Convenient K-Cup Hacks For Coffee Lovers

K-cup brewing machines have become quite popular over the past few years and for good reason. It's so convenient to brew one cup of coffee at a time and to not have so much waste. Another great thing about k-cups and k-cup coffee machines is how you can hack them! Here are some fun ways to hack your k-cups to make them more versatile, enjoyable, or efficient.

Heat it up first.

Have you ever noticed that the first cup of coffee you brew in the morning is not as good as the second cup? This is because k-cup brewers can take a little more time than allotted to reach their ideal brewing temperature. You can make every cup as good as your second by running the machine with an empty, refillable k-cup first. Keep an empty k-cup on hand just for this purpose. Pop it into the machine as if it contained coffee, press the brewing button, and let the water flow into a mug. Then, replace the refillable pod with a real one containing coffee, and let it brew. This cup of coffee will be stronger and more nuanced because your water was hotter.

Run it twice for a larger cup.

Do you ever wish you had a larger coffee than your machine allowed for? Most k-cup brewers only make up to a 12-ounce cup, which is disheartening if you really want a 16-ounce drink. An easy way around this is to first brew yourself a cup of coffee with the machine on a 12-ounce setting. Then, without removing the cup, open the brewer as if you were replacing the pod. But leave the current k-cup in place. Brew the same k-cup again on the 4-ounce setting. You'll then have 16 ounces of coffee from one k-cup! Your coffee won't be overly strong this way, but it should be strong enough.

Remove the mug early for super-strong coffee.

Maybe you want a super-strong, almost espresso-like coffee. You can get this with a standard k-cup if you know what you're doing. Put the mug under the brewer, and start running the 4-ounce setting. Have a second mug on hand, and once the brewer has released about the first 2 ounces of coffee, remove the first mug and replace it with the second. The coffee in the first mug will be really strong, almost like espresso, since it was the first pressed through the k-cup.

With these convenient hacks, you can get more out of your k-cups and coffee maker.