How To Make Stronger Coffee

Normally when making coffee, the stronger the coffee, the more bitter it becomes. So, what’s the trick behind making stronger coffee that’s also smooth with no bitter taste?  That’s what we’ll talk about in this post.

What is strong coffee?  You’d think that would be obvious, but it’s not.  I’ll admit that what most people mean when they say they want strong coffee, what they really want is a very strong “burnt and bitter” flavor.  Why would anyone want burnt and bitter?  Well, because that’s pretty much been their only option for the last 100 years.  Industrial coffee companies have convinced us that burnt-n-bitter is good.  I’ll bet that most coffee drinkers in this country wouldn’t know the difference between industrial burnt-n-bitter coffee and ground up charcoal.

It wasn’t always this way.  In the old days, prior to WWI, coffee was smooth and flavorful.  So, for our discussion let’s define strong coffee as coffee with a very strong “coffee” flavor, that’s also NOT bitter and NOT burnt.  Now that’s the trick isn’t it?  Here’s the solution to making stronger coffee.

First, start out with good coffee.  That means 100% Arabica beans, preferably from Central America, and better yet from Costa Rica.  Why?  Good Arabica coffee is not bitter.  Central America coffee is generally sweeter.  And Costa Rican coffee is the smoothest coffee on the planet.

Next, make sure that your coffee isn’t over roasted.  Good luck on that.  In the US, we’re notorious for over roasting our coffee.

As a Spokane Coffee Roaster, I can confidently say, make sure that the coffee was roasted less than 30 days ago.  Old and stale coffee is bitter.  All coffee goes bitter in 30 days.  So, make sure the coffee is fresh.

Next, change the way you brew your coffee.  The two brewing methods that make stronger coffee are very similar; espresso (undiluted) or the AeroPress.  I think the AeroPress gives you a smoother and stronger coffee.  Besides the AeroPress costs $29 and a good espresso machine $229.  AeroPress Review Click Here.

Lastly, to make stronger coffee, use more coffee.  I typically use double the recommended amount of coffee.  I also grind the coffee a little more course than what’s typically recommended.  This gives a stronger and smoother cup of coffee.

I’ve always equated stronger coffee with more bitter coffee.  When you follow these steps, I think you’ll be as pleasantly surprised as I have been.  Try stronger coffee.  I think you’ll like it.