Coffee is a lot of things to a lot of people. For some, it’s a way to start the day and nothing else- and at the other end of the scale, for many other people, it can be a real drug, something that they need in order to get through the day.
It can even be the centre of a social event. Wherever you happen to fall on that scale, if you at least tend to drink coffee every day, then you might find yourself often wondering how you could make it even more enjoyable to drink.
There are actually a lot of things that go into making the perfect cup of coffee.
In this post, we are going to look at each of them in turn so that, by the end, you will have a really strong sense of just how to make a coffee that you will love, every day.
That’s good news whether it’s your first of the day, or your fifth.
It’s All About The Roast
First of all, the most important ingredient of all in a cup of coffee is, well- the actual coffee!
The better the quality of the roast, the better the final result is going to be. While that might seem obvious, people often overlook it.
So, if you're hoping to make your coffee as good as can be, you will need to begin by making sure the choice of coffee bean is perfect.
This is partly a matter of taste, of course: after all, some people prefer a light roast, and some prefer a dark one. But you should be trying out a wide variety of beans of different kinds and roasts to help figure out which is good for your needs and your tastebuds.
That means getting hold of loads of different coffee beans and just seeing how they work for you.
In no time, you should uncover which beans are your preferred option, and from there you can start to see how you can begin making a much more delicious coffee every day.
Water Is Everything
As well as the coffee beans and the roast, the one other really important factor is the water.
Essentially, this is what makes up most of the cup of coffee, so the better the quality of the water is, the better quality your final drink will be.
Of course, many people don’t really have much say into what water they have available. In all likelihood, you are just going to use whatever comes out of the tap.
However, some coffee drinkers do like to use particular bottled water which they find has an especially good taste, and that is something you might want to at least consider.
Of course, you can also filter your water, and this is something that we would generally recommend anyway, to help ensure that you are keeping it as clear and pure as possible at all times.
That is certainly going to make a difference to the taste of the final cup of coffee.
However, it’s not only the quality of the water that matters, but what you do with it and how you use it. Most of all, you need to ensure that you have the right temperature water when you go to make a cup of coffee.
There is a delicate balancing act to be carried out here: too low, and you are not going to extract any of the bean’s flavor, leaving it tasteless; too high, and you’ll burn the coffee bean, leading to an over-bitter taste that most people will not enjoy.
You need to go somewhere in between, and generally that means using water that is hot but not boiling. You should never use boiling water for coffee, no matter how you are preparing it.
Some methods of brewing coffee will do this automatically. For instance, if you are using a percolator, you’ll find that it simply uses the heat of the water at just the right temperature to brew the coffee, so you can’t actually get it wrong in that case.
However, if you're not using such a method, you’ll need to take care. If you are using a kettle, consider pouring the water over the back of a spoon as it goes into the cup- this slows down the heating process just right most of the time.
Grind Your Own
One of the very simple things you can do to increase the quality of your drink tenfold is to grind your own beans at home. Why? Simply because the less time there is between grinding the bean and brewing it, the more flavor it holds in.
Once it is packaged in a ground form and transported, it is going to lose a lot of its aroma. But if you buy pure coffee beans and ground them yourself at home, you will be making a much fresher cup of coffee every time.
It has never been easier to grind your own coffee. These days, you can get a hold of all sorts of gadgets which will aid in grinding your coffee beans. You can get these nifty hand-held devices which grind them up to exactly the amount you need.
If you prefer to go old-school, you can of course use a hand grinder that takes a little longer, but still works. Or you can simply throw the coffee beans into a food processor or blender and grind them up that way.
However you do it, just make sure that you are grinding your own coffee beans - and you will certainly love the results of doing so.
Which Brewing Method Is Best?
This is the age-old debate in coffee, and it’s one which is unlikely to be solved anytime soon. Again, everyone usually has their own favorite, and it’s not really something that you can be objective about. It is best to try out a few methods for yourself and see which tend to work for you.
You might be surprised at how effective this can be, and it’s something that you will probably enjoy doing too, as it will give you a chance to try out a variety of coffee drinks at home.
So, which brewing methods should you try? Well, there are definitely a few that are known to be especially worthwhile. First of all, you have the classic cafetiere, or French press. This simply requires ground coffee in the bottom, and then you pour water on top and allow it to sit with the plunger resting above the coffee.
After a few minutes, gently plunge. The results can be delicious and it’s a very easy process.
There is also the percolator, which is even easier. Here, you simply pack the coffee nice and tight in the compartment, put cold water in the bottom, and put the whole thing on the stove. In a few minutes, you’ll have delicious coffee at your fingertips.
One tip: take it off the heat the moment it starts bubbling and allow its own residual heat to finish it off. This is a very gentle way to make a delicious cup of coffee.
Another very good method is to get a coffee machine that does everything for you, but where you have the option to foam and so on too. This is very fancy, and most homes won’t have it- but if you splash out on it, you’ll be sure to make amazing coffee in no time at home.
If you can remember all that, you will be making great coffee at home soon enough!
Do you love coffee? What do you think of these simple tips? Let me know in the comments!
Love, Sarah xoxoxo
