Every morning millions of people wake up to the smell of home-brewed coffee. The amount of coffee that we go through is truly staggering and while most people think they know just how to brew a great cup of coffee, many of them don’t really know how to brew a decent cup of coffee. With right method, you can make the perfect cup every time.

Here are five tips for making your drip coffee taste a whole lot better:

1. Stay away from preground coffee beans

There is nothing worse than a stale cup of coffee. If you’re buying bags of preground coffee, you’re doing it wrong. Instead, start with fresh, whole beans. Coffee reaches its peak flavor just days after it has been roasted and should be consumed within a month of its roast date.

2. Grind your coffee immediately before brewing for maximum flavor

Experts say coffee begins to lose its flavor within 30 minutes of being ground. It’s therefor best to grind your coffee on the spot, just before brewing a pot.

3. The right way to measure your coffee

It’s important to use the same amount of coffee per unit of water each time you brew. A ratio of 1:20 – that’s one part coffee to 20 parts water or 7.5g of coffee to 150mL of water – makes a fairly strong cup of coffee.

4. Brew at the right temperature

The desired brew temperature for drip coffee is between 195 and 205 degrees Fahrenheit. To make sure your coffee maker gets hot enough, run it without any coffee in the hopper and use a thermometer to measure the temperature.

5. Buy quality coffee

As the old saying goes, you get what you pay for, and it couldn’t be more true when it comes to coffee. Cheap coffee might seem attractive for your wallet, but that doesn’t mean your taste buds will agree.