How to Make Good Coffee

Guide Note Whether you can't start the morning without it, or you're looking to impress your boss after a dinner party, it's important to know know How to Make Good Coffee. This page will instruct you in the basics of what you need to know to make sure that every cup of coffee you make will be a good cup of coffee!

Table of Contents

Coffee Tips

  1. Use fresh beans
  2. Grind right before brewing
  3. The taste of the water affects the taste of the coffee
  4. Use 2 Tablespoons per cup
  5. If too strong, dilute with water after brewing

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Introduction

What You'll Need

  • - Coffee: Whole beans or ground
  • - Coffee grinder, if using beans
  • - Water
  • - Coffee Maker, and filters if needed by your coffee maker

Understand Your Equipment

Burr vs Blade Grinders

  • (Creative Commons photo by Michael Allen Smith)
    (Creative Commons photo by Michael Allen Smith)
    A blade grinder doesn't actually grind coffee beans. It chops them! It has metal blades that rotate quickly, similar to a food processor. Blade grinders are the most common type of grinder and are usually inexpensive. Common problems with a blade grinder are an uneven grind and exposing the beans to excessive heat.4 5 Both problems can affect the taste of the coffee. You can control both the grind size and the length of time needed to grind the beans, which is what causes the heat to build up, by grinding smaller quantities at a time.
  • Burr grinders use a grinding wheel to crush the beans.6 The positioning on the burr regulates the ground size, allowing for a more consistent grind. Beans only pass through the grinder once, minimizing heat.

Coffee Maker Selection

  • You may already own a coffee maker that you're happy with, in which case you can skip this section. In your quest for the perfect cup, however, you may be wondering about the things you should look for in coffee makers. Some of the features that are heavily advertised by manufacturers -- modern styling, contemporary colors, programmable timers, the ability to pause brewing and digital controls -- have little to do with the quality of the coffee that's produced. Here are a few things that are important when selecting a coffee maker:
  1. Brew Temperature
  2. Water Filter
    • The quality of the water is important to the coffee's taste. If your water doesn't taste good on its own, it won't make good coffee. City water with a chlorine aftertaste won't give you the same results as fresh spring water. A coffee maker with a built in charcoal filter will avoid the need to filter the water before adding it to the pot.9 2
  3. Thermal Carafe
    • As with brewing temperature, the at which coffee is served will affect the taste of it as well. Many coffee pots use a hot plate to help the coffee warm in the pot its brewed in. These pots generally aren't airtight, exposing the coffee to oxygen, which degrades the taste, and extended heating on the hot plate can contribute to a burned or bitter taste. A coffee maker that brews directly into a thermal carafe avoids both of these problems.10 11

Filters

  • Most drip coffee makers can use either paper of gold mesh filters. Some maintain that the paper can impart an off taste to coffee, and if you really want to taste the subtle nuances of the beans, you should make sure to use a gold filter. If you don't have a gold filter, however, you might want to try wetting the paper filter before brewing.9 Reportedly, this helps to ensure that the filter won't impart a paper taste to the coffee.9

Equipment Maintenance

  • In order to produce coffee at the peak of perfection, you need to keep your equipment in good shape. This means regularly cleaning your grinder of oily residue, and de-scaling your coffee pot to get rid of mineral build up. The residue in your grinder can turn rancid, imparting an off taste to your coffee, while the build-up of minerals in your coffee maker can slow down the brewing time.12 The time that the water is in contact with the grounds is one of the key components to a good cup of coffee; a mineral build-up can lead to brew over-extraction, which produces bitter coffee.13
  1. Cleaning the grinder
    1. Wipe down the accessible parts of the grinder with a clean dry cloth.
    2. Run a few tablespoons of rice through the grinder to clean the oils off the internal parts.
    3. Continue grinding until the rice grounds are white, and no longer tinged with brown.14
  2. De-scaling the coffee maker
    • Each coffee maker has specific instructions that should be followed for best results. Some require a commercial de-scaler, usually based on citric acid, while others recommend a vinegar-water solution. Make sure you run plain water through several brewing cycles after de-scaling, to make sure the solution is completely cleaned out before brewing your next pot of coffee.

Step 1: The Raw Materials

  • The most important part of coffee is the coffee itself.

Whole Beans

  • (Creative Commons photo by Jeff Kubina)
    (Creative Commons photo by Jeff Kubina)
    The best coffee starts with fresh beans. Exposure to light and oxygen accelerates the time it takes for coffee to go stale, so be careful when purchasing beans from bulk bins.15
  1. For the freshest coffee, buy green beans and roast them yourself.
  2. If this isn't an option for you, the next best thing is to purchase your coffee from a local roaster.
  3. If you don't have access to a local roaster, look for beans that have been packed in bags with a one-way valve.16

Ground Coffee

  1. If you don't have a grinder, the roaster should be able to grind the beans for you.
  2. If you're purchasing pre-packed ground coffee, experiment with brands to find one you like. Check the sell by date to make sure its still fresh.

Storing Coffee

  • Only buy what you're able to consume in a week. Store opened or bulk coffee in an airtight, opaque container at room temperature. If you have to buy in larger quantities, repackage the coffee when you get home in one week supplies and freeze.17

All Water is Not Created Equal

  • Use fresh, clean, cold water. Filtered or bottled water works well, but avoid distilled or softened water as mineral content affects taste.18 19

Step 2: Brew the Coffee

  • If you've followed the tips above, you have a great machine and its descaled and ready to go.
  1. Set up your machine, according to the manufacturer's instructions.
  2. Insert the filter.
  3. Add water.
  4. Add 1 - 2 tablespoons of coffee for each 6-7 ounces of water.18 If you like your drink stronger, increase the amount of coffee you're using. Don't use less than this, however, as using too little coffee will result in over-extraction, which produces bitter tasting coffee.20 If you prefer a milder cup, dilute with hot water after brewing.21
  5. Start the machine.
  6. Do not interrupt the brew cycle, even if the machine has a pause and brew feature.22 The strength of the coffee varies during the brew cycle, and you'll compromise the taste and strength by stealing a cup early.

Step 3: Serve the Perfect Cup of Joe

  • (Creative Commons photo by Marcelo Alves)
    (Creative Commons photo by Marcelo Alves)
    When brewing is complete, you're ready to serve the coffee! For best taste, serve promptly; if you don't have a thermal carafe this is even more important.

The Mug

  • A heavy ceramic mug holds heat better than a thin china mug. To best enjoy your coffee, you'll want a warmed mug.
  1. Preheat your mug.
    1. Fill mug with hot water.
    2. Let sit for 30 seconds, or until mug feels warm.
    3. Dump out water.
  2. Fill with coffee.
  3. Add sugar and milk or cream to taste, if desired
  4. Enjoy!

Variations

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References for How to Make Good Coffee

  1. ↑ Epicurious.com: Boiled Coffee Recipe  WARNING: Pop-ups
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Epicurious.com: Top 10 Ways to Make Office Coffee Taste Better (June 25, 2008) WARNING: Pop-ups
  3. ↑ Coffee Perks: Coffee Lover Tips
  4. ↑ Polly's: Grinding Coffee
  5. ↑ JL Hufford: Grinders: Blades, Burrs, or Biceps?
  6. ↑ EspressoZone: Coffee Grinders
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 The Boston Globe: A Wake-up Call for Choosing Coffee Makers (August 28, 2005) WARNING: Pop-ups
  8. ↑ The Decent Coffee Cosy: Martha Stewart's French Press Tips
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 Coffee Research: Coffee Brewing
  10. ↑ BBC: Ways to Make Good Coffee
  11. ↑ Coffee FAQ: What is the Best Temperature to Brew Coffee? ((January 15, 2006)
  12. ↑ The Nibble: How to Make Good Coffee
  13. ↑ Alpen Sierra: brew an Excellent Cup of Coffee
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 CHOW: How to Clean a Coffee Grinder : Old, Stale Grounds Must Go (May 8, 2008)
  15. ↑ Barista Magazine: Defining Freshness (May 2005)
  16. ↑ Coffeetime: One Way Valves & Roasted Coffee Storage (March 3, 2008)
  17. ↑ Island Joes Coffee: Freezing Coffee
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 National Coffee Association: How to Brew Coffee
  19. ↑ Coffee research: Coffee Brewing
  20. ↑ Espresso News and Reviews: ...How I Learned To Hate Overextraction
  21. ↑ Food Network: True Brew
  22. ↑ Google Books: The Joy of Coffee
  23. ↑ Food Network: Perfect French Pressed Coffee with Frothed Milk  WARNING: Pop-ups
  24. ↑ Epicurious.com: Pot-Brewed Coffee with Raw Sugar and Spices  WARNING: Pop-ups
  25. ↑ MSNBC: Coffee, Without the Heat (August 20, 2004)
  26. ↑ INeedCoffee: Cold Brewed Coffee on the Cheap


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