Brew Better at Home: A Very Reasonable Coffee Guide
Let’s be honest for a second.
Most of us started brewing coffee by grabbing a scoop, dumping some grounds into a machine, filling the reservoir with whatever amount of water felt right, and pressing a button. Sometimes it tasted fine. Sometimes it tasted like regret. We blamed the coffee, shrugged, and did the exact same thing the next morning.
This guide exists to gently interrupt that cycle.
You do not need fancy gear. You do not need a lab scale and a timer app that yells at you. You just need a few simple ideas that make coffee more predictable and, most importantly, more enjoyable.
Think of these as guardrails, not commandments. Taste wins. Always.
Drip Machine (Automatic Brewers)
Best for: Getting coffee into your body with minimal friction
Ratio: 1:16
(Example: 20g coffee to 320g water)
Grind: Medium, like sand
Drip machines get a bad reputation, mostly because we ask them to perform miracles while giving them wildly inconsistent inputs. Random scoops, mystery water levels, old coffee, questionable filters. Under those conditions, they do their best.
A simple ratio fixes most drip coffee problems immediately. When coffee and water hang out for the right amount of time, sweetness shows up and bitterness chills out.
How to brew:
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Fill the reservoir with fresh, cold filtered water.
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Add ground coffee to the filter basket.
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Press the button and let the machine do its thing.
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Pour and drink it while it is still hot and fresh.
Tips:
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Weak drip coffee is almost always caused by not using enough coffee.
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Bitter coffee usually means the grind is too fine.
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Sour or hollow coffee usually means the grind is too coarse or the dose is too small.
If you are brewing on a drip machine, look for coffees that emphasize balance and sweetness. Our Evergreen Blend was built with this exact use case in mind.
French Press
Best for: Big body, cozy texture, weekend energy
Ratio: 1:15
(Example: 40g coffee to 600g water)
Grind: Coarse, like breadcrumbs
French press coffee is unapologetic. Everything stays in contact the whole time, which means you get oils, weight, and a very coffee-forward experience. It also means grind size matters more than people think.
Too fine and things get muddy fast. Too coarse and you lose sweetness.
How to brew:
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Add coffee to the empty press.
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Pour hot water just off boil over the grounds.
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Give it a gentle stir.
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Put the lid on, but do not plunge yet.
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Let it brew for 4 minutes.
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Press slowly and serve.
Tips:
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If it tastes harsh or silty, grind coarser.
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If it tastes thin, grind slightly finer.
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Once it is done, pour it out.
Full-bodied coffees with chocolate and caramel notes shine here. Coffees like our Anchor Espresso Blend hold up especially well in French press.
Pour Over (V60, Kalita, Chemex)
Best for: Clear flavors, sweetness, coffee nerd curiosity
Ratio: 1:15 to 1:17
(Example: 20g coffee to 300 to 340g water)
Grind: Medium-fine
Pour over looks intimidating, but it is really just controlled patience. You are guiding water through coffee instead of dumping it all at once. This highlights origin character and makes subtle flavors easier to notice.
You do not need perfect technique. You just need consistency.
How to brew:
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Rinse the filter and dump the rinse water.
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Add coffee and gently level the bed.
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Bloom with about 40 to 60g of water for 30 to 45 seconds.
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Slowly pour the remaining water in steady circles.
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Aim for a total brew time around 3 minutes.
Tips:
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Even pouring matters more than pouring fast.
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Sour coffee usually means the grind is too coarse.
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Bitter or drying coffee usually means the grind is too fine.
Pour over is where single origin coffees really show their personality. Explore our current single origin offerings if you want clarity and fruit-forward cups.
Espresso
Best for: Intensity, milk drinks, controlled chaos
Starting ratio: 1:2
(Example: 18g in to 36g out)
Grind: Fine
Espresso is coffee under pressure, both literally and emotionally. Small changes have big consequences, which is why it can feel frustrating at first. The upside is that once it clicks, it really clicks.
This is the method where changing one thing at a time matters most.
How to brew:
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Dose coffee into the portafilter.
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Tamp evenly and consistently.
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Brew until you hit your target output.
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Aim for about 25 to 30 seconds.
Tips:
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Sour shots usually need a finer grind or more time.
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Bitter shots usually need a coarser grind or less time.
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Do not chase perfection. Chase repeatability.
If you drink espresso or milk drinks regularly, a coffee designed for structure helps. Our Anchor Espresso Blend was developed specifically to stay present in milk while remaining enjoyable on its own.
Cold Brew
Best for: Smooth coffee, low acidity, minimal effort
Ratio: 1:8
(Example: 100g coffee to 800g water)
Grind: Very coarse
Cold brew is patient coffee. It extracts slowly, avoids most bitterness, and forgives almost everything you do wrong. It is the least dramatic brew method, which is part of its charm.
How to brew:
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Combine coffee and cold filtered water in a jar or pitcher.
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Stir gently to wet all the grounds.
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Cover and refrigerate for 12 to 18 hours.
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Strain and store cold.
Tips:
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Cold brew is usually a concentrate. Dilute it to taste.
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It keeps well for several days.
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It plays nicely with milk and ice.
Smooth, lower-acid coffees tend to excel as cold brew. Medium roasts like our Evergreen Blend or chocolate-forward single origins work especially well.
Final Thoughts
Good coffee is not about doing everything right. It is about doing a few things consistently. Measure something. Change one variable at a time. Pay attention to what you taste.
Coffee should make your day a little better, not feel like homework. If this guide helps you enjoy your cup more often, it has done its job.
If you are not sure where to start, browsing our coffee collection is a solid place to begin.