How to brew the best coffee at home #tips

Coffee drinkers will all agree that the best coffee is all about taste. Whether the highest end, exotic blend or a basic household variety…whatever tastes excellent to you is “the best” coffee.

So, what do you do? Many people buy their coffee out on the road, rather than making it at home, for obvious reasons.

It’s easier. Drive up, order, pay, pull away. You don’t even have to leave your car.
It’s exciting. There are so many creative blends and combinations to choose from. You can have something different…very different…every day!
It tastes really good. No bad cups of coffee at S tarbucks or Dunkin Donuts, right?
It provides a change of pace. If you have time to go inside, the coffee shops are attractive and comfortable. Set up the laptop, sip and get some web surfing (or work) done.

But what about the price? $1.50 – $3.00 a cup really saps the budget when you always buy out. But how can you face home-brewed coffee after you have enjoyed the very finest earlier that day?

There are keys to making great coffee at home…even with a (dare we say it) DRIP coffee maker! Here are some tips on how to make the “best” coffee at home!

How to make drip coffee taste great:

Keep the coffee maker clean. Before you even start, clean the pot, filter basket and the little spout at the underside of the basket, too. You don’t have to wash the pot literally every time but if there is a fine film coating the pot, after you’ve swept it with clear water, it’s a sign that it’s time! Best practice: wash it every morning before the first pot is made. Use dish-washing liquid and warm sudsy water. Rinse very well. At least once a month, descale it (clean it) with a commercial coffee cleaning product (pictured at the sidebar) or using white vinegar.
Make it with great tasting water. Depending on the quality of your tap water, your coffee will taste much better if it’s made with filtered water. Drinking water tastes better purified. Coffee tastes better made with good tasting water, too.

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Use top quality coffee. This is a matter of taste. Some of us are very happy with commercial brands found in the grocery store. Others require a higher-price, “fashion” brands such as Starbucks or Dunkin Donuts. The ultimate could be considered to be the “designer” brands, only available through coffee shops and specialty stores.
Select the flavor that appeals to your palate. If you like a lighter roast, you will never be happy with the robust beans no matter how well it’s brewed. Stick with what you like. Adventurous? Then, by all means, experiment but keep your favorite on hand if you strike out with Spicy-hot Chocolato Roasto Beano (I made that up).

Grind your own. The flavor and aroma of the coffee bean stays sealed in until it is first released by grinding. “Fresher is better” is the motto.
Store it in the freezer. Yes, whether beans or ground, your coffee will stay fresh, longer when refrigerated or even frozen!
Never reuse filters. Use a single paper filter, brand new every time. This is no place to try to economize. Though metal filters are available for some coffee makers, they can hold onto a bitter taste unless very well cleaned each time. Paper filters are fast and effective.
Find the formula. You need to learn your coffee maker. Use just the right amount of coffee per cup brewed for your tastes–not necessarily the recipe on the container.
Don’t burn it. Some coffee makers turn themselves off after 20 minutes or so. That is perfect. Others stay on as long as you leave them. The coffee will burn after a while and that can taste nasty. Turn it off and reheat in the microwave as you want more…or make a fresh pot. For more tips on great tasting coffee: How To Store Coffee and Keep It Fresh
Serve it in a hot mug. Coffee loses it’s heat quickly when put in a cold coffee mug. Assuming that you like it piping hot, pre-heat your mug by pouring hot water in it and letting it sit for a minute or two. Pour out the water and pour in your coffee!

Of course, it helps to have a really great coffee maker. Opinions come and go but here are four of the top-ranked coffee makers on the market.

Tips on how to make the BEST coffee and save money, too! #coffee Share on X

Enjoy!

How do you cool super hot coffee for those who do not like it very hot and not ruin it for everyone else? This BEST answer is so easy – you will love it!

I love my large capacity coffee maker!
It makes deliciously hot coffee, the best coffee I have ever had. Who knew that some people might consider that coffee to be too hot? Certainly, not me!

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I found out, quite by accident, that some of my family did not like how hot my coffee maker makes (and keeps) the coffee. I love it that way but, being a good host, I felt compelled figure out how to fix the problem for their sake. I needed to cool down the super hot coffee quickly for those who want it cooler, while keeping it piping hot for the rest of us. You may be surprised – as I was – to hear this amazingly simple solution.

I like my coffee hot, so I have no desire to turn the coffee maker off to let it cool after brewing. How was I to I solve this dilemma for all of us? My brilliant friend, Stephanie, had the perfect answer. She said “make coffee ice cubes.“ Wow. What a great idea! I can have them sitting in a pretty bowl by the coffee maker and anyone who wants a cooler cup, without diminishing its strength, can pop a delicious coffee ice cube into their coffee mug!

Before recommending it to anyone else, though, I decided to make some to be sure that the coffee will turn into ice. Of course, it does. What I had not anticipated was the amazing coffee aroma from coffee ice cubes! It smells even better than the coffee did when it was first brewed.

Personally, I won’t be using an ice cube of any kind in my coffee (I love mine hot, as I said before) but I just may make iced coffee for myself so that I can use them. They are perfect for hot coffee and for cold.

How To Make Coffee Ice Cubes

Brew some coffee in your regular coffee maker and allow it to cool.*

Pour the coffee into an ice cube tray.

Pop it into the freezer for 2 or more hours.**

*Tip: try to make the coffee for the ice cubes similar in strength to the very hot coffee that will be prepared in your big coffee pot.

**Time may vary depending on the freezer.

So, you can now provide coffee ice cubes for each guest to put in their super hot coffee to cool it or you can even use those coffee ice cubes for cold iced coffee beverages! This is my kind of win-win as I do NOT want to give up the wonderfulness of the hot coffee that my large capacity coffee urn produces. It is perfect.

A fun-feature of coffee ice cubes – besides the lovely rich coffee scent – is that they are pretty! I wouldn’t have expected it but they catch the light and glisten.

Have you ever made #coffee ice cubes? Oh, you have to try it! They actually SMELL even better than freshly brewed coffee and they look really pretty, too! #tips Share on X

Of course, large capacity coffee makers are most often used for parties or in an office setting where you will have many coffee drinkers during the day. My Hamilton Beach 45 cups large capacity coffee maker brews quickly, considering the volume of coffee that it is producing. It takes one minute per cup; so, if you are making a full pot of 45 cups, you will want to plug it in 45 minutes prior to when you want it to be ready. You can make smaller pots of coffee with it, which will reduce the brewing time accordingly.