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If you’re like many people, coffee is the first thing on your mind in the morning. Nothing can wake you up quite like the rich aroma and savory flavor of a good cup. Here’s a thought, however. What if you could make that first cup of coffee even better? No, not by buying expensive drinks in a national coffee chain, but by brewing it yourself, at home. With a little knowledge, you can have he perfect cup of coffee with your next batch of Sunday morning pancakes.
It’s All About the Beans
First things first. If you want the perfect cup of coffee, you have to start with good beans. Because, really, what else is there besides the beans?
Not that you can’t get good beans in a grocery store, but it’s not the best place to get them. The reason is because coffee doesn’t stay fresh forever, but unlike produce, or bread, which has visible signs of freshness, the stocker at the supermarket won’t see that it’s bad. That means, the coffee you buy in the supermarket could be months old or more. If you’re buying the cheapest coffee you can get, you don’t know what you’re getting. If it’s already ground, which most mass market brands are ground before arriving in your local store, you might as well just use dirt to brew your morning cup.
Seriously, get good beans.
Visit Your Local Coffee Shop
So where’s the best place to get the best coffee? You can buy online, but if you have a small local coffee shop, that will probably work. If they roast their own beans, even better.
Large coffee chains may be better than the grocery store only because they turnover coffee quickly, but it’s much better to find a small shop owned by someone that is passionate about coffee. Someone that will tell you when the beans were roasted, and can give you notes on the flavors of various beans. If you can get some samples, you can find your perfect coffee pretty quickly. The thing to remember is that no matter what type of coffee it is, if you don’t like a dark roast, you don’t like dark roast. There’s no problem with that, but find the best light roast you can find.
Grind Your Own Beans
Once you’ve found the perfect beans, you should grind them yourself, preferably when you use them. You can do this in a couple ways. The first is to buy a coffee maker that grinds the beans in the pot. This is easy and doesn’t require extra equipment or clean up. It also allows you to buy whole bean coffee and grind it easily as you need it. There are plenty of options on the market, but be sure to do your research. Some are expensive, and some tend to make a bigger mess than just brewing grounds.
Another option is to get a separate grinder. There are two types of stand-alone grinders; a blade grinder grinds the beans using a blade, while a burr grinder crushes the beans between a wheel and a flat surface.
A blade grinder is inexpensive and easy to use, but it’s not ideal for serious coffee drinkers. It’s very difficult to control the grind, so if you’re not paying attention for even a few seconds, you can end up with coffee that’s too fine. It may also heat up your beans, resulting in unpleasant bitterness.
A burr grinder is a much better option, but there are two types of grinders within that category (so many choices!) A wheel grinder grinds beans very fast, and while better than a blade, it’s not as precise as a conical burr grinder, and it’s also a bit messy.
A conical burr grinder is your best bet, but it’s also going to be the most expensive option. It moves slowly, grinds to exactly what you need, meaning you can grind fine for espresso, or coarse for your French press without fail. These grinders are much quieter, and they don’t get clogged with grinds, which means they are easier to clean.
Method Matters
You can go to any discount retailer and buy a coffee pot for less than 20 bucks, but if you’ve spent good money on coffee beans, and gotten yourself a decent grinder, do you really think this will do? Maybe it will, but not in the way you think.
Here’s the thing about most cheap, mass produced drip coffee makers. They’re easy to use; you put the filter in, pour water through the top, and then wait for your coffee to drip through. The problem is that they don’t get the water hot enough to really extract all that flavor you paid for when buying those nice beans.
One of the easiest, and best methods of brewing coffee is with a French press coffee pot. A French press is a simple, manual pot that allows you to brew your best cup. Most standard pots are inexpensive glass pots that make three to four small cups of coffee at a time, perfect for two people in the morning. To use it, you simply put your grinds in (coarsely ground or you’ll have grounds in your coffee), pour near boiling water over top and press the filter down. Let steep for about five minutes, and pour into your cup. That’s it. You don’t have to plug it in, you don’t need filters, and since you control the grind and the water temperature, getting the perfect cup is as simple as buying the right beans. Pour over coffee relies on the same premise, although you’ll need a filter, and it may be a bit more trouble.
Of course, this method may not be for you if you drink a lot of coffee, you are making coffee for a crowd, or you just like the sound of a percolating coffee pot, and that’s okay. There are plenty of good pots that will get the temperature right and are easy to clean and maintain. Just beware that they probably won’t cost 20 bucks, and you’ll have to do a lot of research before you find the right pot.
You CAN Have Too Much Coffee
When buying coffee beans, it’s important to buy only what you’ll drink within a week’s time, and grind the beans as you use them. Don’t buy a week’s worth of beans and grind them all at once to save time; the flavor and aroma starts to disappear as soon as you grind them.
Store beans in a dark, sealed container at room temperature. Do not store them in the freezer; this does not preserve the flavor indefinitely, or even for a little while.
Skip the Add Ins
If you’re buying coffee that’s good, you want to taste it right? Adding flavored syrups, sugar, or whipped cream to your coffee won’t let you taste the coffee. It’s fine if you like these things, but don’t waste your money or time seeking out good beans because you won’t know the difference.
Flavored coffee is another thing altogether. While not sweet, flavored coffee beans are those that are infused with other flavorings like vanilla, chocolate, fruit, or nuts. Typically, the beans used for these types of coffee aren’t the best because you’re not likely to taste the coffee itself.
A little bit of milk or cream is enough to cut the bitterness in the coffee without ruining it’s flavor, but don’t add too much. You might want to consider trying to wean yourself from even that. Once you do, you’ll learn to truly appreciate the finer aspects of coffee drinking.
Conclusion
Coffee, like wine, has many different varieties, all of which affect the flavor of your cup. By buying high quality beans, storing them properly, and only buying enough for a short period of time, you are sure to enjoy every last drop.