Three Ways to Make a Better Cup of Coffee at Home

A day without coffee is like…just kidding. We have no idea. If you’re like us, you can’t start your morning without a hot cup o’ joe, whether you brew it at home or stand in line at your favorite coffee shop, wondering how the barista serves up everything from cold brew creations to specialty drip roasts with (seemingly) little effort. And no matter what you order, the taste is always 10 times as rich as whatever you get from your old coffee pot, no matter how many grounds you add. So if you crave that rich, café-style coffee taste but don’t want to spend $6 every day on a latte, then keep reading: we’re sharing our favorite tips for making better coffee at home.

Start With Great Coffee Beans

A great cup of coffee is made from the ground up – literally. So if you buy high-quality beans, you’re more likely to brew a richer, more flavorful cup of coffee. For a lighter, brighter, coffee, go with a light or medium roast. If you want a deep, more complex flavor, go for a dark roast. We love coffees that are infused with unexpected flavors (like Creamed Honey, English Toffee, or Maple Brown Sugar), but no matter what you wake up craving, make sure that your coffee beans are fresh, and, if possible, locally roasted.

Coffee beans can last up to a month if they’re stored in a cool, dry place, but immediately after roasting, compounds begin to escape from the beans in a process called degassing – taking a lot of flavor with them. After 8 days, up to 70% of those compounds will be gone. As time goes on, you lose more flavor and are left with stale-tasting coffee. Buying local coffee ensures that less of your coffee’s “shelf life” has been wasted on packaging and transportation.

Get On the Daily Grind

We know what you’re thinking: grinding coffee yourself is pain. But it’s really not…so long as you use a great coffee grinder. Different brewing methods require different grind sizes to make great coffee, so make sure you pay attention to your grinder’s coarseness (or fineness) setting. If the coffee brews too quickly, it means the grind was too coarse. If it brews too slowly, it means the grind was too fine. Additionally, if the coffee tastes too acidic and sour it usually means the grind was too coarse, and if it tastes too bitter, it means the grind was too fine. Generally speaking, espresso requires a fine grind, pour-overs and AeroPress require a medium grind, and French Presses require a coarse grind.

Use the Right Amount of Coffee

Your coffee-to-water ratio will determine how strong or weak your cup of coffee will be – but exactly how much coffee should you use? As a general rule, use 2 tablespoons of coffee for every 6 ounces of water, but feel free to experiment with your measurements depending on the coffee’s flavor (and fast you need to wake up).

Too much morning and not enough coffee? We can fix that. Enjoy a mug (or two) of locally-roasted May River Coffee Roasters coffee over breakfast then buy a bag of beans for later. Each small batch is infused with inspired flavors like Banana Cream Pie, Chocolate Covered Oranges, and Blueberry Cream. Learn more about May River Coffee Roasters here: https://mayrivercoffeeroasters.com/?v=c65242dc6c2c