10 Tips To Make Strong Coffee With Keurig
Is your Keurig coffee weak and not as strong as you would like it to be?
Although a Keurig machine is the simplest and quickest way to brew coffee, people often say that when they use a Keurig, they lose control over how their coffee is made.
With Keurig coffee machines, you get speed and convenience, but you generally have no option to customize your coffee according to your own taste.
So in this post, we’ll discuss one of the most common criticisms leveled against Keurig machines: that they produce coffee that’s too watery and weak. You will also learn how to make Keurig coffee that is stronger and much tastier.
Key Takeaways:
How To Make Keurig Coffee Stronger?
Using the Extra Bold Keurig K-Cups is one of the simplest and most effective ways to get your Keurig coffee maker to make stronger coffee. Alternatively, you can use the “Strong” setting on your machine, or you can buy a reusable K-Cup and use whatever ground coffee you like.
Why Does Your Keurig Brew Weak & Watery Coffee?
A Keurig coffee machine brews weak coffee because in an ideal brewing process, coffee grinds should brew with water between 195 and 205 degrees Fahrenheit for at least five minutes, and Keurigs are set to brew at 192 degrees and only take seconds to brew.
By making a cup so fast, a Keurig does not give the coffee beans and water much time together to make a stronger brew.
But if you’re willing to put in the extra effort, it’s not impossible to brew delicious, bold cups of coffee with your Keurig machine.
How To Make a Strong Cup of Coffee With Keurig?
Read on for our top tips and tricks to maximizing your Keurig for better, stronger brews.
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1. Brew Two K-Cups Together.
This is an easy way to level up your Keurig coffee brewing. If you want a stronger coffee from your Keurig, just brew two K-Cups at the lowest ounce setting instead of one at a higher ounce setting. Avoid the 8 or 10 oz. brews as much as possible, and just double up on extra-strong 6 oz. cups.
This is not an environmentally friendly way to get yourself a stronger brew because you would be using two K-Cups instead of one.
But, this is an easy way, and Keurig also offers a K-Cup recycling program.
2. Buy a Reusable K-Cup.
With Keurigs, we can make much better coffee by using our own reusable coffee filter. Keurig makes permanent filters that can be used over and over again. They work just like regular K-Cups, but you can use any ground coffee you want.
If your coffee tastes weak and bland, it might be the coffee you’re using and not the Keurig. If you have a reusable K-Cup, you can try different kinds of coffee until you find one that you like.
If you have a coffee grinder at home, it is a simple matter of grinding your own beans and filling a reusable pod with this freshly ground coffee rather than with something that has been sitting on the shelf going stale.
Freshly ground coffee tastes much better than ground coffee that has already been packaged.
Coffee goes bad just like any other food, and most people don’t know that the K-Cups they buy aren’t as fresh as the expiration date says.
The best way to improve your coffee is to grind the beans yourself before each brew.
You can pick higher-end coffee beans and brands that are open about their roasting dates to get the freshest coffee possible from your Keurig.
3. Double Up Your K-Cup.
Did you know that you can make brews that are stronger, bolder, and more flavorful by using your used K-Cups with your reusable coffee filter?
This method is effective because it allows the water to be retained within the filter for a longer period of time, which speeds up the extraction process.
By putting a used K-Cup inside a reusable My K-Cup, you can make a double chamber for brewing, which makes a nearly twice as good cup of coffee.
The double chamber makes the steeping and draining times longer, which makes the caffeine content stronger.
4. Preheat Your Keurig Coffee Machine.
One of the easiest ways to make your coffee stronger and taste better is to heat up your Keurig before you use it.
To preheat your Keurig, simply run a brew cycle with only water before making your coffee. Running a preheating cycle with water primes the heating elements and warms the machine itself, and even preheats your mug.
Another common way to make stronger coffee with a Keurig is to brew a cup of plain water first. Then, put this water, which has already been heated, into the reservoir to make coffee. It is known that pre-warmed water brings out more flavor from the beans, making a stronger cup of Keurig coffee.
5. Use Medium Roast Coffee.
Light-roast coffees almost always have higher caffeine content, but with the quick Keurig brewing time, they can come out tasting watery and weak. Using a medium roast and the 4-oz brew setting, though, you might actually get a stronger cup of coffee.
If you’re buying Keurig’s ready-made pods, pick something that’s a dark roast or extra bold.
6. Take Your Cup Away Before the Last Drops.
If you have been using a Keurig for some time, you must know that the last few drops coming out of the machine are just hot water.
So taking your cup out from under the stream before it’s fully finished can leave you with a stronger cup of coffee.
Pull your mug away and just let the drip tray catch the rest. Just remember to empty and clean it out from time to time.
7. Use Strong Setting on your Keurig Machine
Some Keurig coffee makers have a “strong” button that makes it easy to make coffee that is stronger and bolder.
The Strong setting makes the machine use less water for brewing and also slows down the brewing process by 30 seconds.
This gives the water more time to flow through the K-Cup so that it can get more coffee out of the grounds.
Instead of a steady stream of water going through the pod, the strong brew button starts a pulsating stream, so the water stays in the K-cup longer.
8. Use Extra Bold Keurig K-Cups.
The easiest way to make a strong Keurig coffee is to select the right Extra bold pod. The darker the roast, the more intense the taste will be.
You can find bold roast variety packs online with strong pods from a number of different brands.
9. Use the Freedom Clip.
Another way to get around Keurig’s pesky DRM-reader (which, in newer machines, will only brew authorized Keurig pods printed with a specialized ink) is with the Freedom Clip.
A Freedom Clip tricks your Keurig into thinking that every pod is eligible for brewing coffee.
This way, you can use darker, richer pods instead of some of the weaker official Keurig pods.
10. Clean your Keurig Frequently
If your Keurig used to make decent coffee but is now getting worse and less efficient with every cup, the first thing you should do is clean your machine. I recommend cleaning your Keurig at least once a month or more if you use it heavily.
The quality of water is extremely important to the taste of your coffee. Clean the water reservoir and pod holder weekly to ensure you have quality water.
Clean in and around the brew chamber, removing any old grounds you find. I also tell my friends to run a cleaning cycle by running one or two brews with vinegar.
Here’s a step-by-step guide to cleaning your Keurig with apple cider vinegar.
You can use the Keurig rinse pods. For any cleaning method, always refer to your machine manual for proper direction.
11. Replace The Filter.
Aside from cleaning, replacing the filter is another important Keurig maintenance task that can play a role in how your coffee tastes.
Your Keurig has a filter in the water tank that helps to eliminate some chlorine and reduce the hardness (mineral content) of your water when using tap water. Replace it every two months or after about 60 tank refills.
Conclusion
Using a Keurig is a quick and easy way to get your caffeine fix before going to work or school, but if you prefer strong, bold cups of coffee, you might be disappointed with the coffee your Keurig makes.
Fortunately, this article outlines several ways to make your Keurig coffee stronger and get both the convenience and taste you want.
Amit Gupta
Hi, my name is Amit Gupta, and I am the owner and contributor at Cafeish. My obsession with coffee started when I received my first French press as a gift almost ten years ago. Since then, my love of coffee – and the number of coffee gadgets I own – has grown considerably.
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