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Some people make their coffee at home. Others buy theirs on the go. My dad builds his -- from the grounds up. He has several grinders and at least five mechanisms for five different brewing methods. He's part of a subculture fixated on creating the perfect cup of coffee. To find a simpler way there, I spoke with the executive director of the Specialty Coffee Association of America, Ric Rhinehart.
Recommended Materials:
-French press They come in a wide variety of sizes, materials, and designs. The traditional glass press in the 4-cup (0.6 liter) size is a good choice.
-Fresh, clean, good tasting water Depending on your tap water, your coffee can turn out tasting sulfurous, metallic, tinny, flat, or worse. The ideal water for brewing coffee is free of odor, off tastes, and chlorine. Most bottled drinking water works.
-Electric or stove top kettle
-Timer
-Burr grinder Going from pre-ground to freshly ground whole beans is one of the best ways to improve the home coffee experience. This type of grinder provides a much more consistent particle size than the grinders most people are familiar with, and consistent grounds yield a sweeter, more enjoyable cup. But any grinder is better than no grinder.
-Freshly roasted coffee beans Find a local coffee house that roasts its own beans. Ask what is seasonally fresh, as well as what is fresh from the roaster. Coffee is a perishable product that is less than spectacular when it has staled. To order coffee on-line, there are great reviews of coffee (and cafes) on coffeegeek.com and home-barista.com. If you don't want to research, look for coffee that has some kind of freshness dating and is 100% arabica (the preferred coffee bean species).
7 Steps to Perfect Coffee (4 cups)
1. Heat about a liter of good-tasting water on the stove or in an electric kettle.
2. When the water boils, pour a few ounces into the French press to preheat. The ideal water temperature for brewing is between 195 and 205 degrees F, so if you bring the water to a full boil (212 F at sea level), by the time you follow steps 3-5, the water should have cooled to the right temperature.
3. Using the right ratio of coffee to water is one of the most important things you can do to ensure a good cup: 2 generous tablespoons (7-9 grams or 1 scoop of a standard coffee measure) to 6 ounces of water. For 4 cups, measure out 8 generous tablespoons (30-35 grams) of fresh roasted coffee beans.
4. Grind the coffee in the grinder to a relatively coarse grind, about the size of medium coarse sea salt. To get the grind right, do a little comparative tasting. Try grinding a little finer than grounds from a can from the grocery store, about the same, and a little coarser.
Note: If your coffee is too strong, try adjusting the grind of the coffee coarser rather than using less coffee.
5. Pour out the water used to preheat the press, add the ground coffee, and fill the carafe with new hot water from the kettle. Stir gently -- just enough to get all the grounds wet. Then insert the top of the French press in the "up" position.
6. Set a timer for four minutes.
7. After four minutes, push the filter down, pour, and enjoy. Don't leave the coffee in the press for long or else it will continue to get stronger, and ultimately bitter. Instead, pour the remaining coffee into a thermal carafe.
Click here for more coffee appreciation tips. Tea enthusiasts, check out how to make fresh teas at home.
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