Coffee at Home: How to Brew the Best Coffee
Preparing great tasting drip coffee at home is simple with a Capresso coffee maker, and today we’re sharing a few tips to help you brew the best tasting coffee with your machine.
Water
Always use fresh, cold water, preferably filtered. Filtered water typically holds the ideal mineral content and will help give your coffee a fresh taste.
Coffee Freshness
Once you open a bag of your favorite coffee beans, it’s best to consume them within one week. Store them in an airtight container in a cool, dry place that is free of odors. Never store coffee in the refrigerator or freezer, as moisture can damage the flavor.
Coffee Grind Size
For the freshest taste, it’s best to grind fresh whole bean coffee right before brewing. For drip coffee makers, the grind should be medium or similar to the texture of sand. If you find your brewed coffee tastes bitter, it may be over extracted or ground too fine. Alternatively, if your coffee tastes flat, it may be under extracted or ground too coarse.
Time
The amount of time the water is in contact with the ground coffee greatly affects the taste of your coffee. All Capresso coffee makers brew in less than 1 minute per cup. Coffee brewed for longer than this has a tendency to taste bitter. You can also experiment with the coffee grind size to help speed up or slow down brewing. Using finer grinds will yield in a faster brew, while using coarser grinds will help slow down the brewing process.
Temperature
Water temperature during brewing will affect your coffee’s flavor and extraction. The ideal water temperature during brewing is between 195°F – 205°F. Once the coffee is brewed into the carafe, the holding temperature is around 180°F. The serving temperature of coffee is between 155°F – 175°F, depending on personal taste.
Hygiene & Maintenance
It is important to keep your coffee maker and coffee equipment clean. Descale your coffee maker every 2 -3 months if you have hard water, or every 6 months if you have soft water. Ensure the spray head, gold tone filter, filter basket and water reservoir are also clean and free of lime scale. We recommend using Capresso Cleaning Solution.
Warm Milk & Honey
Simple and sweet, our recipe for Warm Milk & Honey is sure to please. Try this soothing drink in the evening to help you unwind from the day.
Warm Milk & Honey
2 servings
- 8 oz skim milk
- 2 tsp honey (we used raw unfiltered Texas wildflower honey)
Place the frothing disk into the froth enhancer of your Capresso froth TEC and ensure it is securely snapped inside the bottom of the milk pitcher. Add milk to frothing pitcher. Place lid and press the Warm button. After about 2 minutes, remove frother lid and add honey to the frothing pitcher. Wait for frother to automatically shut off. Pour into demitasse glasses and spoon froth on top.
Spring Cleaning with Capresso
Clean the windows, organize the closet: these may be items on your spring-cleaning list. Much easier is cleaning your Capresso drip-coffee maker, espresso machine or electric water kettle, and you’ll enjoy the results every day with a fresher tasting brew.
Capresso makes cleaning easy with Capresso Cleaning Solution. Specially designed for cleaning and descaling Capresso products, it prevents limescale and minerals from building up inside the brewing system or teakettle. It also helps remove hard water stains.
Follow these simple steps and you’ll be on your way to ensuring your Capresso machine prepares its most flavorful cup of coffee, espresso or tea.
For Espresso Machines: Dissolve 1 oz (28 g) of descaler with 32 oz (1 L) of water and pour mixture into water tank. Ensure portafilter is locked in place and a large receptacle is placed under the coffee spouts to catch the Cleaning Solution. Allow all water in water tank to pass through the machine by turning the dial to brew or pressing the brew button. You may have to do this multiple times to allow all the Cleaning Solution to go through the machine. Once all Cleaning Solution has been run through the machine, rinse all parts (water tank, portafilter). Repeat the cycle two more times with fresh, clean water to fully rinse the machine.
For Coffee Makers: Dissolve 1 oz (28 g) of descaler with 32 oz (1 L) of water and pour mixture into water tank. Turn machine on to begin the brew cycle. Once brewing is complete and all Cleaning Solution has been run through the machine, rinse all parts (water tank, carafe, filter, filter holder). Repeat the cycle two more times with fresh, clean water to fully rinse the machine.
For Water Kettles: Dissolve 1 oz (28 g) of descaler with 32 oz (1 L) of water and pour mixture into kettle. Allow mixture to sit inside the kettle for 20-30 minutes. Pour Cleaning Solution out and rinse the kettle 2-3 times with fresh, clean water.
For more information, click visit www.capresso.com.
Iced Dirty Chai
We paired two of our favorite beverages, espresso and chai tea, to make this delicious cold drink: Iced Dirty Chai. This refreshing drink is perfect for a sunny spring day.
Iced Dirty Chai
Iced Dirty Chai
2 servings
- 6 oz. skim milk
- 6 oz. epsresso, cooled
- 6 oz. chai tea, cooled
- ice
Place the frothing disk into the froth enhancer of your Capresso froth TEC and ensure it is securely snapped inside the bottom of the milk pitcher. Add milk to frothing pitcher. Place lid and press the Cold button. Meanwhile, pour 3 ounces of espresso and 3 ounces of chai tea into glasses filled with ice, and stir well. Wait for frother to automatically shut off. Spoon froth over espresso-chai tea mixture and enjoy.
Irish Hot Chocolate
Add a touch of green and Irish cheer to your hot chocolate with our recipe for Irish Hot Chocolate. This drink is simple, sweet and utterly delicious. Happy St. Patrick’s Day!
Irish Hot Chocolate
2 servings
- 8 oz skim milk
- 1 oz Bailey’s Irish Cream
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- 3 tbsp. chocolate syrup
- Green sugar crystals, for garnish
Place the frothing disk into the froth enhancer of your Capresso froth TEC and ensure it is securely snapped inside the bottom of the milk pitcher. Add milk and vanilla extract to frothing pitcher. Place lid and press the Warm button. After about 3 minutes, remove frother lid and add chocolate syrup to the frothing pitcher. Wait for frother to automatically shut off. Pour ½ ounce of Bailey’s Irish Cream into each mug, stir in chocolate milk mixture, top with green sugar crystals and enjoy.
Frothing Milks with Capresso froth TEC
Whether you enjoy creamy froth for cappuccino, warm milk for hot chocolate or cold froth for iced lattes, the beautiful Capresso froth TEC™ can froth or heat any type of milk.
The largest capacity automatic milk frother on the market, it froths up to 10 ounces of milk or steams up to 16 ounces, for a wide variety of hot or cold beverages.
Use it with skim milk, soymilk, almond milk, coconut milk and more. See it in action:
Which type of milk do you use with your Capresso automatic milk frother? Share your comments and recipes below.
Speculoos Cookie Butter Latte
Have you tried Speculoos Cookie Butter, a creamy spread with hints of cinnamon and nutmeg and made from crushed biscuits? This ingredient is an exciting new addition to your kitchen cupboard. We enjoy it on toast, pancakes and ice cream. So it was a natural fit to create a new hot beverage featuring Speculoos Cookie Butter. This creamy drink has a subtle cookie flavor that will likely make Speculoos Cookie Butter your new favorite new find, too.
Speculoos Cookie Butter Latte
2 servings
- 8 oz. skim milk
- 2 tsp. Trader Joe’s Speculoos Cookie Butter, melted
Place the frothing disk into the froth enhancer of your Capresso froth TEC and ensure it is securely snapped inside the bottom of the milk pitcher. Add milk to frothing pitcher. Place lid and press the Hot button. Meanwhile, place cookie butter in microwave-safe bowl and heat for 50 seconds, stirring in 10-second intervals until cookie butter has a liquid consistency. After about 3 minutes, remove frother lid and add cookie butter to the frothing pitcher. Wait for frother to automatically shut off. Serve in mugs and enjoy.
