I was starting to spend to much money at starbucks, so i decided to by a coffee pot and make my own coffee, but it doesn’t taste to great and i keep getting coffee grounds in my coffee, what am i doing wrong?
8 Responses to “How Do I Make A Good Pot Of Coffee?”
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July 17th, 2009 at 8:04 am
Make sure you’re using a filter and that it is in correct. A good blend of coffee is essential also. You don’t have to be to extravagant with the brands, Folgers & Maxwell House are good brands.
July 17th, 2009 at 1:53 pm
It’s important to buy the grind as fine as possible, or if you own your own coffee grinder that you grind it properly.
It is also important for you to follow the instructions outlined with your coffee maker or espresso machine. You should measure the water and coffee according to the number of cups you need to make, this will ensure you are adding the right amount of water in conjunction with the coffee grind. Another tip to consider, that many people don’t realize is that if you reheat your coffee it will have a bitter taste. Coffee always tastes best when it is freshly made, reheating it the next day will give you less than favorable results.
I was mentioning the right amount of water to use, but it’s also to important to use the right type of water. To get the best possible taste, you should use cold water that has been filtered through a water filter. Some people recommend actually using ice when brewing coffee, this is also supposed to enhance the flavor, never tried it myself though.
After the coffee is brewed, you add sugar but how much and what type? I recommend using light brown rather than refined white sugar, personally I think it gives the coffee a more enhanced flavor. Some people enjoy a little bit of milk in their coffee, make sure to warm up the milk, cold milk detracts from the hot coffee experience.
I have also read that adding just a pinch of salt to the coffee grounds will actually enhance the coffee flavor, this method is supposed to take out the bitterness out of your coffee. I haven’t used that tip as of yet. Remember to clean your coffee machine thoroughly after after each and every use this will also give you a better tasting cup of coffee.
Lastly, the type of coffee bean you choose is very important. The coffee beans that you choose should be well roasted, not burned. For the best results I prefer to use 100% arabica beans, but this is just personal preference more than anything.
July 17th, 2009 at 6:12 pm
Buy a coffee grinder, ($21 at Wal-mart) buy a bag of Starbucks “House Blend” whole beans (not pre-ground) at Wal-mart or your favorite grocery store.
Grind up four tablesoons of beans, put them in your coffee maker’s “basket”, pour a full pot of water into the coffee maker’s water resevoir and turn that puppy on!
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Never use a paper filter in your coffee maker. Always use one of those reusuable coffee filters.
They sell them at Wal-mart and many other stores these days. They are basically a plastic basket with a fine mesh lining about the same size as a paper filter. They come in both the cone shape and the flat bottomed shape. They will not collapse on you… which is how the grounds gets into your coffee.
July 17th, 2009 at 10:03 pm
Make sure you have a good quality coffee pot that gets the water hot enough and make sure you are setting the filter in it correctly so it doesn’t fold over. That is probably why you are getting grounds in your carafe. Since you have already had this problem, I would run a water cycle a few times to clear the grounds out of the system.
Starbucks claims they use 2 tbsp coffee grounds per 8 oz water. That is way too strong for me, I prefer about 1 heaping tbsp per 8 oz water. For an 8 cup pot this is 1/2 heaping cup. Fresh ground beans are the best but preground beans are good too. Just be sure to buy a quality product. This is one case where you definitely get what you pay for.
July 18th, 2009 at 1:53 am
buy one of those permanent filters that you can empty out and rinse out, and no more coffee ground in your coffee
July 18th, 2009 at 5:38 am
Well, is it that the coffee isn’t strong enough? Too strong?? I like my coffee to taste just like I bought it at a coffee stand, so I make mine kind of strong.
July 18th, 2009 at 6:45 am
Use two filters, and I forget the brand, but I like the coffee that says ’smooth’ on the lable. About a half a cup or so, more or less to taste.
July 18th, 2009 at 10:22 am
Myself if you use the instructions on the Foldgers coffee can it is very good hope this helps.