5 Tips to Improve At-Home Drip Coffee
Your drip coffee maker might look basic, but trust us—it has serious potential. With a few small adjustments, you can take your daily cup from “meh” to “wow” without spending a ton of money on fancy gear—we’re talking coffee shop quality, without the price tag. The best news of all? Your friends at Thomas Coffee are here to spill the beans. Think of this as your crash course in becoming the barista of your kitchen!
1.) Clean your equipment.
Before we get too far ahead of ourselves, we need to give your drip coffee maker a thorough clean. Coffee oils and mineral buildup can sneak up on you. Even if your machine looks clean, give it a regular deep wash and descale by using a product, such as Cafiza Powder, or a 50/50 mix of vinegar and water.
To descale using Cafiza Powder, put ½ a teaspoon of the powder into the brew basket. Fill your reservoir with water and run a cycle. Let the solution soak for 20 to 30 minutes before scrubbing well. Rinse the equipment and run a couple of cycles with clean water.
To descale using a 50/50 vinegar and water mix, pour the solution into your reservoir and run a cycle. Soak, scrub, and run a few cycles with clean water to ensure the vinegar mix has been thoroughly flushed. Easy enough!
2.) Find your coffee-to-water ratio.
The standard coffee-to-water ratio is 1:16. For simplicity, we recommend investing in a kitchen scale with the ability to measure in grams. To measure using a scale, set the measuring unit to grams and tare out your pitcher. Add 16oz of water to find the weight in grams (~473g). Divide 473g by 16 to find your needed amount of coffee (~30g in this example).
If you do not have a kitchen scale, no worries, you can use measuring spoons and cups! For the same example, use 16oz of water (~473 grams) and assume that 1 Tablespoon of coffee is equal to ~6g. Because we are using the same example, we know we need ~30g of coffee - the equivalent of about 5 Tablespoons!
COFFEE TO WATER CHEAT SHEET - 1:16 RATIO
| COFFEE, IN GRAMS | WATER, IN mL & OZ |
| 30 grams | 480mL, 16oz |
| 35 grams | 560mL, 19oz |
| 40 grams | 640mL, 21oz |
| 45 grams | 720mL, 24oz |
| 50 grams | 800mL, 27oz |
Pro Tip: Use clean, filtered water! Weird Water = Weird Coffee
3.) Choose your grind size.
Not too fine, not too coarse—think Goldilocks. A medium grind is usually perfect for drip machines, but don’t be afraid to experiment. Too fine? Bitter city. Too coarse? Watery and flat. Play around until you find what grind size suits you best!
Pro Tip: Grind freshly-roasted whole bean coffee for the optimal flavor and quality!
4.) Ensure proper water temperature.
To make sure your coffee is being properly extracted, ensure the water temperature is between 195℉ and 205℉. Brewers with heating elements in the bottom typically do not allow the water to reach the desired temperature range before it first hits the coffee. This can be resolved by “pre–heating” your equipment – run a cycle with just water before adding in your coffee for the second cycle.
Dark Roast Coffee is most successfully brewed within the 185℉-190℉ range, due to its faster extraction speed.
Brewers that utilize a thermal drip heating method successfully heat water to the desired temperature range before it ever gets to the coffee! These types do not require any additional steps to reach the optimal temperature range.
5.) How to evenly distribute your bed of coffee grounds.
Once your coffee is in the basket, give it a gentle shake to even out the bed of grounds. This helps water flow evenly and keeps your coffee from tasting patchy or uneven.
If you’ve noticed dry patches in your brew basket after you’ve brewed a pot, try to lift the lid and give the coffee grounds a good stir as the water is dispensing. This will help to ensure that all of the coffee grounds are properly saturated.
Making great drip coffee isn’t about being fancy—it’s about paying attention to the little things. From your water to your grind to the way you measure, small tweaks make a big difference. Try these tips to taste the difference for yourself!