An Ideal Cup of Coffee, According to These 9 Guidelines

One's day can be dramatically altered by the quality of one's first cup of coffee. However, you may not have access to your regular cup of joe if you rely on a barista to serve it to you during the hours that coffee shops are closed. So, you're probably thinking about how to make a good cup of coffee at home. As a bonus, it may help you save money, too, depending on how much coffee you drink daily. Just follow these nine guidelines and you'll have the best cup of coffee waiting for you in the morning, every morning.

Even the simplest measures, such as using high-quality filters and keeping your beans in the fridge, can drastically improve your coffee's flavor and eliminate any unpleasant aftertastes. For a consistently delicious cup of coffee, whether you use estate-grown beans and a fancy brewing method or a store-bought blend and a drip coffee maker, keep in mind these few guidelines.

There are typically three ways that coffee is brewed at home. The traditional drip coffee maker has always been the most popular, but home pour-over coffee makers and the French press are quickly gaining in popularity. Here are the simple steps for making coffee using any of the three most common techniques.

You should know that measuring ground coffee by weight rather than volume (with a cup, spoon, or scoop) produces better results. We've included both the weight in pounds and the volume in teaspoons in case you don't have a digital kitchen scale. However, as a rule of thumb, 15 grams (1 tablespoon) of ground coffee should be used for every 8 ounces of liquid. That's about 60 grams (4 tablespoons) of ground coffee, enough for 4 cups of brew.

You may also be interested in: Choosing the Perfect Coffee Machine for Your Needs.

The pour-over coffee maker is highly recommended because it produces coffee that is flavorful, aromatic, and nuanced.

1. At the outset, fill a kettle with cold water and set it to boil.
2. If you're using whole beans, grind them until they're the consistency of granulated salt.
3. While that's going on, rinse a filter with hot water and insert it into the brewer. It also preheats the brewer, so your coffee will stay hot for longer while you're waiting for it to brew, and it gets rid of the papery residue Rinse water should be thrown away.
4. Make sure the filter's surface is flat before adding the grounds. As soon as the water reaches a temperature between 195 and 205 degrees Fahrenheit (about a minute after being removed from the heat), slowly and steadily pour enough water over the grounds to saturate them completely, beginning in the center and working your way outward. If the coffee starts to drip, you should stop pouring. The "bloom" pour lets the coffee release some of its gas during the pour.
5. Drip the remaining water in slowly, keeping the dripper about two-thirds full at all times. Time required: roughly 3–4 minutes Serve after carefully removing the filter.

Make your morning coffee in the style of the Europeans with a French press.

1. The first step is to put water in a kettle and get it boiling.
2. If you're using whole beans, grind them to the consistency of breadcrumbs (coarser than you'd want for pour-over). A lot of fine grit shouldn't be present, and the grounds should be consistently sized. Prepare a French press and add the grounds.
3. Add the water to the French press when it reaches a temperature between 195 and 205 degrees Fahrenheit (about a minute after being taken off the heat). After letting the coffee steep for about 4 minutes, you can gently plunge the press to extract the coffee from the grounds.
4. Prepare and savor Keep in mind that coffee brewed in a French press will become increasingly bitter if left to sit on the grounds for any length of time. Put the coffee in a carafe and drink it later.

A drip coffee maker is indispensable on a busy morning because of its ease of use. Make as many as 12 cups simultaneously, depending on your coffee maker.

1. In the case of whole beans, they should be ground to a fineness that is comparable to that of regular table salt. Fill a filter-lined filter basket with the grounds, and set it atop the drip machine. Turn the water fountain so that the spout is in the middle of the field.
2. Instead of dumping water on the grounds, clean water should be poured into the machine's back and turned on.
3. You can prevent a bitter aftertaste by turning off the coffee maker as soon as the coffee is done brewing (when the bubbles stop). Every month, give your machine a good cleaning by running a mixture of water and vinegar through the filter to get rid of any residue that has built up.

Related: The Top-Rated Drip Coffee Makers of 2018

Using freshly roasted coffee within a few days is the best practice. To ensure you're getting the freshest beans possible, it's best to buy from a local roaster (though you can also roast coffee at home). Precautions should be taken when purchasing coffee from supermarket bulk bins. Stores that don't care about selling fresh coffee risk having their storage tubes coated with rancid coffee oils due to exposure to oxygen and light, which are the two biggest flavor killers for roasted beans. It's best to buy coffee beans that have been roasted to a high standard and packaged in dependable vacuum-sealed bags.

Related: 4 Caffeinated Beverages to Avoid, Plus Healthier Alternatives to Consider

When storing coffee beans, it's important to keep them airtight once they've been opened. Using rubber-gasket-sealed glass jars or ceramic crocks is a safe bet for preserving food. Do not store in the fridge because roasted beans are porous and will absorb odors and flavors from other foods. Coffee, especially dark roasts, should not be frozen, according to flavor experts. When possible, stock up on fresh beans for five to seven days at a time and store them at room temperature.

The most common mistake you're making with your coffee is explained here.

Coffee snobbery is on par with wine snobbery, but the truth is that there is a remarkable world of coffee flavors out there for those who are willing to look beyond the ubiquitous big-name brands. Coffees labeled with their country, region, or estate of origin are true works of art that can be savored for years to come. Arabian and Robusta beans are the two most popular options. Arabica beans are widely considered the "better bean" due to their higher quality, greater variety of flavors, and higher production rates. Insist on buying only authentic Arabica beans. Robusta beans, known for their high caffeine content but strong flavors, may be hidden in the low-priced substitutes. Robusta coffees have a reputation for being "nasty" among fans of Arabica coffees. However, coffee of this caliber can be pricey. If you've had to cut back on your barista's salary, don't worry; there are plenty of reliable brands available at the supermarket that will give you a boost without breaking the bank.

Almost immediately after being ground, coffee begins to degrade. Beans that are freshly ground right before brewing produce the best-tasting beverages. While expensive burr mills are preferred by coffee purists, inexpensive electric "whirly blade" grinders can get the job done as long as the mill is rocked back and forth to achieve a fine, even particle size. (Taste-for-taste, finer grinds produce better results.) )

Read more about this topic here: Our Test Kitchen's Favorite Spice Grinders

Chlorine or other unpleasant tastes in municipal tap water are the surest way to ruin a good cup of joe. Serious coffee drinkers replace their tap water filters with activated charcoal or carbon bottles. The minerals found in good water are essential for making coffee, and softened or distilled water will not cut it.

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Experts agree that coffee filtered through cheap paper coffee filters tastes bad. Paper filters that claim to be "oxygen-bleached" or "dioxin-free" (e. g , Melitta, and Filtropa) In contrast, a long-lasting gold-plated filter (e.g. g Gold from Switzerland) However, if the coffee is ground too finely, sediment may pass through, despite their reputation for maximizing flavor.

For more on this, check out these tips for making eco-friendly coffee.

A standard measure for brewing coffee to the ideal strength is 2 level tablespoons per 6-ounce cup, or about 2 3/4 tablespoons per 8-ounce cup. Attempts to maximize coffee yield by using less coffee and hotter water result in brews that are often bitter.

Too hot water will cause the coffee's bitter compounds to be extracted. Brewing requires water that is 200 degrees Fahrenheit, or 45 seconds after it boils. (This is normally controlled automatically by high-quality coffee makers. Coffee loses its flavor quickly after being brewed. Even the finest coffee will become bitter and unpleasant if re-heated, boiled, or held for an extended period of time on a warming platform.

Remove oil buildup from containers and grinders on a weekly basis. For best results, clean your coffee maker at least once a month with a strong solution of vinegar or a specialty coffee-equipment cleaner like Urnex. Don't reuse until you've given it a good rinse.

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