Can You Brew Coffee The Night Before And Make It Taste Good?

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Got no time or energy to make a cup of coffee in the morning? Just need some caffeine before you can do anything? Just grabbing a fresh cup when you wake up without having to do anything sounds great to you. But how can you make coffee the night before and still have something you can enjoy the next morning? here’s what you can do.

Brewing hot coffee at night to drink it in the morning won’t taste good. To make coffee the night before that still tastes good in the morning, the best option is to make cold brew. Cold brew coffee takes about 12 hours to steep outside the fridge. An automatic brewer with timer is another option

There are a few more options for having good coffee without any work in the morning. Keep reading to find out what they are.

Cold brew

If you’re really going for taste, cold brew is your best option in this situation. Cold brew takes a long time to brew as it is. Yes, you can prepare it the night before but, it won’t be ready until 12-24 hours later. Which is perfect for our purpose here. Have to get up at 7 A.M.? Just throw some coffee grounds and water in a jug at 7 P.M. the previous evening.

Does Cold brew coffee break a fast?

The next morning, you just strain the cold brew and pour yourself a cup. Pour it over ice and you’ve got a beverage you have to pay $5 for at your local coffee shop. And remember, going to the coffee shop takes time as well.

Cold brew takes 12 to 24 hours to steep. In short, if you brew it inside the fridge, the cold brew will be ready in 24 hours. IF you leave it outside the fridge, it only needs about 12 hours. So if you want it to be ready the next morning, leave it on the counter.

After you make a batch of cold brew coffee, you can keep it stored inside the fridge for about a week. After about four days the taste will degrade a little bit. That means if you make a batch that lasts you for a couple of days, you only have to do the work one time every few days and still drink good coffee every morning.

Suggested post: Keep cold brew inside or outside the fridge?

Cold brew has a mild and smooth taste. If you like this in the morning is personal taste. The smooth taste doesn’t really say anything about the caffeine content though. Cold brew is actually pretty high in caffeine compared to normal pour over coffee. If you’re looking for a kick in the morning, cold brew is actually a good option. If you want a strong taste, maybe look at some of the other options below.

Can you make Decaf cold brew?

Not sure how to make good cold brew coffee to begin with? Click here to find a complete guide that takes you through the process.

Normal coffee

Ok, normal coffee can mean many different things. But for most people it means coffee from a machine or pour-over in a paper filter. Can’t you just make this type of coffee the night before and drink it in the morning or take it to work?

Well, you certainly could. It won’t kill you and it’s going to have the caffeine you want. However, the second part of the question in the title is to make it taste good. Will this type of coffee still taste good in the morning?

If you keep your coffee overnight, it’ll taste like coffee but it’s not the same as brewing a fresh cup. Also, you’ll probably have to refrigerate it overnight which means it’s cold. If you enjoy hot coffee, you’ll have to warm it up. This will make it hot but it doesn’t do any good for the taste. This kind of defeats the point of making it the night before.

If you want to make this type of coffee for the next morning, your best bet is to turn it into iced coffee. Just get some ice cubes into a cup or take away container and pour your coffee over it. It’s still not going to be as good as a fresh brew but acceptable depending on how demanding you are.

Timer

Just want the coffee you’re used to from a machine? Why not put the machine on a timer?

Put water and coffee in the machine as you would like usual. Then set a timer that automatically turns on the machine at your preferred time. Just let the machine turn on 15 minutes before you get out of bed and there will be a pot of fresh, hot coffee waiting for you when you get to the kitchen.

The only thing that wouldn’t be fresh is the coffee grounds. But that’s only a difference if you grind your own beans otherwise. If you’re using pre ground coffee, it won’t matter much. Grinding your coffee in the evening will still get you better results than using pre-ground coffee. If you buy ground coffee from the supermarket, it’s ground many days and often weeks before. Grinding your own beans 12 hours earlier means they’re still a lot fresher.

Grinding coffee just a few minutes before brewing will produce a little clearer and more aromatic cup of coffee. But if you have no time or energy in the morning to make fresh coffee, is that small difference really going to make a noticeable impact? You probably won’t notice the difference if you just want some caffeine.

You might think that it’s difficult or expensive to have a coffee machine on a timer. That’s not the case. It’s probably easier and cheaper than you think.

The only thing you need is a simple outlet timer and a simple coffee machine.

• Get an outlet timer
• Get a simple coffee machine with only a single button
• Put water and coffee in the machine
• Set the timer
• Turn on the machine
• Plug it into the timer and plug the timer into the wall

That’s it. Just remember to take out the old coffee and replace the water, filter and coffee every day. You only have to set the timer once. Don’t forget to turn it off/change the time in the weekend and during holidays.

Streamline your process

The final thing you can do at home is to streamline your process as much as possible so you can make a really quick cup in the morning. You can prepare most things to brew a cup of coffee in the evening without actually brewing it.

Put coffee in the filter, have your cup ready and have water in the kettle. Then, the only thing you have to do is hit the button on the kettle, wait for a minute (less if you just use enough water for a single cup) and pour it in the filter.

That process should take you about two minutes. Not much longer than pouring yourself a cup of Cold brew from a jug or getting your coffee from the machine. Also, if everything is ready, it’s much easier mentally to actually do it.

This way you have fresh, hot coffee without any timers, machines.

Coffee shop

If none of the above options appeal to you, why not just go to your local coffee shop for your morning coffee?

Yes, it takes some time to go to the coffee shop but if it’s on the way to wherever you’re going, it’s not a big deal. Another big drawback is that it’ll likely cost you more than making your own coffee at home. If that’s worth the effort you save at home is up to you.

At a decent coffee shop, you get freshly ground, freshly brewed coffee which can be better than the things you prepare the evening before at home. That does depend on the coffee shop and the coffee you make at home though.

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