5 Ways To Enjoy The Best Coffee With An Automatic Drip Coffee Maker

You don't have to be a coffee snob to enjoy great coffee.

I love coffee and I want it to be the best it can be, and I always encourage others to do the same. And, you don't have to know everything there is to know about coffee in order to enjoy great coffee at home. But you should know the basics at the very least. Corporate brand coffee companies lie to us everyday. The #1 factor in quality coffee is not the brand you by, and for that matter neither is the machine you use. The number one variable in the quality of coffee you make at home is you. You decide at the moment of purchase weather your will brew great coffee or bad coffee. If you buy pre-ground coffee that comes in a red plastic container, your dooming yourself to a mediocre cup at best.

There are a few techniques that can immediately improve the quality of your coffee, no matter how fancy (or basic) your coffee machine is.

Here are five tips for making your drip coffee taste a whole lot better

1. Buy whole beans.
       Whenever possible, stay away from pre-ground coffee beans

A cup of coffee is only as good as the beans you start with. If you're buying bags of pre-ground coffee or worse, Folgers or Maxwell House, you're only hurting yourself. Instead, start with fresh, whole beans.

There's a reason the big corporate coffee companies don't provide the date for when the coffee was roasted; the stuff you find on the shelf in the grocery store has probably been in a warehouse for months before it reached that shelf.

Coffee doesn't stay fresh forever. Fresh Roasted Coffee reaches its peak flavor just days after it has been roasted and should be consumed within a month of its roast date. Think of it like hot-from-the-oven, home baked bread, fresh is best!

To find fresh coffee, check with your local coffee shop (Starbucks doesn't count as local either). Some roast on the spot or source from local roasters who roast in smaller batches, which typically means fresher coffee.

2. Grind your own beans.
     For maximum flavor, grind your coffee immediately before brewing.

This hard for many people because the cost can be prohibitive, however, there are lots of affordable grinders out there. You can find one that fits your budget with a quick google search.

Experts say coffee begins to lose its flavor within 30 minutes of being ground. This being the case, it's best to grind on the spot, just before brewing a pot. Grind size and consistency is important, as well. Grind too coarse and you will have a weak pot of coffee. Grind too fine and you will over-extract the coffee and it will taste bitter. Most drip coffee makers call for a medium to medium-fine grind.
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You can invest upwards of $100 (I did and I've never regretted it since) on a quality automatic burr grinder. Or choose a manual hand mill, the most affordable way to achieve a nice, consistent grind. They do require a small amount of manual labor, but it's so worth it! And they're great for camping too! Blade grinders also work, but will produce inconsistent particle size, which can lead to over-extraction. But, it's still better than pre-ground coffee.

3. The right way to measure your coffee
        Measure coffee by weight not volume.

By eliminating variables, you make better coffee. One way to do that is to use the same amount of coffee per unit of water each time you brew. Using a digital scale to measure takes just a second and allows you to better compare how much coffee and water is used each time. This part requires you to do a little math.

Ideally, a ratio of 1:20 (that's 1 part coffee to 20 parts water, or about 1/4 ounce of coffee to 6 fluid ounces of water) makes a fairly strong cup of coffee. Some people go as high as 1:14 or as low as 1:30. It's up to you to decide what tastes best, which is much easier to do (and replicate) once you remove all the guesswork.

4. Preinfuse your grounds
      This is where it get a little more involved, but still fairly simple. Chances are, your drip coffee maker skips a crucial step.

Most automatic coffee makers don't properly prepare the coffee grounds for ideal extraction. Manual pour over cones (which are not unlike automatic drip machines) call for a preinfusion or the so-called "bloom." This preps the coffee by pouring hot water over the grounds to help release any remaining carbon dioxide gas left over from the roasting process. Skipping this step allows the carbon dioxide to repel water during part of the brewing process, effectively making the brew weaker.

To preinfuse your coffee, insert a filter into the hopper and add your coffee grounds. Then use a kettle to preheat roughly 1 3/4 ounces of water to 200 degrees Fahrenheit and slowly pour it over the grounds, making sure to thoroughly wet all the grounds. Let this sit for approximately 45 seconds before starting the coffee maker.

5. Brew at the right temperature
      Many automatic drip machines don't reach optimal brewing temperature.

Many low-end automatic coffee makers can't reach the optimal brewing temperature. The best brew temperature for home brewed drip coffee is between 195 and 205 degrees Fahrenheit. Some newer, high-end models have a manual temperature adjustment, but older, cheaper makers do not.

To see if your coffee maker gets hot enough, run it through a cycle without any coffee in the hopper and use a thermometer to measure the water temperature. If you can, try to measure the temperature during the brewing process, as the water temperature will drop as it passes through the hopper and into the carafe beneath. If it doesn't reach at least 195 degrees Fahrenheit, see if preboiling your water in a kettle helps.

Keep in mind, you do not want to exceed 205 degrees, as it will over-extract the coffee (effectively burning it) leaving you with a bitter flavor. If this doesn't work, you might want to consider upgrading your coffee maker.

If you take away nothing more from this, I hope you start buying whole beans from a local roaster (like me) and have them ground for you. I guarantee your coffee experience with increase immeasurably with that one simple change in your coffee buying choices.