Drip Coffee Makers

How to Have a Perfect Coffee with a Drip Coffee Maker

By deSita Anwarhee

Drip coffee makers are the single most popular small kitchen appliance in the US. They are probably the most inexpensive of all coffee machines, a simple system of placing the coffee grind in the filter and watching the machine do the rest of the work. You can buy an automatic drip coffee maker for as little as ten dollars, or for over two hundred dollars.

Most drip filter coffee makers operate in the same simple manner: a paper filter sets in a basket (usually plastic) which holds the finely ground, almost powdery coffee beans. Cold water is poured into a chamber where it is heated and poured over the grounds. The coffee is quickly extracted into a waiting carafe. Simple, reliable, and very efficient compared to many other coffee making processes.

There are a few things to keep in mind when making perfect coffee with a drip coffee maker

1. Know your machine
The standard cup will vary on drip coffee makers from brand to brand, so it’s important to know how yours is measured. From there, you will know how much coffee to add.

2. Use good coffee
Avoid those big supermarket displays with plastic bins of coffee beans. The bins aren’t airtight, and you have no idea how long they’ve been sitting in those bins getting stale. Vacuum-sealed bags or cans of coffee beans are better. Even ground coffee in a vacuum sealed bag is a better choice.

3. Buy a coffee grinder
When you grind coffee, you increase the surface area of the coffee bean that is exposed to air, hastening the release of the oils that give coffee its rich flavor. If possible, grind coffee right before you use it.

4. Keep your drip coffee maker and coffee pot clean.
Wash out your pot and filter basket every time you make a fresh pot, and clean your coffee maker once a week. Descale it once a month. And remember to clean the shower heads up under where the filter basket goes.

5. Use enough coffee.
You should use a full tablespoon of ground coffee for each 8 ounces of water. The biggest mistake that people make when making coffee in a drip coffee maker is using too little coffee.

6. Use a paper filter.
It’s better and easier to buy good quality paper coffee filters and have a fresh one for every brew. No reusable cloth filters since they are difficult to keep clean.

7. Take the coffee off the warming plate when it’s done brewing.
Coffee left on the warmer plate will continue to “cook”. Instead, pour any coffee that’s left over into a thermal pot, preferably one with a vacuum seal.

8. Use fresh, cold water.
Distilled water is good for your machine, but it makes flat tasting coffee. If your tap water is good for drinking, it will make good coffee. If it’s not, use a water filter or use spring water.

9. Avoid using the brew pause.
That filter brewing always extracts stronger flavor at first and follows through with weaker coffee. If you take from the pot before the brew cycle is finished, the coffee in the pot will not be evenly flavored.

Follow all above advice, and you’ll have the entire office lining up to drink your coffee, and skipping the afternoon run to the nearest Starbucks.

Check out our other guide about Capresso Jura.

Tags: best drip coffee maker, drip coffee maker, drip coffee makers