ and automatic shutoff. With the convenience of this handy coffeemaker, you’ll look forward to the morning coffee ritual.

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. If you filter your drinking water, filter the water for your coffeemaker.

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.

For hard water areas, we recommend using bottled water. The calcium in the water and the softeners used to combat it have a major impact on the extraction of the coffee. Hard water will also accelerate calcium buildup inside the coffeemaker, which slows down brewing, affects the flavor of the coffee and ultimately may shorten the life of your coffeemaker.

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 cup of coffee you receive at a coffee bar, you need to use the same quality beans.

If you chose to grind your own beans, buy the beans fresh and whole, only about a two-week 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 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 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 bitter- ness will result. Too fine a grind may also clog your filter. If too coarse, the water will pass through too quickly and the desired flavors will not be extracted. We recommend a medium-fine grind.

Element 4: Proportion

The cups on the Cuisinart® coffeemaker are

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 1 to 1½ tablespoons of ground coffee per cup, but use more or less to suit your taste.