Considering caffeine is the world’s most popular psychoactive drug, I’m going to go out on a limb and assume you drink coffee from time to time. With its magical, energy-infusing capabilities, and increasingly studied health benefits, it’s hard to imagine why you wouldn’t have included coffee in your morning routine already. And while the allure of professionally brewed coffee from your local barista can be tough to beat, you will end up throwing quite a bit of money down the drain each year if you choose not to brew your own. But satisfying your caffeine addiction economically doesn’t mean having to settle for bad coffee. Even implementing a few of these quick tricks can really help step up your coffee-game.
Freeze Leftover Coffee
Sometimes, no matter how hard you try to avoid it, you will brew just a bit too much coffee. But wait! Don’t just pour it down the drain! Instead, try pouring the extra coffee into an ice tray and make some coffee ice cubes. You can put these delicious ice cubes in your iced coffee and avoid watering your coffee down. I generally don’t like waiting for my coffee to cool down, so I will regularly throw a single cube in a fresh cup to bring it to perfect drinking temperature. Try adding milk for a deliciously strong iced latte.
Add Flavorings to your Coffee Grounds
Here’s a quick and easy game-changer: try grinding up some of your favorite flavors and including it in the coffee grounds that are about to be brewed. I personally enjoy orange rinds or cinnamon (not together). This is a great way to add subtle flavor without ruining that distinct coffee flavor you’ve come to love.
Cold-Brew Stale Coffee
Think twice before tossing coffee that’s more than a couple weeks old. I haven’t found any outside sources to confirm this, but cold brewing old coffee has done wonders for me in reducing the bitter taste of stale coffee. The easiest way to cold brew coffee is using a french press. Although it takes much longer to brew, cold-brew coffee has higher caffeine content, less acidity, and can be consumed quicker than hot coffee.
Filter Your Water
Depending on the quality of the tap water in your area, you may find that filtering your water will make for much better tasting coffee. Surprisingly, it will also make for better tasting water. Check out Amazon for a number of cheap, effective filtration methods or look for a coffee maker with a water filter built in.
