There is good coffee and absolutely abysmal coffee. Both may start with the same elements, but
one cup can taste completely different to another. Freshness is the key to great tasting coffee. Here is the play by play smackdown of how to
create a fantastic tasting cup of coffee.
- Use
good beans. Go to a local coffee roaster and buy only
enough coffee beans to last you a week.
Buying fresh beans is one key to good taste. When you buy beans make sure the beans
are all relatively the same size and same color for even grinding and
flavor. If you buy beans from the
supermarket at minimum, check to see if the beans are Arabica.
- Use
filtered water. Even if your coffee maker has a charcoal
filter it is best to start off with filtered water to ensure there are no
impurities like chlorine or minerals to alter the real taste. Use cold water.
- For
the best tasting coffee ensure you have a coffee maker which can brew up
to 95 to 98 degrees Celsius, just off the boil. This temperature is the optimal temperature to get the best flavor
out of the bean.
- The grind. Only grind as much coffee as you are
going to need for that moment. The finer you grind, the more flavor you
will receive. The grind has to be even to ensure even taste. If you are using a cheap coffee maker
you should only use a medium grind to avoid the over-extraction. However, grind to your equipment’s
recommendations.
- Use two level tablespoons of coffee
per cup. If you are making more
than 10-cups of coffee you should use the strength meter on its highest
position possible to allow more water to penetrate the grounds evenly.
- Use
unbleached coffee filters or
ensure your permanent filter is free from all coffee sludge. When it comes to coffee, cleanliness is
next to Godliness.
- Stir
the pot. Once the coffee is brewed,
stir the pot to infuse the taste.
At bare minimum, these steps should always be used when
making coffee. Think about the farmer’s
in the field, if you skip a step are you doing their hard work justice? On a selfish note, missing one of those steps
will affect the taste of your coffee, even slightly. Other things to make a great cup of coffee
are:
- Always
ensure your equipment is clean. Old
coffee sludge can really change the taste of coffee. Polident can clean your equipment to
almost new.
- NEVER
reuse coffee grinds.
- NEVER
grind beans just taken out of the freezer.
Let them thaw first.
- Always
store coffee in air-tight containers away from direct sunlight.
- NEVER
leave the coffee on a heater for longer than ½ an hour. It gets a burnt taste and smell.
- Always
warm your cup and never reheat coffee.
The best coffee starts with fresh
beans, clean equipment and clean water.
Adhering to at least those three guidelines will give you great tasting
coffee. Everything else is just
gravy.
Kate Simpson is a freelance writer who contributes for the
Coffee Bean Queen - http://www.coffeebeanqueen.com/ – a website offering
information on everything from coffee to coffee
making and capresso
coffee and more.
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