How To Make Coffee In A Coffee Maker
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Making coffee in an automatic coffee maker seems so common and easy, but if you’ve never done it before, it can be pretty intimidating. Don’t worry – using my step-by-step instructions, you will learn exactly how to make coffee in a coffee maker. You will know how to make not just any coffee, but really good coffee!
The exact way of how you make coffee will depend on your particular model of coffee maker machine, but they are all pretty similar. All automatic coffee makers have 3 main components: water reservoir where you put clean water, coffee bean basket where you put coffee beans, and the pitcher (called carafe) that stores the coffee made by the machine.
First, here’s the overview of using the coffeemaker in a nutshell:
How To Make Coffee In A Coffee Maker
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp ground
- 1 cup water
Instructions
- Line the coffee basket with a paper coffee filter.
- Put the ground coffee in a filter, and close the coffee basket.
- Pour the water in the water reservoir of the coffee maker and close the lid.
- Make sure the coffee pitcher (carafe) is in the right place
- Press the Start button of the coffee maker.
Using this basic process, you will make coffee in your coffee maker. The machine finishes making coffee when there is no more water in the water reservoir. To drink coffee, just pour it out of the coffee pitcher into a coffee mug, and add cream and sugar.
Now, while anyone can make coffee, how do you make good coffee?
Making Good Coffee Vs. Ordinary Coffee
There are 3 main things that will make a difference in the quality of coffee that you make:
1. Use Freshly Ground Coffee
Coffee that’s freshly ground from whole coffee beans tastes noticeably better than the pre-ground coffee from the package. The difference is especially dramatic if your ground coffee package has been first opened more than a week ago. Ground coffee deteriorates very quickly, and that pre-ground coffee simply cannot stay fresh.
Grinding your own coffee beans is very easy and tastes less than a minute. All you need is to buy an automatic coffee grinder – they are sold in the same department as coffee makers. Those coffee grinders are inexpensive ($20 or less), and they can make a huge difference in how your coffee tastes.
For best tasting coffee, buy whole coffee beans. To make 1 cup of coffee, use 2 tbsp of whole coffee beans. To grind the coffee beans, just put them in a grinder and press the button. It will make ground coffee for you in just a few seconds!
The kind of coffee beans that you buy matters too. Start with Starbucks Breakfast blend coffee beans – this is a great coffee that most people like.
2. Use Filtered Water
If you use the tap water that smells of chlorine, you can’t expect this water to make you good tasting coffee :) For best quality coffee, use the best quality water. I use the filtered water that comes from a water filter in my refrigerator.
3. Use Good Coffee Maker
The best coffee makers are the ones that have thermal carafe, as opposed to the glass carafe. Thermal carafe stores hot coffee in an insulated thermos, while glass carafe keeps coffee hot by constantly heating the glass pitcher with the heating element. When the coffee is constantly heated, it starts tasting bitter.
If you drink your coffee immediately after making it, the type of coffee maker won’t matter, but if you ever let the coffee sit before drinking it, thermal carafe is a must.
Also, don’t go with the cheapest coffee makers – they tend to use the wrong temperature in the coffee making process, resulting in the worse tasting coffee. Invest in a coffee maker model that’s in the $70-$100 range. A good coffee maker model is Cuisinart with a thermal carafe – it costs around $90.
On the pictures in this articles, I have a Technivorm Moccamaster coffeemaker that’s a $300 coffeemaker, but even though it’s an excellent coffeemaker, it’s probably an overkill for most people. I just love my coffee and enjoy this cool toy :)
Step-By-Step Pictures How To Make Coffee In A Coffee Maker
Step 1: Remove The Coffee Basket
The picture below shows the coffee basket on the counter:
Step 2: Line The Coffee Basket With The Paper Coffee Filter
The most common coffee filter is a #4 cone coffee filter. Check your coffee maker instructions to determine what kind of filter you need.
The filter goes inside the coffee basket.
Step 3: Put Ground Coffee Beans Inside The Filter
Step 4: Put The Coffee Basket In The Coffee Maker And Close It
First, put the coffee basket with the coffee back to where it belongs in the coffee maker.
Next, close the coffee basket with its cover.
Step 5: Pour Water In The Water Reservoir
First, open the lid on the water reservoir:
Next, pour water in the water reservoir:
After you added water, put the lid back.
Step 6: Press The Start Button On The Coffee Maker
Step 7: After The Coffee Maker Is Done Making Coffee, Pour Coffee Into A Cup!
Take the coffee carafe and pour the coffee into your mug :)
Enjoy your freshly brewed coffee!
Now you are a pro in making coffee in a coffee maker! For more secrets on how to make best coffee, see how to make good coffee at home.
Also did you know that you can make Cinnamon Dolce Latte (very similar to Starbucks) at home in your coffee maker? See the Starbucks Cinnamon Dolce Latte recipe.
