Yes, I'm a Coffee Roaster... and I Still Use a Drip Coffee Maker Every Morning

5 minute read • Coffee Gear

I probably need to confess something.

I roast coffee for a living.

I've spent years learning about coffee, roasting it, tasting it, talking about it, and probably thinking about it far more than any reasonable person should.

And almost every morning, I make my coffee with...

a drip coffee maker.

Yep.

Nothing exotic. No elaborate morning ritual. No carefully choreographed pour-over while I contemplate the meaning of life.

I push a button.

Coffee Doesn't Have to Be Complicated

Don't misunderstand me. I love all the different ways we can make coffee.

Pour-over. French press. Espresso. Moka pot. I've used them all, and there's something fun about slowing down and really dialing in a great cup.

But that's not usually what happens at our house first thing in the morning.

There are several of us drinking coffee.

And we don't want a cup.

We want coffee.

So I grind the beans, fill the machine, hit the button, and make a full pot.

Within a few minutes, the kitchen smells fantastic and everybody starts migrating toward the coffee maker.

Then the Competition Begins

The first cup is easy.

So is the second.

It's that last cup where things can get a little dicey.

You know the move.

Someone walks over to the coffee maker, casually picks up the pot and realizes there's exactly enough left for one cup.

Suddenly, we're no longer family.

Every man for himself.

Okay, it's not quite that bad.

But if you wanted another cup, you probably shouldn't have waited.

And honestly, that's one of the reasons I like brewing a pot in the morning. Coffee has always been something we share in our house.

I'd rather make enough for everybody to sit around and enjoy than spend ten minutes making myself one technically perfect cup.

Can a Drip Coffee Maker Make Really Good Coffee?

Absolutely.

The machine isn't the most important part.

Start with great coffee. Grind it properly. Use good water and a reasonable coffee-to-water ratio.

You'd be surprised how good a simple drip brewer can be.

That's actually one of the reasons we've built the Hidden River Brewing Academy. I want people to understand how to make their coffee better without making coffee feel like homework.

→ Visit the Hidden River Brewing Academy

You don't need a countertop full of expensive equipment.

And you definitely don't need permission from a coffee snob.

Including me.

Eventually, Though...

The pot runs dry.

And around our house, that doesn't necessarily mean we're finished drinking coffee.

That's when the espresso machine starts calling my name.

But we'll save cup number three—or four—for another day.

The point is pretty simple.

Drink coffee the way you enjoy it.

Some mornings that's a beautiful pour-over made slowly and deliberately.

Other mornings it's a big pot of drip coffee surrounded by people you love while everyone quietly keeps an eye on how much is left.

I'll take either one.

Although if there's only one cup left...

I roasted it. I feel like that should count for something.

Find Your Hidden River.

— Brandon