A Guide to a Better Brew: 7 Essential Tips for Making Coffee at Home

It's no question that Americans love coffee. We consume over 400 million cups of this delicious liquid per day!

Most of the time, making coffee at home isn't as satisfying as heading on over to our favorite coffee shop for our daily cup of joe. That's because we often fall into a rut of doing the same routine over and over again. By switching things up and finding the right process, your morning cup of coffee will be as delicious as any café specialty.

Listed down below are some easy tips and tricks to bring your coffee brewing skills to a whole new level.

1. Use High-Quality Coffee Beans
Making a great cup of coffee starts with choosing the right coffee beans for the job. Think of it as trying to make art with children's supplies. Sure, you're able to make something, but it'll never be as good a quality.

If you're a true lover of coffee, make sure you use the best of the best. High-quality beans, such as Sumatra beans, pack a stronger punch of flavor and are far richer in taste. There are nuanced hints that'll tingle your tastebuds in a way that a lower quality would never be able to create.
Take the time to learn about Sumatra coffee and other high-quality coffee beans, such as Kona coffee beans, to amp up your next brew!

2. Measure the Right Amount
There's no saving a cup of coffee if the water to bean ratio is off. Either it's too strong or too watery and no one wants that. Everyone has a personal preference, but it's a good idea to start in the middle ground when you're trying to perfect your brewing technique.

Check the packaging and recommended measurements that came along with your coffee machine. Use this as a base and adjust from there. This way, you'll have a good foundation to fall back on as you continue to experiment and find the right measurements for you.

3. Use Air-Tight Storage
A lot of outside factors affect the flavor of your coffee beans. Heat, strong smells, and even light intensity change the way your favorite bean brews in the boiling water of your machine.
Don't leave your precious coffee beans sitting out without proper storage. Pour them into an air-tight container that and store them in a place that doesn't get hit by direct sunlight.

Despite the old saying, you should avoid putting the beans in the freezer. The change in temperatures creates condensation that messes with the flavor. Storing the beans in a cool place somewhere in your cupboards should be enough to keep them safe.

4. Brew With Filtered Water
At the end of it all, coffee is water and coffee beans. That's why it's so important to make sure that both of those ingredients are of the highest quality.
Once you've found your favorite coffee beans, put your attention on the water next. Tap water works okay if you're lucky enough to have soft water in your pipes. If you have hard water, make sure to use softeners beforehand.

To make the perfect cup of coffee, you'll want to use filtered water or even distilled water. Never use reboiled water, as the oxygen in the water will evaporate even further, which leaves the water tasting off.

5. Clean the Machine Often
How often do you clean your coffee machine? Don't worry, we're all in the same boat here. Cleaning the pot itself is easy enough, but the rest of the machine needs regular cleaning, too.
It's easy to put off this task but it's not something we should ignore if we're looking to make better coffee. Each section of the machine plays a part in effecting the flavor. The whole machine needs cleaning at least once a week to ensure that no strange flavors are mixing in with your coffee.
Before you clean, take a few moments to read the owner's manual that came with your machine. You don't want to clean something the wrong way and end up ruining the entire thing!

6. Don't Mix Old and New Coffee
When you first wake up in the morning and you're not feeling much like yourself, it's easy to leave the old coffee in the pot and start a new one on top of it. It's more convenient and it's all coffee, isn't it?

That's not quite true since old coffee is never as good as a fresh pot. It loses a lot of the rich flavors and doesn't hold the same kick. Mixing the two ends up dampening the fresh coffee and you're left with a mediocre cup of coffee that isn't satisfying.
It won't harm you to drink old coffee, and during a rough morning, sometimes it's the easier option. Whenever you're looking for the perfect morning kick, however, always go for something freshly brewed, like a delicious blend from Runner Bean Coffee.

7. Experiment With New Ingredients
Even once you've found a great coffee combination, don't be afraid to experiment. After a while, that perfect cup starts to bore your taste buds if you don't add a new twist.
Sometimes even the smallest of changes is enough to reinvigorate an everyday cup of coffee.
Instead of sugar, try cinnamon. Add a swirl of whipped cream, you can use a whipped cream dispenser and nitrous oxide cream chargers which are very popular both in cafes and at home for whipping cream.

Find the Perfect Brew By Making Coffee at Home
Finding the right combination of coffee bean, water, and brewing technique takes a little bit of experimentation. Sooner or later, you'll stumble into something that you love even more than the coffee shop down the street.

Making coffee at home lets you control every ingredient and every step in the process. Take the time to learn how to brew coffee like a pro, and you'll treat yourself with something delicious every single morning.

What's even better is the fact that making coffee at home is a much cheaper option, too!
Make sure to check out the rest of our recipes section for even more cooking inspiration!