A cup of drip coffee is more than likely the first cup of coffee you ever had. It’s fast, simple, and consistent. This quite literally is your father’s cup of joe, and we’re going to teach you everything you might want to know about drip coffee!

Our Top Choice for Pod Brewing – Ninja 12-Cup Programmable Coffee Maker

Why is this our top choice?

  • With programmable modes, you can really customize this to your needs
  • In the long run, this will save you a lot of time (and money)
  • Large reservoir and pot allows you to make anywhere from 1 to 12 cups at a time!

Why Drip?

I can see it now — you’re rushing to get ready for work, throwing together a sandwich for lunch, and trying not to forget the package you need to get in the mail before noon today. The absolute last thing you want to be worrying about is how you’re making your coffee. You already put in the beans from the night before, you put a travel mug under the maker, press the button, and that’s it. Hot, delicious coffee in seconds!

How Does it Work?

This is mostly dependent on your exact machine, but we’re going to break down the steps you’ll follow for every drip coffee maker.

Step 1: Fill up the reservoir and prepare your beans

Unless you have an industrial-grade drip maker that’s always hooked up to water, you’ll need to fill up the coffee maker’s reservoir. Make sure to fill it up to the line!

How much coffee you need to grind depends on how many cups you want to make, but we recommend about 30 grams per cup. Grind to medium coarseness, or about the consistency of sea salt. Put the coffee into your filter, and put that into your maker.

Step 2: Follow the instructions for your machine!

We are very, very sorry we couldn’t be more helpful — but this step really depends on which coffee maker you have, make sure to follow the instructions on your machine for the first couple of times! After the coffee maker finishes, enjoy!

Before You Buy

What’s Your Budget?

You can pick up a cheap, but effective, coffee maker on Amazon for less than a Seattle lunch. If you can afford more, we recommend you don’t skimp if you want some of the great features other brands offer!

How Many Cups Do You Want To Brew?

Most drip coffee makers allow you to brew a pot of coffee. The amount of coffee you get all depends on how much water you put in. Regardless, we have different recommendations for homes compared to office coffee makers! Check out some of our below recommendations is you need to make several cups at the came time.

What Filters and Other Materials Do I Need?

Scale – Needed for both measuring beans/grounds and water!

Filters – Decisions, decisions. Single-use filters are convenient, especially if you’re in a hurry. For the environmentally (or budget) conscious, reusable filters are a fantastic option. On both, be sure not to skimp and just get the cheapest option — invest in the quality of the cup you’re going to brew!

Before you go!

If you are interested in any (or all) of these brewing methods, go ahead and check out our in-depth articles on them! We encourage every aspiring Bougie barista to get to know each method, the pros and cons, and learn a thing or two about how others brew!