Sometimes It Takes a Guru

Susan at my office is the resident queen of Starbucks. There is no one in our office who drinks as much of it as she does. I, with one Mint Mocha Frapuccino every day, am probably the only one close to her, but I’m still not in her league.

In the office next door to me are Leah and Susan. A while ago, Leah and I reached an agreement. I would mooch off the coffee they made every day in exchange for me buying the coffee. Leah and Demetre (the third person in that office) make an awesome pot of coffee, so it’s nice to be able to mooch a cup every now and then.

I’ve been trying to brew Starbucks at home for weeks and have had little to no success. It comes out like motor oil. Either too thick, or mostly too strong. Either way, it’s almost undrinkable. So I shared that bit of frustration with the ladies next door today, and they enlightened me on a few things which I will share for the coffee-making rookies in my reading audience.

1. Despite the idiotic claim on the side of the bag of Starbucks coffee, you do NOT need 2 tablespoons of grinds for every cup of coffee. In fact, you only need 4 tablespoons for 8 cups! No wonder it was coming out so damned strong. The bag was telling me to add quadruple the amount of coffee I should be adding for normal folks!

2. Add a secret ingredient to the grinds while they’re in the filter. Salt. A bit of salt inside the grinds helps cut the acidity of the coffee.

3. DO NOT double up the amount of grinds to make 16 cups. Three scoops should be enough.

Okay, I’ll admit, I was skeptical. I mean, here I was dumping almost a whole bag into my coffee pot, and they’re telling me that I only need 1/4 of that? I called Beth from work and told her that I had the coffee problem licked and I was making coffee tonight.

I popped in the right amount of coffee, a sprinkle of salt, and plenty of water. While it was brewing it even smelled better. Then the real test.

Into the cup. It was dark dark dark dark brown, not black! We’re getting there!

I took a sniff, and it smelled smooth.

A bit of International Delights French Vanilla…

The sip…

Needs sugar…

One packet of Splenda later, and I was in coffee heaven. Honestly, it was the best pot of coffee I have ever made.

Needless to say I’m encouraged by my coffee success tonight, so tomorrow morning, I’m making a thermal mug of it before I head out. I mean… It’s Starbucks! What could be bad when you know how to make it? :-P

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  • http://www.voodootime.com justis

    Excellent! I tried brewing some Starbuck’s coffee at home, and had the same problems. The directions are crap, and I couldn’t taste a damn thing other than that coffee for the rest of the day! Your post has motivated me to try again.

  • http://seekingsanity.blogspot.com/ Kricket

    Ok, I’m gonna have to try it now too. You’re the best, Vin. Thanks for the info. And of course, pass the thanks to the ladies next door to you for so generously sharing this info. :)

  • http://robertkbrown.com/ RKB

    Heh. Haven’t tried the salt, but I’ve never followed the label instructions on the coffee. Sounds like my ratio is about the same. I usually make 8 cups, and SOMETIMES go with 5 tablespoons if I want it strong, but mostly go with four (heaping) tablespoons.

    If they’re suggesting you double that, no wonder so many people don’t like their coffee.

    I will have to try the salt next time I brew some at home.

  • http://www.hauntedparsonage.us/blog/ Chuck

    I’ve always gone by the 1 scoop for every 2 cups, plus one extra scoop for luck. Seems to work pretty well.

    However, I gotta tell you that you’re probably using the wrong coffeemaker. A drip coffeemeker or a percolator just doesn’t cut it for me anymore, not since I tried a vacuum coffeemaker. Looks like something from a mad doctor’s lab, especially the colored ones. My wife and I first bought a stovetop coffeemaker, which is a round glass pot with a second glass globe that goes on top. We followed this with an electric kettle, and a second one when the burner quit on the first.

    Black & Decker made one for a while, and that’s the one we have now, but they discontinued it last year. That leaves the Bodum Santos model, which you can find on-line for a bit over $100.

    I have brewed everything from fresh-ground beans from Freedom of Espresso to the Beechnut coffee they sell in the dollar store, and I haven’t had a bad cup of coffee from any of these coffeemakers yet.

    -cjb-

  • pam

    You have no idea how happy I was to know that it wasn’t just me not being able to make coffee:smile: Thank-you so much for this tip! My hubby and I used it, and guess what? We had a fine cup of coffee!

  • http://www.voodootime.com/ justis

    Excellent! I tried brewing some Starbuck’s coffee at home, and had the same problems. The directions are crap, and I couldn’t taste a damn thing other than that coffee for the rest of the day! Your post has motivated me to try again.

  • http://seekingsanity.blogspot.com/ Kricket

    Ok, I’m gonna have to try it now too. You’re the best, Vin. Thanks for the info. And of course, pass the thanks to the ladies next door to you for so generously sharing this info. :)

  • http://robertkbrown.com/ RKB

    Heh. Haven’t tried the salt, but I’ve never followed the label instructions on the coffee. Sounds like my ratio is about the same. I usually make 8 cups, and SOMETIMES go with 5 tablespoons if I want it strong, but mostly go with four (heaping) tablespoons.

    If they’re suggesting you double that, no wonder so many people don’t like their coffee.

    I will have to try the salt next time I brew some at home.

  • http://www.hauntedparsonage.us/blog/ Chuck

    I’ve always gone by the 1 scoop for every 2 cups, plus one extra scoop for luck. Seems to work pretty well.

    However, I gotta tell you that you’re probably using the wrong coffeemaker. A drip coffeemeker or a percolator just doesn’t cut it for me anymore, not since I tried a vacuum coffeemaker. Looks like something from a mad doctor’s lab, especially the colored ones. My wife and I first bought a stovetop coffeemaker, which is a round glass pot with a second glass globe that goes on top. We followed this with an electric kettle, and a second one when the burner quit on the first.

    Black & Decker made one for a while, and that’s the one we have now, but they discontinued it last year. That leaves the Bodum Santos model, which you can find on-line for a bit over $100.

    I have brewed everything from fresh-ground beans from Freedom of Espresso to the Beechnut coffee they sell in the dollar store, and I haven’t had a bad cup of coffee from any of these coffeemakers yet.

    -cjb-

  • pam

    You have no idea how happy I was to know that it wasn’t just me not being able to make coffee:smile: Thank-you so much for this tip! My hubby and I used it, and guess what? We had a fine cup of coffee!

  • http://www.luvfree.com FreeOnlineDating+

    Black & Decker made one for a while