Brew Better Single Serve Coffee by Using These Tips

An article over at Gizmodo points out the significant differences in a cup of coffee can come down to some very small changes. For a example 98.8% water and 1.2% extract brews a weak cup of coffee, whereas 98.5% water and 1.5% extract brews a strong one. There is of course the method of brew, and lots of other factors but this point is the one to grasp - more good stuff from the coffee into the cup will usually result in a better cup of coffee.

For those of us that use our single serve coffee maker with a reusable filter, or we make our own coffee pods it's good to know that doing the correct measuring could mean a great or not so great cup of coffee, and taking proper steps each time we brew. Sure - it's not the same as drip measuring where you have a entire pot of coffee to brew, but it is important to get the right grind, amount of water, pre-heated cup, and also pre-moistened coffee pod if you're going that route.

Our tips if you're using any of the "use your own coffee" or even using a K-Cup or coffee pod for your Keurig, Nespresso, or Coffee pod brewer are the following:

Use filtered water - great water makes great tasting coffee
Pre-heat whatever you can this includes having a warm coffee mug to keep the coffee hot
Prep the machine and make sure it's clean and the filter is clean too
Check your coffee grind and make sure it's what you want - and experiment on smaller cups of coffee to see how the grind to water affects your cup of coffee or how the particular K-Cup or coffee pod would taste better with less water at 6 oz versus 8 oz or other amounts
Pre-moisten coffee pods and make sure you pour hot water over the pod drawer if you're using that method or you've made your own coffee pods

That's just a few of the tips, and we're sure you'll have more in the comments.

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Posted by Jay Brewer at April 18, 2011 4:55 AM

Keurig's claims that there is no flavor transfer from coffee to tea are false. Coffee is such a strong flavor that it somehow is retained in the plastic housing and it leeches into tea. One fix is to run THREE 12-ounce cycles without any pods at all, between a cup of coffee and a cup of tea. Conversely, it is OK to brew coffee straightaway after tea without any detrimental flavor transfer.
Wiping the exterior downspout eliminates a little of the coffee residue, reducing the transfer of flavor.
Very disappointing problem, b/c the notion of customizing each cup is appealing.
I would love to hear comments from others on this problem.

Posted by: Brit Tea Lover at March 12, 2012 10:54 AM

George Howell's article is largely wasted on this audience because single serve machines often make it next to impossible to make the sort of adjustments necessary to optimize your own coffee brewing. Idiot-proof machines are designed so idiots can use them. There's the promise and the curse right there.

Posted by: brent at April 18, 2011 3:19 PM