Keurig Making Weak Coffee? Here’s How To Make Stronger Coffee

If you’ve had your Keurig machine for a while now and you notice a shift in the quality of the coffee it produces, don’t throw your machine just yet.Even if your machine is new, but you feel like the coffee is not strong enough for you…. in this post, you’ll find several solutions to try out that I will be listing based on whether your machine is old or new.

New Keurig Machine Solutions

New machine means it’s either out of the box or has been in use for several weeks max. This means that the machine is still clean and weakness of the coffee is less likely to be caused by a clogged needle or a descaling issue. What could it be, then? Here are some ideas:

You’re Using the Wrong Coffee Pod

Amazon Dark Roast Coffee Pod

When you’re still figuring out which K-Cup pods you like, and if you’re anything like me, you probably pick your pods at random. For a strong coffee, you’ll want to use dark roasted coffee.

For the strongest coffee taste, choose K-Cup pods labelled Dark Roast, French Roast or Espresso Roast. These are the darkest roasts and will taste the strongest.

Always Use the ‘Strong’ Setting

If your Keurig Brewer has a Strong button, make use of it! This setting steeps your coffee longer and slows down the brew cycle so it produces a stronger cup of coffee. Not all Keurigs have this option, but many of the newer models have it, like the K-Supreme or K-Elite.

If You’re Using a Refillable Pod, Change the Coffee Grind

Coffee grind for k cup pods
Source: PerfectPod Cafe Refillable Pods

In the case of weak coffee from a refillable pod, you’re most likely using coarse coffee grounds when you should be using medium grounds.

Using a refillable pod is a great option for cutting down on your pod expenses. There are two questions that a user of a refillable pod wonders about:

How much coffee should I use? Which grind should I use…

Figuring out the amount of coffee to fill into a refillable pod isn’t hard. You’ll find a line inside the pod marking where to fill the coffee to. It’s the coffee grind that most people get wrong.

If you’re buying already ground coffee, simply pick a medium grind or anything that would be good for a drip coffee maker. If you’re grinding your coffee at home, depending on your grinder, you’ll want to be between medium to medium fine setting. Never use coarse ground (water will pass right through it) or fine ground where water won’t be able to pass through the packed grounds and will most likely cause some sort of splatter.

Old Keurig Machine Solutions

If you’ve been using your machine for over a year without doing any maintenance or periodic cleaning, try some of these solutions…

The Needle Could Be Clogged – Time to Clean it…

Brewing a pod or several pods per day every day can easily do that to your machine. The needle on your Keurig machine is what punctures and delivers the water to the pod. So it comes in contact with watery coffee grounds and is prone to clogging.

Cleaning the needle is a periodic thing to do, and it’s a simple process, but do be careful as it’s a delicate part of the machine.

To clean the needle, you’ll need a clean paper clip or something similar ( a toothpick could work, but avoid wooden picks as it could break inside the needle)

While there are several Keurig models, majority of them have the same needle and you can follow the instructions in this video

If you’re using the K-Supreme, or any Keurig that uses MultiStream technology, the needle on those models has several openings instead of one. Otherwise, the instructions to clean it is the same.

Ever Descaled Your Machine?

It’s probably time to do that, too! Descaling your machine is a full rinse and clean up for the internal parts of your brewer. It restores the power of your machine, keeps the internal parts free of any possible calcifications that can cause your machine to stop working and lengthens the lifespan of your coffee maker.

You can do this the natural way of using Water and Vinegar or use a cleaning solution.

Conclusion

Above are the usual suspects for a weak coffee coming from a Keurig coffee maker. Sometimes, something as simple as changing the pod brand or tweaking the grounds if you’re using a refillable pod can fix the issue. If your machine has not been cleaned or maintained, that’s a clear issue, too. If none of these solutions worked, then unfortunately, there’s nothing else that can be done.