: Four Tips to Make Better Coffee Four Ways

By J. Valenta

One of the most common customer questions we get at JavaJ, is how to brew better coffee at home. Most customers, no matter how hard they try, will never get the same level of quality, flavor, and aroma that they get in our shop, even if they use the same exact coffee beans. There are simply too many variables. That doesn't mean there isn't vast room for improvement. Most of the time, all it takes is following a few basic rules to double coffee enjoyment at home. Below are four tips each for four different home brewing methods.

The French Press

Truth be told, you will never get as great a cup of coffee from your Mr. Coffee as a simple French press, also called a press pot. For one, Mr. Coffee, Krups, and most other home machine manufacturers make cheap machines that are designed for a particular price point (cheap), which also means they are essentially designed to break so that you have to go buy another one. On top of that, they make dreadful coffee. So if you don't have one already, get thyself a French press (and while you're out, a grinder-see below), heed the following, and you should have yourself a darn good cup of home brew.

1. Get a real grinder. If your grinder has blades on it and spins around, then you have a food processor, not a grinder. A grinder has burrs which shave the coffee into a consistent and uniform grind. A blade "grinder" slashes and whacks the coffee into powder, chunks, and every size in between. We recommend Baratza burr grinders made in Italy.

2. Use the proper grind and measure. The grind should be a medium-coarse grind, just a little coarser than you would use for a drip machine. And as for measure, don't try to cheat and eyeball it; the difference between too much and not enough could be as little as a tablespoon. We recommend 2 heaping tablespoons per 6 ounces of water as a starting point. If it comes out to strong, you can always add water, whereas if it is too light, well, it's too light.

3. Preheat. Coffee is very sensitive to differences in temperature. Pouring hot coffee into a cold cup, for example, makes it taste more bitter. Preheat and dry the carafe before putting the ground coffee in and preheat any cups you will be pouring the coffee into.

4. Don't over-extract. The conventional wisdom for a French press is to let the coffee steep for 4 minutes. But that leaves the coffee tasting bitter again. At JavaJ, we set our timers to 3 minutes and give the coffee a little stir after the first 2.

The Melitta

If for some reason you don't like the taste of a good French press, may we suggest a Melitta? More commonly known as a cone filter, a Melitta is a wedge shaped filter holder that you pour hot water over and brews directly into your cup. The filter is usually paper, but may be reusable metal or other material. It is the most simple way of making filtered coffee.

1. Use a coarser grind. Again the conventional wisdom is wrong. For some reason, most commercial grinders are set to a finer grind for a Melitta. But the old wisdom contradicts the more important rule that the dwell time (the time the water is in contact with the ground coffee) should be less than 4 minutes. Use a grind that is only slightly finer than a standard drip (flat bottom filter) grind.

2. Not too hot! Water should be just off the boil, not boiling hot. Around 200°F is perfect. The same goes for that French press, by the way.

3. Stir gently once. After pouring in water to the top of the filter, wait 30 seconds, and then give the mixture a single, gentle stir. (Be careful not to tear the paper filter.)

4. Use some high quality H₂O. After all, coffee is 98 percent water. If your tap water tastes great and lacks any odors such as chlorine, you can use that. Otherwise we recommend mineral water. DO NOT use distilled water; coffee adheres to the mineral content that distilled water lacks.

The Drip Brewer

The most common way of brewing coffee in America is also one of the worst from a flavor standpoint. It persists for one reason and one reason only; we're lazy. But if you must, you must. For best results, try the following.

1. Replace your paper filter with a metal or cloth filter. No more super easy cleanup, but hey, you'll have some flavor back in your cup. In addition to sediment, paper filters block essential coffee oils, which is where the entire flavor is. Most machines allow you to replace your paper filters with permanent metal filters. Check your manual to be sure, or you can always use a cloth filter. Both metal and cloth filters are harder to clean, but your taste buds and a tree will thank you.

2. Clean your machine. Inside. Outside. Carafe. Repeat. The same oils with all that flavor also cling to every part of your machine, go rancid, and introduce off tastes into your cup. See if your filter holder is removable and wash it thoroughly.

3. Use lukewarm filtered water. Thought I was going to say cold water, eh? An electric drip pot works by running water in a tube through a heating element, which leaves a lot of room for temperature variability. Coffee loves stable temperature, and the lukewarm water results in a more consistent brew water. Make sure that lukewarm water is filtered though; unfiltered warm water that comes from your water heater will add excessive mineral content that will gum up your cup as well as your machine.

4. Use fresh coffee. Of course, that goes for all methods of brewing, but as most people have a tendency to use store bought, pre-ground coffee with their drip machine, it needs to be said here. If you are buying your coffee from the grocery store and/or from a major coffee chain . . . DON'T. There isn't store bought coffee or a corporate coffee chain that is worth a hill of beans, so to speak. Find a local mom-and-pop to patronize. Ask them if their beans are fresh (no more than 10 days old) and where they get them from. If they can't answer those questions, keep looking.

The Percolator

At last we get to the great gurgling monster. Despised by coffee lovers everywhere because it regurgitates and burns the coffee it brews, it remains entrenched in church halls and storage closets everywhere. Here is how to make a good cup of coffee with yours.

1. Take it outside.

2. Set it on the curb.

3. Wait for the garbage collector.

4. Go buy a French press.

J. Valenta is the owner and head barista of JavaJ Espresso Bar in Roseville, California. He enjoys walks on the beach (with coffee), romantic dinners with his wife (and coffee), and dancing (after six shots of espresso). In addition to writing for several publications, he blogs at www.javaj.net his various diatribes on . . . coffee.