Many people wake up with a fresh cup of coffee in the morning, and this cup of coffee can make or break their day. While getting your favorite barista to make the same cup of coffee every day is great, this is not a viable option for a lot of people. In that case, you might be interested in learning how to make a great cup of coffee at home. Here are seven tips you can follow to make the perfect cup of coffee every morning.
Always Use Fresh Beans
The quality of the coffee beans you use will determine how good a cup of coffee will be. Coffee is at its best in terms of flavor and aroma right after being roasted, with these qualities diminishing the longer the coffee sits on a counter.
Light, oxygen, moisture and strong odors can all affect the flavor and aroma of the coffee. Because of this, always check when the coffee was roasted when buying it from a supermarket.
Second, avoid buying coffee in bulk. This is because it is likely to end up sitting at home for a long time where the aroma and flavor will diminish over time. This is also true for ground coffee. When buying coffee, the best option is to get an amount that will last for less than two weeks.
Also, ensure every bag of coffee is vacuum sealed. This might cost a little bit more, but you know the coffee has not been affected too much by oxygen and moisture.
Store Your Coffee Properly
You should always store your coffee beans in airtight containers. Ceramic crocks and canning jars with rubber seals are great options. You should store coffee beans this way because of the reasons discussed above.
Grind Your Own Coffee
Ground coffee powder has a higher surface area than coffee beans. This means it is affected much more by the factors we have discussed above than unground coffee. If you want the best taste, you should grind your own coffee.
While some people will use expensive burr mills, cheaper grinders with only a few blades can do the work as long as you get coffee that is as fine as you prefer. Ensure the particle size is even between grinds for a replicable and consistent flavor.
Experiment Before Settling
There are numerous ways to make a cup of coffee, some that you will like and some not so much. Each of these types of coffee requires a different recipe to help you make the best cup no matter the type of coffee.
It is a good idea to experiment with different types of coffee before settling on the one or two types you like and will, therefore, be making regularly. You will eventually find one or two types you like over the others and will perfect how you make them to keep improving and making better coffee each time.
There are over 20 types of coffee you could try. You can check out the guide on the different styles and types of coffee you can experiment with provided by Cup and Bean to learn about them. Cup and Bean has everything you need to know about coffee, from the different types of beans you can use and how to brew the right type of coffee, to how to enjoy coffee from different regions in the world.
Once you have read up on the different types of coffee, brew each one at least a few times, and you will eventually find ones that you will be enjoying regularly.
Use Good Water
Apart from the coffee, the type of water you use plays a significant role in the coffee’s final taste. Tap water typically has chlorine, chemicals and minerals that alter the taste of coffee if you like a very particular taste.
Bottled spring water works very well, but the cheaper option is having charcoal or carbon filters installed in your home. These remove most of the taste-altering molecules you find in regular tap water.
While distilled or softened water are great for drinking, they are not good for coffee. This is because most of their minerals are removed during the softening or distillation process. This means the taste of the coffee will be altered because, even though we might not realize it, we do taste the minimum amounts of minerals found in most water.
Use the Right Filter
Many people choose paper coffee filters because they are cheap and easy to work with. The problem is that most of the cheap filters made out of bleached paper still have chemicals in them. These chemicals end up in your coffee and even though they are not harmful at such low concentrations, they still affect the coffee’s taste.
Check that the filter you choose is labelled as “dioxin free” or oxygen-bleached” for superior taste. You can also invest in a metal-plated filter but know that these can let coffee grounds through if your coffee is too fine.
Do Not Skimp on the Coffee
You will get the best results when brewing coffee if you use the right amount of coffee for each cup. The amount of water and coffee are represented as a ratio.
These can be 1:16, 1:17 or 1:18. These translate to sixteen, seventeen, and eighteen grams of water for every gram of coffee you use. The 1:16 ratio is the strongest and the 1:18 is the weakest. You can then use these ratios to calculate the amount of coffee you need for the size of the cup you have.
Once you have measured the coffee, try not to reuse it for more than one or two cups. Some people use hotter water with the same coffee to make more cups. Doing so results in very bitter cups of coffee that have very little aroma.
Making your coffee at home allows you to experiment with different types of coffee, grinds, and preparation methods. You can also experiment with a few recipes to find one that helps you create a cup of coffee you love. Use the rest of the tips discussed above to end up with a great cup of coffee every time.
