Friendly Bean Coffee Company
420 NE Barry Rd
Kansas City, MO 64155

Coffee Brewing Tips

People often ask us how to get the coffee at home to taste like it does at a coffee shop. Here are some simple steps to help improve your coffee at home:

1. Use 1 tablespoon of coffee per 5 ounces of water. Usually, 5 ounces of water is considered by home coffee maker manufacturers as 1 cup. (So, for example, a 10 cup coffee maker would be 50 ounces, 12 cup would be 60 ounces, etc.)

2. Grind your beans fresh before every brew. (I know, this means you might have to go out and purchase a grinder, but if you really enjoy coffee, you'll never regret it!)

3. If your coffee maker completes it's brew in less than five minutes, use a fine grind-- finer than granulated sugar. If brew time is between 5-8 minutes, use a medium grind -- about that of granulated sugar. If brew time is longer than 8 minutes, use a slightly coarser grind. (You might want to run a full pot of water through your coffee maker and time the total brew time if you want to get serious about it.) Experiment with grind fineness until you're happy with the strength.

4. Drink it immediately or transfer to a thermos, thermal carafe, or insulated travel mug that does not add heat. One of the biggest problems with home coffee makers is that the heating plate bakes the coffee and after as little as 15 minutes on the plate, the flavors begin to deteriorate.