How to Brew a Pot of Coffee

Drip, or filtered, coffee can be made in electric drip coffeepots or simply by placing a filter holder over a pot or cup.

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• Ground Coffees
• Coffee Cups Or Mugs
• Coffee Filters
• Coffee Makers
• Coffeepots
• Tablespoons
• Teaspoons

Using an Electric Drip Coffeepot

1. Fill the coffeemaker's carafe with fresh, cold water.
2. Place a filter in the coffeemaker's filter basket.
3. Add 2 tbsp. coffee for every 6 oz. of water. (Sometimes the cups marked out on the carafe are more than 6 oz., so check your coffeemaker's instructions to see.)
4. Pour the water into the coffeemaker's reservoir and place the carafe on its base.
5. Turn the coffeemaker on.

Using a Filter Holder (Manual Method)

6. Boil water, then let it rest for a few minutes to achieve the optimum temperature (195 to 205 degrees F).
7. Place a filter holder over a coffeepot or cup.
8. Place a filter in the holder.
9. Add 2 level tbsp. ground coffee per 6 oz. of water, or 2 oz. coffee per quart of water.
10. Pour a small amount of water - about 3 tbsp. - over the grounds to wet them.
11. Wait a few seconds for the grounds to expand.
12. Pour the rest of the water over the grounds. Let the water drip through the grounds, but be sure to remove the grounds before the last of the water has drained into the pot or cup. Coffee grounds can overextract and get a bitter taste.

Tips & Warnings

• Make sure you have the right size and shape of filter for your pot: either a cone-shaped filter or a flat-bottomed filter.
• Filter holders are available in a wide range of sizes.
• Keep the coffee warm on a burner or hot plate for no more than 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, coffee becomes bitter. Reheating coffee increases its bitterness and is not recommended.