Want to know how to make good coffee with Keurig? Are you unhappy with your morning cup of joe?
Don’t blame your Keurig machine!
There are things you can do to improve the quality of your Keurig coffee while still enjoying a hot brew in a matter of minutes.
I’m an avid coffee drinker with a busy schedule. So, I bought the Keurig single-serve coffee maker after realizing how convenient and cheap it would be. Once I had the machine, I wanted to figure out how to make my Keurig coffee as good as the coffee I was spending my weekly paycheck on.
After some trial and error, I found four helpful things to improve the Keurig coffee taste.
- Start with a foundation of clean, fresh-tasting water.
- Choose quality coffee.
- Maintain the Keurig coffee maker.
- Brew each cup with skill (and love).
Let’s break down these components a bit further.
Get Back to Basics
Having clean water is important in general, let alone for your morning cup of coffee. It’s beneficial overall to confirm the quality of your tap water with your local utility company. The EPA has guidelines and information that anyone can check to see if their community water is of good quality. If you simply do not like the taste of your tap water, use fresh filtered or spring water instead.
The other key ingredient in a good cup, of course, is the coffee itself.
It is better to buy a Keurig compatible coffee filter that you can reuse daily, rather than going with the pre-packaged pods. This allows you to choose your roast and experiment with the measure of coffee grounds you use per k cup (and not have the guilt of daily disposing of plastic pods). And using your own coffee grounds gives you a greater degree control.
Many people don’t take the time to differentiate their taste preferences based on coffee beans. Or, they feel overwhelmed by the choices. But given enough time, you will start to understand your own preferences. Once you know what coffee beans you like best, your cup will be the highlight of your morning routine.
Go to the bulk section of your local grocery store and buy loose beans from a few different regions. You’ll quickly figure out which varieties you like. Tastes will differ with processing, but in a general sense, each region has specific undertones.
- Central American: This region is the most common source of coffee for North America. Most blends come from Guatemala and Honduras. The taste is usually a balance between acidic and sweet with a fruity foundation.
- South American: Depending on where the coffee comes from in South America, the flavors can change. Columbian and Peruvian coffee tends to be sweet and medium-bodied. Brazilian coffee is often heavier with a nutty, chocolate undertone.
- African: Ethiopian coffee can be fruity and heavy, or light and floral depending on the processing method. Coffee from Kenya is often strong and bold.
- Indonesian: Most Indonesian blends are deep, dark, and earthy.
A good rule of thumb is to invest in a coffee bean grinder. If that isn’t an option, you can usually grind bulk beans at the store where you bought them, however, keep in mind that ground coffee does go bad quicker than whole beans. Having freshly ground coffee will add to the freshness, and you can experiment with the strength of the coffee.
If you also want to go to the next step, you can look at roasting your own coffee.
How water interacts with the coffee grounds and the grind size determines the strength of your coffee. A finer grind leads to a stronger cup of coffee, but you might be over extracting the coffee grounds. A medium grind is the most common for Keurig users and could lead to a more even extraction.
Take Care of Your Machine
If your Keurig machine is not properly maintained, you’ll start to notice that your morning cup of Keurig coffee will go downhill quickly.
It doesn’t take much effort to clean and maintain your machine. Start with cleaning the reusable filter after every cup. A simple process of regularly descaling the machine with water and vinegar will keep the needle and water lines clean. It will also dissolve any mineral buildup.
Brew Your Perfect Cup
Clean machine? Check. The right accessories? Check. A good foundation of clean water and good beans? Check.
Now, you can make slight adjustments to the brewing process to fit your taste and preferences.
When it’s time to brew some hot coffee, let your machine preheat for a few minutes before you get started. Having the hottest water possible is imperative when making Keurig coffee, no matter how much in a hurry you are. The water needs to be hot enough to properly extract the flavor from the grounds as soon as it hits them. If you have the time, it can even be beneficial to run a “ghost cup” with only water to get it as hot as possible for your brew.
Want a stronger cup? A quick trick is to use the same amount of grounds for a 10-ounce cup but set your machine for 6-8 ounces. I sometimes use the smallest setting to get a cup of coffee as close an espresso taste as possible. But of course it’s not the same as actual espresso from a dedicated machine.
With minimal effort, you can have both a convenient and better tasting coffee every morning with your Keurig. Don’t be afraid to keep adjusting and experimenting as you go. It won’t take long for you to create a perfect cup of fresh coffee with convenience.