Drip coffee maker, how much coffee to add, preparation method

Operating principle of a drip coffee maker

In earlier times, making coffee was considered a whole science. It was necessary not only to correctly understand how much ground grain to pour, but also to carefully monitor the Turk. The slightest mistake associated with burning could turn the coffee into a sour slurry.

The advent of coffee machines marked the beginning of the era of gourmets who are able to prepare their favorite drink in their own kitchen. In this area, the capsule coffee maker is the most popular model. Reason: ease of use. This is an easy-to-understand technique that anyone can master after training.

The principle of operation is very simple. There is a reservoir into which water is poured. Passing through the heater, it reaches boiling temperature. Hot water reaches the filter, into which you first need to pour crushed grains. The liquid, combining with the grounds, begins to brew it. And drop by drop, the coffee acquires a characteristic taste and aroma.

Drip coffee makers are characterized by speed of preparation and ease of use. On average, 250 ml of water takes 2.5 minutes.

It would seem that everything is simple and there should be no difficulties during welding. But you need to understand that there are pitfalls here too.

Coffee recipes other than classic ones

Using a drip coffee maker, you can prepare not only the classic version of the drink. The device is also suitable for other recipes.

Espresso

The list of products required for making espresso is minimal:

9 g ground coffee beans;
30 ml water.

The drink is prepared in a drip coffee maker according to the following principle:

Coffee powder is poured into the filter.
Water is poured into the rear tank.
The device turns on.
As the liquid moves into the lower container, the finished drink is poured into heated cups.

Latte

To prepare milk you will need the following ingredients:

50 ml espresso coffee;
200 ml milk;
a pinch of cinnamon;
3 g chopped walnuts.

Cooking steps:

Make espresso in a coffee pot and pour it into a tall glass.
Beat the milk with a blender or mixer.
Pour the resulting mixture over espresso.
Place milk foam on top.
Sprinkle the surface with walnuts and cinnamon.

Viennese cappuccino

The main ingredients for cappuccino will be ready-made espresso (50 ml), whipped cream (50 ml), milk (200 g), chocolate (20 g). The drink is created according to the following recipe:

Heat the milk and pour it into a glass.
Here the espresso is poured slowly and carefully.
Place whipped cream on top.
Chocolate chips scatter over the surface of the cream.

Spiced

For a refined taste, it is best to use a strong variety of spicy drink. For 1 serving you will need:

2 teaspoons ground coffee;
2-3 flakes of orange zest;
2-3 cardamom grains;
cinnamon (on the tip of a knife);
powdered sugar.

Ground coffee mixed with cardamom and zest. The resulting composition is poured into the filter and the device is turned on. When the coffee is ready, it is poured into a cup. Sprinkle the liquid with cinnamon and decorate with powdered sugar.

Ginger Americano with blackberries

Drink drinkers who prefer to enjoy the aroma of berries with hints of spice can try making coffee using this recipe:

3-4 blackberries;
1 tablespoon ginger syrup;
2 teaspoons ground coffee;
2 tsp blackberry jam.

The drink is prepared in the classic way. When the coffee is ready, it is poured from the container into a cup, onto the bottom of which blackberry jam is first spread. Add ginger syrup in a thin stream. An additional decoration is blackberries, which are carefully placed on the surface of the drink.

Irish coffee drink

The Irish recipe uses alcohol. For this reason, this drink is often prepared during the day, or when you want to cheer up and warm up.

The main ingredient is espresso. One serving is prepared at the rate of 9 g of freshly ground coffee per 30-40 ml of liquid.

Additional Ingredients:

20 g sugar;
20 ml water;
40 ml cream;
30 ml whiskey.

Double espresso is prepared for the Irish drink. In a separate bowl, water in which sugar is dissolved is heated. Do not let it boil. Slowly pour the resulting hot sweet syrup into the coffee. In the next step, alcohol is added.

Whip the cream with a whisk. Another option is to purchase a standard product. Place a thick white mass on top of the coffee and serve.

Secrets to getting a delicious drink from a drip coffee maker

The simple operating principle of a drip coffee maker was outlined earlier. Most often, such models do not imply an additional set of functions: maximum heating of the drink, power adjustment and that’s all.

Through trial and error, coffee lovers reached their Zen, understanding how to brew delicious coffee in a drip coffee maker:

slowly brewing the grounds with water;
using the right water;
selection of good coffee.

The result of well-selected ground grains and the ratio of the products used will be a tasty drink.

But first, which carob coffee maker is considered the best?

Here, every individual coffee lover will have his own opinion. The fact is that everyone has their own needs. For example, if you have minimal space in your kitchen and little time, you will look for models with a built-in coffee grinder. Or maybe you will be more interested in the function of selecting the strength of the drink (especially if there are several coffee lovers in the family, and everyone has their own opinion on how to brew coffee correctly). An esthete will like a glass coffee pot, a busy person will like a metal one (since it’s a thermos), and an absent-minded person will definitely need a model with a shut-off function.

How to Brew the Best Coffee: The Secret to Slow Brewing

The trick to brewing the best coffee is to steep the grounds slowly (but not excessively) with water. Applicable only to devices with the ability to regulate water supply power. Therefore, when buying a coffee maker, pay attention to this point.

You can also regulate the brewing speed using the degree of grinding: increase it for slow brewing, and decrease it for fast brewing.

The indicator can be adjusted using the amount of coffee used: to reduce it, pour more.

Best models

Judging by the reviews on the network, the most “starred” (that is, the one with the largest number of stars on the forums) can be called the Philips HD7546/20 model: a steel jug, a removable filter, high power, allowing you to brew a strong drink. Next comes the beauty Melitta Look Therm: a thermos with a lid, an illuminated switch... In third place is Scarlett SC-031: its only drawback is that it is white, which means it is easily soiled. This is a good, inexpensive device.

Cook only with high quality water

Say a categorical “No!” to unfiltered tap water. Impurities included in the composition will negatively affect the taste of the finished drink.

Try to pour water into the reservoir in a thin stream. This method helps saturate it with oxygen, which has a beneficial effect on the quality of the drink.

Poor quality water, when combined with the elements contained in a disposable filter, can give an unpredictable result.

Making delicious filter coffee

Step 1

Pour the required amount of water into the coffee maker reservoir. Some coffee makers do not automatically turn off after a few minutes and only turn off when the water in the reservoir runs out. That is, more water can pass through coffee than we need. We'll talk about the proportion of water to coffee a little later.

Water is not just an ingredient for making coffee - water can dissolve a limited amount of substances in a certain time. How many coffee particles it can accept depends on how saturated it is initially. Water that is too soft has few impurities and dissolves too many particles in the coffee. And vice versa - hard water already contains a lot of impurities and does not dissolve enough coffee particles. As a result, coffee turns out tasteless with hard water, and overly bright with soft water.

Another goal that we pursue when choosing the “right” water is to avoid problems with the coffee machine.

If you cook a lot and often, install a household filter; if not, buy bottled water, for example “Holy Source” - this water has an excellent composition for making coffee: mineralization 100–500 mg/l, calcium less than 80 mg/l.

The main rules when choosing water for coffee: transparent, odorless, mineralization from 80 to 180 mg/l (100 would be very good), chlorine level is zero, neutral pH level - 6.5-7.5 (good if equal to 7). A high pH will result in tasteless or “flat” coffee, while a low pH will result in more acidity in the coffee.

Step 2

Install a mesh or paper filter into the coffee hopper. Our recommendation is to use Melitta bleached paper filters. This is not only more hygienic, but also significantly less coffee dust gets into the drink.

In turn, Melitta filters, in addition to different sizes, come in different densities:

Original - basic filters. Similar in structure to Hario filters
Gourmet - These filters allow more coffee oils to pass through.
Gourmet Intense - these filters allow water to pass through more slowly and brewing lasts longer than coffee with such filters that is richer. Our opinion is that if there is not enough density in the taste, it is better to add more grams of coffee to the same volume of water.
Gourmet Mild - these filters can allow coffee dust to pass through.

Step 3: Grinding

You will need a coffee grinder with burrs suitable for filter grinding. It can be either a manual or electric coffee grinder. The main thing is the absence of small fractions that remain after grinding. They make the coffee taste less “clean” and affect the richness of the taste. This fine fraction will also clog the paper filter so much that the coffee will not leak at all.

We recommend using a grind that resembles large sea salt crystals and reducing it the next time you brew (without changing the proportion of water to coffee) if you find the drink slightly rich. Grind coffee, the weight of which can be calculated using the proportion 1:16 1 gram of coffee for every 16 milliliters (that is, 62.5 g of coffee per 1 liter) In order to quickly adjust the grinding, focus on the size of the sea salt crystals (on different coffee grinders this different meanings).

Step 4: Selecting Coffee

In our assortment of coffee, you can order not only high-quality grinding, but also consult on the choice of coffee. We also have coffee sets, for example, balanced (ideal balance of acidity, sweetness and bitterness) or trial (suitable for those who cannot decide on a choice).

Step 5

There is a kushina heating function - the coffee will remain hot for a very long time. When used this way, there is a risk of “baking” the coffee: if you leave the jug on the heat for more than an hour, the taste of the drink will deteriorate over time. If you turn off the heating, the coffee will soon cool down to room temperature, and not everyone likes cold coffee. The best option is to pour it into a heated thermos immediately after the drink is ready. This way it will cool much more slowly and remain warm for five hours.

Coffee is everything

There is no need to strive to get a divine drink from cheap grain. We give preference to good varieties of freshly roasted coffee. We select the degree of roasting according to taste. When choosing between ground coffee and beans, we choose the latter.

The undeniable advantages of grain over ground:

coffee, which has already been ground, quickly begins to lose its original aroma, absorbing odors from the environment;
the opportunity to buy a fake from the grain assortment is much lower.

The only drawback is the mandatory presence of a coffee grinder, without which the use of beans is simply impossible. The degree of grinding can be called the main factor for a drip coffee maker, and how much coffee to add is a secondary factor.

A little theory

Are filter coffee and Americano the same thing? According to the method of preparation - no. But in meaning - yes.

During World War II, American soldiers filled coffee shops in Italy. They did not appreciate Italian espresso at all and demanded the barista to make them the coffee they were used to - weak and in a large mug. Italian coffee shops did not make American-style filter coffee. And the baristas got out of the situation in this way: they brewed double espresso and diluted it with hot water, dismissively calling this drink “Americano.”

So, filter coffee is a drink prepared by pouring water through a filter with ground coffee. An Americano is espresso prepared in a coffee machine and diluted with water. But the taste, concentration and serving method of these two drinks are very similar. The result is not very strong, not very hot coffee in a large cup. Exactly the kind that American soldiers demanded from Italian baristas.

How to prepare a coffee machine

To brew a real high-quality drink, you need to prepare the coffee machine for use. What to do for this:

Wash your coffee machine regularly; before brewing for the first time, carefully remove layers of factory dust from all possible surfaces and containers;
The water container is filled with cold water;
set the optimal cooking temperature;
the first water that the coffee machine drives through itself must be drained;
adjust the water hardness and select the degree of grinding if there is a built-in coffee grinder.

The main tasks of a home barista are to maintain cleanliness, because... When dirty, foreign odors appear and choose high-quality ingredients, the composition of which corresponds to the capabilities of the device. Prepare a coffee drink following the recommended recipe, then any type of coffee in the coffee machine will turn out well.

Step-by-step instructions for use

Before using the coffee maker, it must be prepared for use. A new device sometimes smells like plastic and may emit other technical odors. Therefore, the following steps must be taken beforehand:

Water is poured into the entire volume of the tank. There is no need to install a filter or pour powder inside the container.
Turn on the device and wait until all the water follows the intended paths inside the coffee maker and collects in the coffee pot.
The device turns off and remains in this form along with water for 15-20 minutes.
The procedure should be repeated at least 3 times. During this time, foreign odors will completely disappear and the device can be used for its intended purpose.

Before you start using it, be sure to read the instructions on how to use the coffee maker. In any case, all actions are performed in several stages:

Filling with water. It is poured at the very beginning, in the quantity necessary to obtain certain qualities of the drink - strength and taste. Monitor the upper level and do not overfill. During filling, water should not get on other parts of the device.
Filter installation. Placed in a special container. Can be reusable - nylon or metal. Disposable paper filters are often used - more convenient and effective. Thanks to their use, it is possible to completely avoid the unpleasant tastes characteristic of reusable elements.
Adding ground coffee. Typically, 1 cup requires 2-3 teaspoons. The required amount of powder is poured directly into the filter. The jug for the finished drink should be in its place. The device turns on, the coffee is prepared and collected in a container. The whole process takes on average 4-10 minutes. If there is no automatic shut-off, you must turn off the coffee maker yourself.

Barista Tips

It is better to grind coffee beans before preparing the drink. If you buy ground coffee, you need to store it in an airtight container.

The strength of espresso is influenced by the degree of grinding of the coffee beans and the density of the coffee tablet.

What and how the degree of grinding of coffee in a coffee machine affects: the finer the grind, the greater the strength. But grinding coffee into dust will leave sediment in the drink.

Why is coffee from a coffee machine sour (bitter): grinding too finely will give the drink excessive bitterness, while coarse grinding will give it sourness. Medium grinding is comparable to regular sand, coarse grinding is comparable to sugar grinding.

The strength depends on the degree of compaction of the coffee tablet. When pressing manually, the tamper should lie exactly at a right angle, and the coffee filling should not flake or crumble.