There are a lot of ways to enjoy coffee. A percolator is not one of them!
- Coffee can be steeped like tea in a french press.
- Made under pressure with an Espresso machine.
- Made by pouring water over grounds. The drip method - often called brewed coffee.
My personal favorite is the french press method, but here are my thoughts on getting a great cup of drip coffee. These recommendations apply to whatever type of coffee you’ll make.
- Start with clean water. Coffee is all about water. Use filtered or bottled water, never from the tap.
- Use fresh roasted beans. You can’t get these at your local store bins. Buy fresh roasted coffee in valve bags from a local coffee shop. Don’t buy your coffee ground, buy an inexpensive blade grinder ($15) if you don’t have one. Ordering mail order for fresh roasted beans is a great idea too, they are packed in valve bags and is often cheaper than what you’d pay at your local store (and possibly fresher). Give Coffeemaria a try (small roaster I met at a convention).
- Use the right amount of beans. The recommendation is 1 teaspoon per 6 ounces of water. To simplify figuring this out, use 1/2 cup beans for 10 cups of coffee, 3/8 cup for 7 cups. Using less beans does NOT make a more mild coffee, it creates a stronger more bitter coffee since you over extract the coffee. Brew full strength and water down if need be.
- Grind the coffee correctly. Coffee beans for drip coffee should be ground to be the consistency of course sand. Never powdery or chunky. If you have a blade grinder shake it up and down while grinding to get the grind even.
- Use the right tempurature and brew for the right amount of time. 190-205 is the proper temp for brewing coffee. How long the coffee is in contact with the water is very important. Regardless how much coffee you make, it should be brewed in 5 minutes or less.
- Use the right equipment. Most all electric coffee pots on the market do not brew hot enough, which is why the coffee will never taste the best. In addition most automatic coffee pots take over 10 minutes to make a pot. There are some gems however, I own a Technivorm MoccaMaster brewer. It brews at 200 degrees for 5 minutes everytime! It is not cheap ($150+) but well built and will last 5 times longer than the $50 one you buy from Krup or Mr. Coffee. If you are on a budget the best bet is a Melitta pour over. It is just a pot with a filter that sits on top, you pour over hot water (that you can heat up in a tea kettle).
After you make your coffee put it in a thermal carafe to keep it hot. Don’t leave coffee on a burner or heat it up in a microwave.