Brewing Methods: Drip Coffee
In the next several posts, I’ll share specific brewing methods, and there is no more common way of brewing than with a standard drip machine. Mr. Coffee introduced the first home-use automatic electric drip machine to the world in 1972, creating an entire industry and forever changing coffee brewing.
You could scroll on Amazon for hours and probably not see every brand and model of drip machine available. They come with so many bells and whistles: programming options, reusable filter baskets, thermal carafes, built-in bean grinders, and even Bluetooth options so you can operate it from your phone. Wild stuff!
Those things are great, but the only thing that really matters is whether it makes great coffee. To make the best coffee possible, you have to control as many variables as you can. In this blog series, we’ve discussed the importance of variables like quality ingredients, coffee-to-water ratios, and coffee grinding.
Some modern machines have bean grinders built right in. This is a handy feature if you’re able to control the amount of coffee and how coarse or fine the grind is. Some brands grind and dispense based on a factory setting, which is problematic when trying to find your perfect cup. Avoid that type of machine unless it gives you full control.
A drip machine works by bringing water from a reservoir, heating it before or as it passes through a tubing system and out through a hole or a grouping of holes. Once the water “drips” into the filter basket, it saturates and passes through the ground coffee, ostensibly taking the tastiness of the bean into the carafe or mug waiting below.
I used “drips” in quotations because some machines don’t drip; they stream or pour. That isn’t always effective for allowing the water to saturate all of the coffee you’ve carefully measured out. Look in your filter basket after brewing your next pot, and see if the grinds have a consistent wet appearance.
Are there dry spots? Is it very wet in the middle and only kind of wet on the edges? Is there a hole bored down through the center of the basket? These are signs of ineffective brewing.
I prefer a cone-shaped basket and a water dispenser with multiple holes spread over a larger area. This makes it more possible for effective brewing magic to take place.
IS BREWING TEMPERATURE IMPORTANT?
Water temperature is one variable you can’t control with a drip machine. The peak brewing temperature for coffee is around 200 degrees. If you’re off 5 degrees or more, in either direction, you’ll end up with sub-par coffee.
You may think, “Who drinks 200-degree coffee?” which is fair. You shouldn’t drink it that hot; you can’t even taste it with whatever tastebuds you have left. However, 200 is the number for optimal flavor extraction, meaning that the heat transfers the flavor of the bean into the water and ultimately into your mug.
If you brew your coffee at a lower temperature, it will be flat or bitter. Hotter burns the coffee. Use a kitchen thermometer to confirm what your machine puts out. Do it a few times to ensure consistency. If it’s consistently off, consider getting another one. You don’t need to spend a ton to get a decent machine. (SEE MY SHAMELESS PLUG AT THE END OF THIS POST)
Speaking of burning the coffee, the hot plate on your drip machine is also called a burner… for a reason. The longer you leave your coffee sitting in the carafe on the burner, the more your coffee cooks. You won't get premium flavor unless you're going for that charred taste.
Likewise, if your coffee has been sitting on a burner with an automatic shut-off feature, you’ll likely end up with cold coffee or worse.
Bible readers know what happens with lukewarm coffee; it’ll be spewed. To prevent “spewn” coffee, make only what you are going to drink in a timely manner.
Either that or pour it (brew it) into a thermal carafe. I sell some really good ones for less than $30.
And whatever you do, don’t microwave your coffee. You could lose friends over that.
I know people who will leave coffee sitting in the pot or their mug for 3-4 hours and then nuke it.
I don’t know what kind of person does that, but it’s not the act of someone who cares enough about coffee to keep reading this blog.
So that’s the overview of the drip machine; now, here is my recipe for making great drip coffee.
Remember, this isn’t THE way to make it; it’s A way. It’s what works for me and a good starting point. Try it, then adjust until you zero in on your perfect cup.
DRIP COFFEE RECIPE:
GRIND - Medium (for more on coffee grinding, check out this post)
RATIO: 1:17 (for more on ratios, check out this post)
STEP-BY-STEP DIRECTIONS
Place ground coffee in the filter basket (I prefer non-bleached filters.)
Add cool/clean water to the reservoir (see this post on the importance of water quality)
Ensure the carafe is positioned properly
There is a reason that the saying is “no use crying over spilled milk.” Brewing coffee before having coffee can cause a problem, especially if you forget to put the pot back in place. Double-check to ensure it’s properly positioned so you don’t waste coffee and spend your morning crying and cleaning up a hot, wet mess. I may or may not be sharing from personal experience.
Start the brewing cycle & wait.
TIP: Preheat your coffee pot and mug to prevent “shocking” your coffee. Basically, pouring hot coffee into a cold receiver can cause a sudden 10-degree drop in temperature. If you do that twice (once as it brews into a cold carafe and again as you pour it into a cold mug), that’s twice the shock, and it can negatively impact the flavor of the coffee.
TIP: Try your coffee before adding anything to it. (For more on that, check out this post.)
SHAMELESS PLUG: This machine works as a drip or electric pour-over. It’s what I use in the store to brew customer samples. I like it because it is guaranteed to brew between 195 and 205 degrees.
If your machine isn’t operating properly, please click this link and consider >>> Coffee Brewer - Simply Good Coffee. I can demo it here at the store if you'd like.
At the time of this writing, there is a $25 discount, plus free, same-day shipping. NOTE: I'll receive a commission if you use the link to complete the purchase.
That’s it until next time. In the meantime, be well, do good, and brew on.
