Cuisinart Brew Central DCC-1200 – Giving Coffee Makers a Makeover with the DCC-1200

If you are in the market for a coffee maker, chances are you have come across Cuisinart. Cuisinart’s coffee makers are usually of the standard kind, like the drip coffee makers DCC-100, DCC-1000 and the grind and brew variety, the DGB-300BK. However, when it comes to making coffee, the Cuisinart Brew Central DCC-1200 is anything but standard.

The DCC-1200 is an 11 x 14 inch coffee maker machine that weighs 9 pounds. The design is minimalist - black and stainless steel, though the simplicity makes it look all the more elegant. In the front of the unit are the different buttons and function knob to control the coffee maker. It comes with a bevy of features that include 24-hour programmable brewing, a programmable automatic shutoff, a self cleaning indicator, brew pause, just to name a few.
One of the first things you might notice when looking at the DCC-1200 is the big carafe and good looking. You get not 8, not 10 but 12 cups of coffee in one batch. Coffee from the no-drip carafe is easily poured into a waiting mug.

Setting up the DCC-1200 starts out just like any other normal coffee maker. You just install the water filter, scoop up some coffee with the included measured scoop, pour water on into the top of the machine and you are good to go. It takes approximately 5 minutes to brew. However, thanks to the nifty brew pause feature, you can stop the flow of water and be able to drink the already brewed coffee in the carafe. Configuring the timer is made easy thanks to the included instruction manual. Another unique feature of the DCC-1200 is the 1-4 Cup setting. This allows you to brew small amounts of coffee quickly by heating up the water more than the usual. Unlike other coffee makers, the DCC-1200 really makes “hot” coffee. And in order for you to keep it that way, the heating plate has three different settings to choose from.

In a hectic work environment, it is quite easy to forget that even coffee makers need to be cleaned. The DCC-1200 makes it easier for people to remember by having a self cleaning indicator that lights up when the coffee maker feels that it needs to be cleaned.
Some may balk at the DCC-1200 for being pricey. However, the many features of the Cuisinart Brew Central DCC-1200 make it worth every cent.