At what point am I just wasting coffee grounds?

[knifegill]

So I like my coffee to be as caffeine-dense as possible. I don't care about how dark, flavorful, blah blah blah it is - I just want it to kick my arse. When I add my grounds, brew it up and make my half-pot in the morning, is there a limit to how much caffeine can be extracted by the water as it filters through or will more grounds always equal a more caffeinated coffee?

It is obvious that if I only ran a thimble full of water through the chamber I'd be leaving most of the caffeine in the grounds.

It is also clear that, under normal circumstances, A full pot of water run through a thimble full of grounds would also yield pitiful results.

But what if I ran a full pot of water through a two-liter bottle of grounds? Besides cardiac arrhythmia, where is the line drawn? We'd need to know how much caffeine water can hold in solution and how much was in the grounds to start with, right?

So where does east meet west in this saga?

 

[Chaitika]

Yes, more grounds equals more caffeine. The trick is to get the hot water through it quickly so it doesn't become bitter. Better coffee machines are better because they make a pot of coffee very quickly. 3 minutes brew time is the ideal.

 

[knifegill]

Well, mine takes seven minutes. Not terrible and it tastes fine to me. This from a guy who doesn't mind day-old coffee and has made a habit of eating lightly expired food.

But, Chaitika, more grounds can't always equal more caffeine, can it? That just seems too simple!

 

[Chaitika]

I do believe it is THAT simple. Like I said though, the more grounds the more bitter it will taste. Coffee is a bitter beverage to begin with.

 

[Knowdafish]

Just poor your freshly brewed coffee back through the grounds! Double brewed!

 

[Stump]

I am very adament about my strong coffee... I really never have a problem because my mother leaves half a pot of coffee after she goes to work, and she likes coffee just as strong as I do.

Besides what Chai said, you could try using your normal amount of coffee, but just double up on the filter. It really does work, and I haven't had any bitter coffee using that method.