Good Morning To Great Coffee

It’s early morning and the alarm clock goes off signaling the start of a new day, you stumble downstairs desperately searching for your favorite coffee mug, as you pour the aromatic steaming hot liquid into your mug, you take a sip and realize it tastes terrible. How is it that only a select few of the population can manage to produce an amazing pot of coffee? What do they have that you don’t? Is there anyway that you can correct this problem? Of course there is! Making an awesome pot of coffee is not as difficult as it may seem, just keep these few components in mind, water, coffee beans, the right temperature and brewing time and you are on your way to coffee perfection.

Before you get started be sure that your coffee maker has been thoroughly cleaned since the last use. You donÆt want the new beans to mix in with the residue of the last batch. If your machine uses a paper filter be sure to put in a fresh one. If a metal one is in place, check it for any leftover grinds. While paper filters are more convenient, a metal one is the most eco friendly. It also will filter more efficiently and leaves the taste of the beans intact. While tap water is always available, great tasting water is the key to a great tasting cup of coffee. Bottled or filtered water is recommended, however, distilled water or softened water is not. Make sure that the water is cold; this ensures that while brewing the flavor of the beans will come out.

Pre-ground coffee, may seem convenient, but in the end you will be disappointed with the result of waking up to a lousy cup of coffee. Take the extra time and purchase freshly roasted coffee beans that have not been ground. Although you will have to grind them yourself, the result will be a supreme cup of coffee. Within a week of purchasing be sure to grind them for brewing. Oxygen is the number one enemy of coffee beans, so store them in an airtight container, out of direct light. If you are in search of the ultimate freshness in coffee beans, look into purchasing green coffee beans (unroasted). These help to save money because they have a storage life of up to two years and can be roasted on an as needed basis.

When grinding the coffee beans be sure to choose the proper granule for the coffee maker that you are using. The following are suggestions for the types of coffee makers; coarse grinds are used for French press or vacuum coffee makers; medium grind for auto drip makers; fine grind is recommended for stove top espresso pots and a superfine grind is reserved for espresso machines.

When the temperature of the water is too low, it can cause the coffee to have a bitter taste, on the other hand when it is too high, it can burn the coffee and we all know too well how that can taste! The recommended temperature for brewing is, 195¦- 205¦F. Coarse grinds in a French press usually require a four minute brewing period. Finer grinds of coffee need less brewing time.

The perfect cup of coffee only takes a little extra effort, but in the end, you’ll wake up to enjoying your coffee each morning.