How to Properly Brew Coffee

Contrary to popular belief, there really is such a thing as a right way and a wrong way to brew coffee. Of course, personal preference will always play a part in determining whether any cup of coffee is considered palatable. For just as is the case with any other recipe out there, brewing the best coffee means following the same strict process and rules as the experts.

If you’ve ever wondered why you don’t seem to be able to brew coffee that tastes anywhere near as good as the stuff you buy, chances are there’s a simple explanation. So if you’re looking to brew coffee to be proud of every time, the following tips and guidelines could make all the difference:

Buy Fresh Beans

First up, you cannot expect to brew coffee to an immaculately high standard if the beans are not fresh. And what we mean by ‘fresh’ is freshly roasted beans which means roasted as recently as possible. The problem with most supermarket coffee beans is that while the quality may be great, chances are they were roasted weeks, months or even years before they hit the shelves. The longer the gap between roasting and brewing, the lower the quality of the results.

Keep Coffee Beans Fresh

There’s no point buying the best coffee beans on the market if you aren’t going to look after them properly. Opened coffee beans should always be stored in a reliable air-tight container, positioned in a cool and dark place. While refrigeration is typically inadvisable, many experts swear by freezing fresh coffee beans, as a means by which to hold onto their quality and flavour characteristics.

Choose Good Coffee

It of course goes without saying, but is nonetheless important enough to warrant repeating. You cannot and will not brew coffee you’ll enjoy if you don’t ensure that the coffee you buy is of decent quality. You don’t have to be snobbish and only choose horrendously overpriced beans – just be sure not to cut too many corners for the sake of saving pennies.

Grind Your Own Beans

Just as is the case with roasting, all coffee beans begin degrading in quality the moment you grind the beans. As such, the best advice is to not only always grind your own beans, but to grind just before you brew coffee. In addition, you need to ensure that you grind your beans to the exact coarseness you require, in accordance with whatever brewing method you plan to use.

Use Good Water

The quality of the water you use to brew coffee can and will make a big difference to the final result. Any kind of staleness, metallic taste or chlorine could transform what may have been a fantastic cup of coffee into something that’s borderline unbearable. If possible, always make coffee using bottled spring water, or tap water that has been passed through a high-quality filter.

Avoid Cheap Filters

Speaking of which, while there may be thousands of filters available to you and designed to brew coffee in exactly the same way, all are most certainly not of the same quality standard. The quality of the filters you use, by way of their design, materials and so on, will make a big difference to the quality of the final result so regardless of your chosen method of brewing, always use high quality filters.

Be Generous with the Coffee

Another industry secret that isn’t really a secret at all is to simply be as generous as necessary with the coffee itself. There’s nothing worse than diluting the appeal of an otherwise fantastic coffee by literally diluting it far too frugally.  There is such a thing as going overboard, but a little generosity really can make all the difference when you brew coffee at home.

Beware Excess Heat

Last but not least, the ideal temperature for brewing coffee comes about 45 seconds after the kettle has boiled – somewhere in the region of 200° F. A good coffee maker will regulate the temperature for you, but it’s up to you to take care of it if you are using other boiling methods. What’s more, attempting to keep coffee warm – or worse, reheating fresh coffee – is a guaranteed recipe for unfortunate results.

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