# What does a Keurig do differently when you press the "strong" button? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 25, 2020, 10:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-a-keurig-do-differently-when-you-press-the-strong-button/854431 "2020-05-25T10:39:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2020, 9:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-a-keurig-do-differently-when-you-press-the-strong-button/854431/21 "2020-05-27T09:46:27Z")
> [@RivkahChaya](#): > > Yeah. You can buy it on the internet in powdered form, and lots of teens have killed themselves by thinking that 50mg and 50g are the same thing, because 50g of powdered pure caffeine looks like about the same amount as a crushed 1/2 No-Doz (or Jet Alert, whatever-- that’s what I actually have-- much cheaper). I suppose I can believe people will do anything-- and even a tablespoon of pure caffeine can mess you up, in case you mistake it for sugar- but 50g? That’s insane, and so would be the intended 1/2 bottle of No-Doz. Kids know basic facts like that even a gram of let’s say Cocaine HCl is “a lot”, right? Way back when (1930s-40s??), we are told people in Soviet prisons would prepare tea using something like 5-8 tablespoons per person. I’ve done that myself, but then they went on to brew it basically overnight… ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2020, 12:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-a-keurig-do-differently-when-you-press-the-strong-button/854431/22 "2020-05-27T12:02:02Z")
Also just to add to the discussion, Keurig mentions that each coffee pod can be used for 2 servings but mention that the second cup will be not as flavorful. So there seems to be ‘room’ for a slower brew. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2020, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-a-keurig-do-differently-when-you-press-the-strong-button/854431/23 "2020-05-27T14:21:54Z")
> [@kanicbird](#): > > Also just to add to the discussion, Keurig mentions that each coffee pod can be used for 2 servings but mention that the second cup will be not as flavorful. So there seems to be ‘room’ for a slower brew. I can fill my 24oz cup with 2 10oz brews from one pod, plus a little whole milk & sugar-free syrup. I set most of them on “strong” for both cup. and pour them in the cup. Usually, it’s plenty strong, with 2 plebtsa. No grounds get in it. It’s good. Oh well. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2020, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-a-keurig-do-differently-when-you-press-the-strong-button/854431/24 "2020-05-27T16:43:15Z")
> [@RivkahChaya](#): > > Thanks! and yeah, mine has a volume setting, so it must be releasing the water more slowly. It supposedly can make 8oz “regular” or “strong.” If I want more caffeine, I just put half a No-Doz in the pod. Try it once without pressing “Strong.” You’ll hear the difference. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2020, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-a-keurig-do-differently-when-you-press-the-strong-button/854431/25 "2020-05-27T17:25:45Z")
Okay, I now realize all my comments concerning my experience with capsule coffee machines (Lavazza, Nespresso, etc) and with regular espresso machines are based on 1 normal shot = less than 1 oz. So no idea what the Keurig machine in question does to make 8 or 10 oz; I use different techniques to make that much coffee but not an espresso machine (that would be a decuple espresso!) One way to get a large amount of strong coffee is to grind the beans _coarse_; boil your 10 oz or 24 oz or 30 oz or whatever of water, then turn off the heat (this isn’t black tea), stir in 2-3 tablespoons of coffee per cup, plus sugar if you want, stir slowly for a bit, then let it infuse for 5 minutes and finally pour off or strain the coffee. You can use a French press, of course. The point is, compared to an espresso, you use a coarse grind and steep for much longer. (To be precise, espresso is not steeped or decocted, espresso means hot water is forced through ground coffee.) ---
**Author:** ![DrCube](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a3d4f5/32.png) [@DrCube](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrCube)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2020, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-a-keurig-do-differently-when-you-press-the-strong-button/854431/26 "2020-05-27T21:11:48Z")
> [@RivkahChaya](#): > > So, I’ve had one of these for a couple of years, and I always press the “strong” button, and it does taste pretty strong. Not as strong as an auto drip when I load the filter, but strong enough. The only thing I can thing I can think that it could do is to run the water more slowly through the cup when you press “strong.” Is that what is does? Or is it just a placebo button? I’m not familiar with how the Keurig machine works, but for most coffee, the water is gravity fed. Meaning it just falls through the coffee grounds. There is no way for the machine to “run the water more slowly”. Even in an espresso machine, the pump only has one speed. It’s on, or off. The flow is controlled by the grounds themselves. Finer ground coffee makes the flow slower, coarser coffee makes the water flow faster. So this is the variable people change when they want to “dial in” a brew. They’re looking for 25-30 seconds for espresso, or 3-5 minutes for a pour over. If it’s not right the first time, adjust your grinder and try again. I would be very surprised if a Keurig machine had any kind of flow control. So my guess is that “stronger” just means “less water”. > [@Reply](#): > > That helps, thanks. > > But for any given input of beans (same qty and type), does the amount of water and/or steep time affect caffeine content? On my machine, there are 3 cup sizes (ristretto/espresso/“coffee”). As far as I can tell it uses the same quantity of beans, but each cup size is bigger and has more water and tastes different. Do they have meaningfully different levels of caffeine, too, or is it really just extra water? > > What’s confusing to me is that it seems to be pumping out coffee-looking water the whole time, as opposed to just pumping coffee at first and plain water later. So whether it’s “steeping” or “steaming” or whatever it is espresso machines do while they’re making coffee, does that duration add more caffeine…? My understanding (I’m a self educated coffee connoisseur, but not an expert) is that caffeine is one of the very first compounds to be pulled out of the grounds and into the water solution. So basically, all brewing methods or “strengths” have the same caffeine content. If you want more caffeine, you need to use more coffee. Other compounds and flavors come out later, in a certain order. That’s why you want to shoot for a particular brewing time. If you brew for too long, all sorts of nasty, bitter flavors come out of the beans. If you don’t brew long enough, none of the good flavors come out. But the caffeine pretty much always does, right away. So I don’t think you can control the caffeine content through brew method like you can for the other flavors in coffee. ---
**Author:** ![Mr\_Downtown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Mr\_Downtown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Downtown)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2020, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-a-keurig-do-differently-when-you-press-the-strong-button/854431/27 "2020-05-28T04:04:17Z")
> [@DrCube](#): > > I’m not familiar with how the Keurig machine works… I would be very surprised if a Keurig machine had any kind of flow control. Water doesn’t flow through the Keurig pod by gravity alone; it’s pushed through the pod. Letting it sit in the pod a bit longer before injecting additional water to push out the coffee water is what extracts more flavor from the grounds. ---
**Author:** ![Cleophus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a88e57/32.png) [@Cleophus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cleophus)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2020, 5:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-a-keurig-do-differently-when-you-press-the-strong-button/854431/28 "2020-05-28T05:35:08Z")
A Keurig has fairly close control over the brewing cycle; it pumps in a volume of water at a set pressure and temperature to ensure water flows over all of the coffee in the pod (as opposed to blasting through a little channel in the middle) and for a specific brewing time. It isn’t just a scaled down drip coffeemaker. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2020, 5:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-a-keurig-do-differently-when-you-press-the-strong-button/854431/29 "2020-05-28T05:50:45Z")
In the keurig “strong” cycle, you can hear and see a pause of about a second or two between each pump of water, rather than a constant stream. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2020, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-a-keurig-do-differently-when-you-press-the-strong-button/854431/30 "2020-05-28T13:31:11Z")
> [@DrCube](#): > > I’m not familiar with how the Keurig machine works, but for most coffee, the water is gravity fed. Meaning it just falls through the coffee grounds. There is no way for the machine to “run the water more slowly”. Even in an espresso machine, the pump only has one speed. It’s on, or off. The flow is controlled by the grounds themselves. Finer ground coffee makes the flow slower, coarser coffee makes the water flow faster. So this is the variable people change when they want to “dial in” a brew. They’re looking for 25-30 seconds for espresso, or 3-5 minutes for a pour over. If it’s not right the first time, adjust your grinder and try again. I would be very surprised if a Keurig machine had any kind of flow control. So my guess is that “stronger” just means “less water”. The water reservoir is at the base of a Keurig, and the pod is at the top, so it has some kind of pump. If it has a pump, then the speed of the pump can be controlled. Since the coffee comes out a small hole in the pod, and not the large hole of a drip machine, you really can steep the coffee at different rates, and this must be what they do, as someone else already explained. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2020, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-a-keurig-do-differently-when-you-press-the-strong-button/854431/31 "2020-05-28T15:43:35Z")
> [@DrCube](#): > > \*\*I’m not familiar with how the Keurig machine works, \*\* but for most coffee, the water is gravity fed. Meaning it just falls through the coffee grounds. There is no way for the machine to “run the water more slowly”. Even in an espresso machine, the pump only has one speed. It’s on, or off. The flow is controlled by the grounds themselves. Finer ground coffee makes the flow slower, coarser coffee makes the water flow faster. So this is the variable people change when they want to “dial in” a brew. They’re looking for 25-30 seconds for espresso, or 3-5 minutes for a pour over. If it’s not right the first time, adjust your grinder and try again. \*\* I would be very surprised if a Keurig machine had any kind of flow control. So my guess is that “stronger” just means “less water”. \*\* (bolding mine) Not trying to be snarky, but this is a pet peeve of mine - why would someone answer a question in the GQ forum about the workings of a specific machine without knowing anything about the specific machine? A quick Google would have straightened you out (or reading previous posts in this thread). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-a-keurig-do-differently-when-you-press-the-strong-button/854431.md?page=1)