Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Brewing a STRONG Travel Mug of Coffee in Your Keurig

This is the inside of a k-cup. It has actual ground coffee in it, not instant coffee, and a teeny tiny cute mini filter, which is what makes them famous for fresh tasting coffee :)
I have a love affair with my Keurig. I got it a year ago, and the honeymoon phase is still not over! But it wasn't always like that. Last Christmas when I opened it (a gift from dear ol' Dad!) I couldn't wait to brew that first "perfect cup of coffee". So I woke up Christmas morning, fired it up, stuck in my travel mug, set it for a 12 oz cup and brewed. A weak, watery cup of coffee. Thinking it was a fluke, I tried another. And got a weak, watery cup of coffee. This was bad, because I yearn each morning to fill my 16 oz mug and sip away! But I want my coffee to TASTE like coffee. Even if it's in a big cup. I guess I want my cake and to eat it to ;)


I did a little research online and discovered it is not recommended that you make a cup larger than 8 oz. What?!?! Then what is the point of the 12 oz setting? The problem seems to be that the water runs through the grounds quickly, which is fine and dandy if you want a small cup. But if the water runs through quickly for a large cup, the grounds aren't saturated enough, so you get a weak cup of coffee. Does that make sense?  One well meaning blogger suggested you pop the lid halfway through brewing to pause the cycle and give the grounds time to steep. I did this for a while, which did in fact make a  much stronger cup but realized that this can cause damage to the air pump in the machine. SO DON'T DO IT THAT WAY :)


After some trial and error, here is my best method for brewing a perfect 16 oz travel mug of STRONG coffee :)

Start with a dark, or bold coffee. We all have different tastes, so test the different flavors and see what you like. Some of my faves are Dark Magic, Santas Buzz, Kona Blend, and Neumanns Own Extra Bold. Or, use a my kcup and fill it with whatever brand you like.

Set your machine to brew an 8 oz cup. If you have a smaller machine, it will automatically be an 8 oz setting. Hit brew, and walk away for a minute while it works. (I am a multi-tasker. I can't wait the 30 seconds it takes to brew!) I usually do 15 other things here such as make lunches, eat breakfast, yell at kids to hurry up. It's ok, the coffee can steep for a few minutes ;)


Get out your creamer if that's what you like. Today I was in a vanilla mood.... BTW, I'm loving the new natural creamers. Why did it take us so long to discover that real cream tastes better. HELL-OOO!

After brewing that first 8 oz cup, I add my creamer. This allows the second part of the coffee to mix the cream in, no stirring needed. Hello! No spoon to wash= less time cleaning up!

To brew the second phase on a platinum, you must lift the lid and re-close it to reset the brewing cycle. DO NOT change your K-CUP! Now that the grounds sat damp, they will let out more flavor :)



Brew the second cup and voila, a nice, strong cup of coffee. MMMMM.
This method works with any k-CUP that steeps, even apple cider.(although some will be stronger than others, so I only make a 12 oz apple cider, at the MOST)  If you aren't sure, open up an empty k-cup and see what's left behind. Hot chocolate or Chai Latte, for example will be empty, because they are instant. Don't try this method with those, they WILL get really watery.

Please let me know if you've learned any fun tricks with your Keurig! I'd love to hear them :)

1 comment:

  1. Great tips! Hoping to use them soon with my Christmas gift. I'm oh-so excited!

    ReplyDelete

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