A filter machine is the quietest way to make coffee for more than one person. It also hides its mistakes, because you are not standing over it while it works. Get right the three things it cannot do for you, and it will make a good pot every morning.
What you need
- 60g of coffee per litre of water
- A medium grind, close to coarse sea salt
- Cold filtered water
- A clean brew basket and carafe
The method
- Weigh the coffee rather than scooping it. A level scoop is not a fixed weight.
- Rinse the paper filter with hot water and pour away what collects.
- Grind, then shake the basket so the bed sits level.
- Fill the reservoir with cold filtered water and start the machine.
- Let the cycle finish before you pour. The last of the water carries flavour with it.
- Swirl the carafe once, then serve.
If it tastes thin
Weak, papery coffee usually means the water passed through too quickly, or the machine never reached temperature. Grind a little finer first. If that does not fix it, the machine may be brewing below 90°C, and no recipe will correct that.
If it tastes harsh
Grind coarser, and look at the bed once it has finished. A crater in the middle means the water bored a channel through the grounds rather than wetting them evenly, so shake the basket flat before the next pot.
Keep it clean
Coffee oils turn rancid on the surfaces they sit on. Wash the basket and carafe after every use, and descale the machine every few months. It is the least interesting part of filter coffee and the part that changes the taste most.
Holding the pot
Coffee left on a hot plate cooks. If you are not drinking it within twenty minutes, decant it into a warmed flask.