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Tips for Making the Most Out of Your Coffee Bags

They’re quick and easy to make, with no complicated faff or washing up, but they still are just as delicious as a barista-made brew. 

September 10th 2021

By Savannah Coombe / 6 min read time

Coffee bags are a real win. They’re quick and easy to make, with no complicated faff or washing up, but they still are just as delicious as a barista-made brew.

Our coffee bags come in four different roasts: Light, Medium, Dark and Decaf. We have also just launched our new Cold Brew blend! Check it out here

They’re all just as easy as instant coffee, but much tastier and way better quality. All our coffee bags are filled with freshly ground organic and Fairtrade coffee beans. This leads to a much tastier cup of coffee. Even just smelling the bag will instantly transport you inside a fancy café with the best quality coffee in town.

Our coffee is extremely simple to make and very similar to the way we commonly prepare tea.

There are only a couple of simple steps:
1. Add your coffee bag to a cup.
2. Add hot water and give it a quick stir.
3. Leave it to brew for a few minutes (longer if you enjoy a stronger cup).
4. Stir again, squeeze and remove the bag.
5. Add any milk/sugar/cream/etc you might want and ENJOY!

All of the above will be familiar to anyone who has used a coffee bag (or even a tea bag) before. There are some extra tricks and hacks we have learnt along the way however that might be useful to know. Here we have compiled all of them into a useful list. Check it out… 

1. WATCH THE WATER

This tip actually applies to all coffee, not just our coffee bags, but isn’t that commonly known. Straight boiling water is a big no-no for coffee bags or ground coffee in general. If your kettle has just boiled resist the urge to pour it straight onto your coffee bag. The reason for this is that boiling water actually scorches the freshly ground coffee. This means you lose a lot of flavour, especially those on the finer and more delicate ends of the flavour spectrum. The beans end up holding a more bitter and burnt flavour (which nobody wants).

Technically, the ideal water temperature for making coffee is 96ºC (so just 4ºC degrees cooler than boiling). Although some baristas may disagree, we don’t think this needs to be an exact science so there is no need to break out your household thermometer or invest in a temperature-controlled kettle. You have a couple of options instead. Firstly, you could swap steps one and two in our guide to making our coffee. This means adding the water to the mug before the coffee bag. Doing so may feel completely unnatural, but the process of simply adding the boiling water to a cold coffee mug will mean it cools slightly and protects the freshly ground coffee beans.

Your second option is to just leave the kettle for 30 seconds or so after it has finished boiling to allow the water some time to cool. Simple but effective! Lastly, you could just add water. No, really! If you are a stickler for tradition and want to put your coffee bag in the mug before the boiling water, just wet your coffee bag under the tap beforehand. The cold water will protect the freshly ground coffee from a scorching.

2. OPEN WIDE

A quick way to improve your brewing process is to use a wider mug. How this works is very simple; a wider mug will increase the surface area of the brewing space. This will allow the coffee bag to diffuse out over a greater surface area and enhance the subtler flavours.

3. GIVE IT A SEC

We hope you don’t mind if we get a little bit science-y here. When hot water meets the freshly ground coffee in our coffee bags, all of the CO2 which is trapped inside will be released (technically known as the bloom). This is what causes it to inflate and float to the top of your mug. Don’t worry when this happens, it’s actually a sign that the coffee is truly fresh.

It’s by no means essential, but a top tip is to wait 10-15 seconds before giving the coffee bag a stir as recommended in step two. If you wait between pouring you water into your mug and stirring the coffee bag, as much CO2 as possible will be allowed to escape from the coffee bag. We therefore get the most flavoursome cup of coffee possible. It really does make a difference to the final result, but if you’d prefer to get your coffee down you as soon as possible that is okay too. The great thing about coffee bags is that they can be made to 100% work for you, there is no way to get them wrong.

4. EASY PEASY COFFEE SQUEEZY

We’ve already gone over this in the instructions for making a cup of New Kings Coffee, but it is such a good tip that it’s worth going over again. In step 4 we suggest stirring and squeezing the coffee bag before removing it from the mug. This is very important and will make or break your cup of coffee.

With coffee bags, the brewing occurs largely inside the bag (this is part of why they’re so great). While a small amount will be diffused naturally through the mug, a lot of flavour will stay inside the bag. By stirring and squeezing the bag you release this into the mug.

This also ensures a more even flavour throughout the mug and full taste in every sip. You can squeeze the coffee bag with your fingers if you’re feeling brave (and want to avoid the extra washing up). Alternatively, you can do it the traditional way by pressing the coffee bag against the side of your mug with the back of a teaspoon.

CLEARING THINGS UP

So, you’ve finished making your delicious cup of New Kings Coffee. Now what? Well, you can then simply add your coffee bag to your food waste bin. Our bags are made from Bioweb which is a completely renewable and sustainable source of corn starch. That means it’s 100% biodegradable! On top of this, it requires significantly less energy in the production process of the coffee bags than traditional cellulose products. It’s even taste neutral so that you only get the purest flavour from our coffee bags.

That's it. Four top tips to get the absolute best tasting cup of coffee from our coffee bags. 

What's your top tips?

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Tips for Making the Most Out of Your Coffee Bags

They’re quick and easy to make, with no complicated faff or washing up, but they still are just as delicious as a barista-made brew.