Tell Your Coffee: Bitter, Begone!

Ordinarily, when I start getting excited about household hints it's a pretty reliable sign that my medications need adjusting.

Not so, this time. Trust me. This is important stuff. This is about…

Coffee.

There are some days (okay, most days) when the lure of a really great cup of coffee is the only thing that can entice me to get out of bed in the morning and get dressed rather than just pulling the covers over my head and having them bronzed in place.

I won't get on my soapbox (actually, coffeebox) about the wisdom of paying just a little bit more for a flavorful brand of coffee rather than the generic sawdust substitute that's a buck a pound cheaper. And I won't browbeat you about the extra freshness you can get by grinding your own beans in small quantities or by using a small cone-filter drip device to make one cup at a time rather than a whole scorched pot that deteriorates throughout the morning.

What I'll do, instead, is to ask you this simple question: when have you cleaned out your holes?

No matter what kind of coffee maker you have, there's some kind of little hole or holes that the mixture drips through as it brews. The manufacturer's instructions usually say to anoint these babies every month or two with some elite brand of coffee-pot cleaner that comes in a tiny jewel-like squeeze bottle, has to be special-ordered from the Swiss Alps, and costs more than the coffee maker itself.

Bah. Waste of money. Plain old baking soda does the job just as well. As for monthly cleanings, that's ridiculous. Coffee oils and acid build up around those holes in days, not weeks, and even tiny deposits can give a bitter taste to every cup you make.

Daily cleanings may be a bit of overkill, but if you scrub out the works at least once a week (twice, if you're finicky) you'll be amazed at how much better your morning coffee tastes.

Here's what I do. Take a small handful of plain old baking soda and cram it down into the holes of your filter container. Drip a little bit of water from the faucet onto the dry soda until it makes a paste. Let sit for several minutes, and then force the soda paste through the holes with either a tiny wire brush or, in a pinch, a coffee stirrer with a dab of paper towel twisted on the end to simulate a Q-tip.

Rinse and dry the filter container, and you're good to brew. (The night before is an ideal time to prep your coffee maker; you can pay attention and do it methodically because you won't be antsy to get that first great jolt of caffeine into your system.)

Even if you're not a coffee aficionado, and have gotten into the habit of drinking it for the buzz rather than for the flavor, you'll still be amazed at what a difference an oil-free, acid-free filter device can make.

Try it. Your morning will be brighter. You may even get more work done.

Nope, there's no need to thank me. That's what I'm here for.

Stop the bitterness. Wake up and smell the coffee.