If you’re a frequent user of Keurig and enjoy brewing your coffee using their My K-Cup Refillable Pod, then you know that results of refillable pods vary in taste, depending on the coffee you used.
If you’re continuously making a weak cup of coffee using My K-Cup, then you’re most likely doing one of three things wrong: using the wrong cup size, wrong grind size or missing an important component in your pod.
In this post, I’ll go through possible issues that you can easily fix to get a stronger cup of coffee right away!
Making a Strong Cup of Coffee Using My K-Cup
Let’s start with the possible issues, first:
You’re brewing the wrong cup size
Keurig machines are known for their multiple serving sizes, from 4oz and up to 12oz. The thing though, most K-Cup pods, including refillable pods, contain a fixed amount of coffee (around 2 tablespoon). So, how much water runs through that coffee will most likely affect its taste.
With My K-Cup refillable pod filled with two tablespoon of ground coffee, 6 oz is the best serving size. You get a full bodied cup of coffee that won’t taste watered down. If your machine has the Strong Brew setting, use that, too.
You’re Using the Wrong Coffee Grind Size
Whether you are grinding your beans at home or buying them ground, you’ll want to make sure you are using the right grind size.
Keurig uses medium-fine grind size or medium. If you use Coarse grounds, the water will run through them fast that it won’t steep enough for a proper brew. If you use fine grounds, the water will hardly pass through them.
You’re Not Using a Paper Filter in your Reusable Pod *
I know.. I know… no one has ever told you that you need to use a paper filter with a reusable pod! Well, to be fair, it’s not a necessary step but it’s recommended for several reasons:
- Regular K-Cup pods use them. If you look inside a K-Cup pod, you’ll find that they are made of the plastic pod, lined by a paper filter then filled with the coffee grounds.
- Paper filters catch coffee sediments from falling into your cup. It also holds in the grounds allowing it to steep better.
- The best part? It makes cleaning your reusable pod a breeze!
*Paper filters are not available for Keurig’s official My K-Cup pods, but are available for 3rd party refillable pods.
How To Use My K-Cup Pod For a Strong Cup of Coffee
Fix #1: Try smaller serving size than you normally would, 6 ounces being the best size to start with. But what if you want more coffee? I would advice you run two brew cycles (using two pods) instead of one.
Fix #2: Change the grind size. If you’re buying ground coffee in a can, pick one that was ground for a drip coffee maker, that would be your best pick. If you’re using a blade grinder at home, this could be the root of your problem. This type of grinder does not create consistent grind and does not allow you to control the grind size. If you don’t want to invest in a conical burr grinder, ask the coffee house you buy your beans from to grind them for you.
Fix #3: Paper filter made for reusable pods is fairly cheap and worth a try. Simply place it in the pod before your fill in the grounds. The only issue with this that the paper filter takes up some space inside the pod, which will take away from the amount of grounds you can fill. It shouldn’t take away a lot though, so it won’t decrease your coffee strength by much.
