I won't say you're wrong, because I haven't tried the things that you've suggested. But I use the same coffee beans at home as they buy at work - Ethical Bean f

I won't say you're wrong, because I haven't tried the things that you've suggested. But I use the same coffee beans at home as they buy at work - Ethical Bean from Costco, and these three factors improve the taste by about 10,000%: 1) Use a French press instead of a drip pot. 2) Grind the beans coarsely with a burr instead of pulverizing with a electric chopper. 3) Clean all the equipment thoroughly after every use. I'm certain that could improve it further with your suggestions, but these three easy steps already make a huge improvement for me.