How to brew the best pot of coffee

How to Brew the (Nearly) Perfect Pot of Coffee

If you're into Folgers as a fuel source and cover the mudwater taste with sugar and creamer, our coffee is not for you…

So stop reading now…

Hide your head in shame…

And close this page.

But, if you want a decent shot at brewing a nearly perfect pot of flavorful coffee... 

That still has those magical jitter juice properties you need to start your day without killing anyone…

Then let's get to work.

First, understand that brewing coffee is not rocket surgery.

But it's also not a haphazard activity for the sloppy…

You know, like the coworker who figures the more scoops of brown pixie dust in the filter basket, the better the coffee will be.

Making a pot of coffee is cooking. You're taking X amount of ingredients and combining it with Y and adding Z amount of heat for T amount of time. 

If I were smart, there's probably an algebraic formula there, but math and I stopped being friends once calculus came into my life. 

So, by keeping a chef's mindset, understand we are giving you a basic recipe, and your job is to play with it to suit your tastes.


Ingredients

  • 2 tbsp of fresh ground Adventure Dog Coffee for every cup of coffee needed
  • 6 oz of filtered water for every cup of coffee needed

Note: We recommend using a ratio of 2 tablespoons of ground coffee for every 6 ounces of water. Consider this your baseline. Keep this ratio for the first two or three pots with our coffee.

Once you can get a consistent taste, start experimenting with the type of grind and the coffee-to-water ratio. For example, if the coffee is too strong for your preferences, decrease the grinds by ½ teaspoon per ounce of water. Similarly, you can try a slightly coarser ground. Just change one variable at a time (water volume, coffee volume, or coffee grind).

Preparation

  1. Start with the freshest beans possible. Whole bean coffee (depending on the roast) can stay fresh-tasting up to 30 days after the vacuum seal is broken...and it's stored properly. Ground beans might go up to two weeks. You can still use older coffee, but you're losing a lot of the flavor. 
  2. If possible, grind your 2 tbsp of whole coffee beans to a medium grind using a burr grinder just before you're ready to make the coffee. Quality grinders have multiple settings (up to 40 on some models), so follow the manufacturer's directions and use that as your starting point. Grinding is where most people screw the pooch. If the grounds are too coarse, you'll lose a lot of flavor. If they're too fine, you'll end up with an overpowering taste. So, start in the middle and adjust from there.
  3. Pour 6 oz of filtered cold water in the coffee maker's water tank for every cup of coffee you want to make. If you're cool with the taste of your tap water, use that. If not, go with bottled water. 
  4. We may be morons, and probably are, but we haven't had much luck with the metal mesh filters. Paper is the way to go. Lightly rinse the paper filter in water first to wash out the paper dust. 
  5. Put the wet filter in the basket, put the grinds in the filter, and let the machine do its job. Your brewer should be heating water to 195 - 205 degrees Fahrenheit. To check yours, run water through the brewer without any coffee and use an accurate thermometer to take a reading (like a ThermoWorks Pocket Digital Thermometer). If your brewer sucks, send us an email. We'll give you a list of some of our favorite home brewers that you can pick up on Amazon.
  6. Once the coffee is brewed, give it a quick stir in the pot and serve as soon as possible.

PRO TIP 1

Start with a clean brewer. You do not want the residue from past brews influencing the taste of your next pot. If you're super anal about this, run a pot of water (no coffee in the filter basket) between brews. You may be surprised at how unclean your brewer is.


PRO TIP 2

For the love of all that is holy, DO NOT REHEAT YOUR COFFEE in the microwave. Just. Don't. Make enough coffee that you can drink within an hour. If you are a sipper instead of a chugger, consider putting your coffee in one of those pricey stainless steel coffee tumblers with vacuum insulated walls. 

PRO TIP 3 

Each of our coffees has its own signature flavor. What brewing method you use for Skip's Sumatra Mandheling dark roast is not going to be the same as what you use for the light roast. Because you are now a coffee chef, keep a notebook and pencil handy. Write down your grind settings, the amount of coffee and water you used, your brew settings, and your tasting notes. 

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