• Business Insider spoke with coffee experts to find out how to improve your joe at home.  
• Buying fresh, whole beans makes a big difference in the overall quality of your final brew.
• They also said water quality is important for making good coffee.

Ordering coffee from your favorite café can be a treat, but it's not the most budget-friendly option.

Making a cup at home is often the cheaper alternative, so Business Insider spoke with coffee experts about their best tricks for at-home brewing. 

Start by cleaning your coffee maker regularly

Josh Zad, founder and creative director of popular café chain Alfred, told BI that one way to improve your cup of coffee is to clean your coffee maker regularly

"Make sure to get into the nooks and crannies of each part, especially where the coffee drains through the filter," he said. "The taste and aroma of old coffee really muddles the flavor of freshly brewed coffee."

The best way to clean those hard-to-reach stains is by tossing in a dash of baking soda, a splash of vinegar, and some water. Then, let it sit overnight.

Zad said it should scrub right off the following day.

Consider trying out a new brewing method, like a French press or moka pot

If you're ready to venture further into the world of craft coffee, there are so many fun ways to brew at home, Selina Viguera, café leader of Blue Bottle Coffee's Abbot Kinney location, told BI.

Moka pot, French press, AeroPress, Chemex, and a variety of pour-overs are just the beginning.

If you don't know where to start, Viguera said there are plenty of online resources, and most coffee-roasting companies have tutorials on their sites.

For a fun and unique coffee experience, invest in a pour-over carafe

If you're looking for a specific brewing recommendation, multiple experts agreed that pour-over — which involves slowly pouring hot water over coffee grounds — is their favorite. 

With proper technique, Viguera said it can produce a really delicious cup of coffee.

Once you understand some of the variables for brewing coffee (grind size, water temperature, agitation), you can create different cups from the same bag of coffee, she added. 

Switch to buying whole coffee beans instead of pre-ground

"To make better coffee, buy better coffee," Viguera told BI. 

Alex Azoury, the founder and CEO of Home Grounds, said whole-bean coffee is usually fresher and has a more vibrant flavor than pre-ground varieties.

Brew fresh coffee within its first 2 weeks after roasting

"Coffee is a natural product (it's the seed of a fruit), and while it will never spoil, it will lose a lot of flavor if it sits around too long," Zad told BI. 

Viguera said coffee flavor peaks within the first two weeks after roasting, so it's important to make sure the coffee you're buying was recently roasted.

Proper storage is also important to maintain your coffee's freshness. Zad suggested keeping it away from heat, light, moisture, and the freezer. 

Invest in a good coffee grinder that suits your bean preferences

Once you've purchased quality beans, it's also important to invest in a good grinder.

"It's a good idea to get a grinder that will grind coffee in the amount and coarseness you want," Azoury told BI. "A good grinder will give you both grind and amount options to suit your taste."

Make sure to adjust your grinder to the right size

Viguera told BI that grinding coffee too finely causes over-extraction — too coarse, and it can be under-extracted. Over-extracted coffee can taste dry and bitter, and under-extracted coffee can taste watery or sour.

To avoid this, she said it's important to "dial in" your coffee. Baristas use this term to describe the act of adjusting your grind setting to find the right coarseness/fineness to brew a balanced cup.

Coffee has a sweet spot — a perfect grind setting — that produces a balance of bitterness, acidity, and sweetness. That sweet spot can vary with the origin of the coffee, roast level, and age.

Only grind the beans you're planning to brew right away

You should only grind the amount of coffee you're going to make.

"If you've pre-ground all your coffee but aren't going to brew it all right away, then you've drastically sped up how quickly the rest of the coffee will lose its delicious complexity," Zad told BI. 

A cup of coffee can taste different depending on the quality of your water

Another important factor to consider when making coffee at home is your water, which Viguera said makes up about 98% of your brewed cup of coffee.

"As the main solvent for extracting the flavor and aroma from your ground coffee, your water needs a certain level of hardness/minerality and alkalinity for a quality extraction," she told BI. "Depending on where you live, your tap water may be too hard/soft to bring out the best in your cup."

Light and dark roasts require different brewing temperatures

Water temperature is another key variable when brewing coffee.

"You want to use water heated to 198 degrees Fahrenheit to 202 degrees Fahrenheit to make a properly extracted cup of coffee," Viguera said.

The expert said lighter roasts can generally withstand more heat (closer to 202 degrees), and darker roasts should be brewed lower (closer to 198 degrees).

Try preheating your mug before pouring the coffee

If you're pouring hot coffee into a cold mug, it's just making the coffee colder the second it hits the ceramic.

Zad said a preheated mug can increase the length of time you can enjoy hot coffee in the morning.

Switch things up by making cold brew at home

Another way to mix up your coffee routine is by making your own cold brew at home.

To do so, Zad said to simply grind your beans coarsely and add water. Next, pop it in the fridge overnight to extract all the rich sweetness from the coffee.

Add spices to make your own flavored coffee

Zad told BI that many flavored coffees are full of artificial ingredients that don't complement the natural flavor of the beans.

Instead, he suggested adding the actual ingredients behind the flavors you like to your coffee.

"Try adding spices to your coffee grounds when you make your cold brew," he said. "Throw in cinnamon sticks, crushed roasted hazelnuts, cardamom pods, anise, cacao shells, or even savory elements like caraway to steep overnight in your cold brew, and you'll have natural spicy goodness in the morning."

Use a scale to achieve the right coffee-to-water ratio

Knowing your brew ratio — coffee to water — and using a scale can help you brew consistently good cups.

"For reference, the industry standard is 1:18 (one part coffee to 18 parts water), which typically produces a cup that is light in body but a greater clarity of flavor," Viguera told BI. "If you prefer a bolder, fuller-bodied cup, try a 1:14 ratio."

This story was previously published in September 2022 and most recently updated on February 25, 2025.

Read More:

• 10 ways to recreate your favorite Starbucks drinks at home
• What 6 baristas actually order when they go to a coffee shop
• A former Starbucks barista shares 9 of the most annoying drink orders
• 7 coffee hacks that can save you time and money

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