The Ideal Hot Drip Cup Of Coffee

How-To Overview

Making the ideal cup of coffee from a hot drip coffee maker is not difficult at all. Follow the steps listed below for the near-perfect cup of coffee.

Materials Needed

One coffee maker (see below for options)

Quality coffee, ground accurately and ground fresh

Clean, fresh water (Brita-type filtered is adequate)

Step-By-Step Description

Use a Proper Coffeemaker: A coffeemaker has one job to do: deliver hot water over the grounds. Unfortunately, only a few coffeemakers out there actually do a proper job. Why? Because they don't heat the water to the proper temperature. The Specialty Coffee Association of America's standard is 195-205*F. Water not at this temperature will underextract the coffee, resulting in a less-flavorful cup. As a result, people will be tempted to grind the coffee more fine to increase flavor, instead causing the coffee to be over-extracted, bitter, and less-desirable.

A simple Melitta filter-holder actually gives you the best odds at a proper cup. Simply pour the water from a kettle (15-30 seconds off of a rolling boil) over the grounds.

French press is a viable option, though a press requires a very high-quality grinder to prevent too many super-fine grinds to give you a gritty, murky, silty cup.

Check out vacuum pots (a.k.a. "vac pot"), Eva Solo coffee brewers, and the higher-end auto-drip brewers (Google "Technivorm") for what will produce the best coffee you can brew.

It's always good to have a clean coffeemaker, no matter what the type. Why? Any residues that are left in the machine can give your coffee an “off taste”. A simple way to clean your coffeemaker is to clean it with a vinegar and water mixture on a regular basis.

Use Quality Coffee: You want to make certain that you use excellent quality coffee beans for your brew. Purchasing your coffee beans from a specialty shop or mail-order roaster will help to ensure that you will produce an excellent end result. The quality of the cup of coffee depends on the quality of the roasted beans, which depends on the quality of the roaster's skill and the quality of the green (raw/unroasted) coffee. "Flavored coffees," like "French Vanilla" or whatever, should be avoided. Roasters of such coffee use especially low-quality coffees in this case, and the flavorings are often very artificial. Instead, add a high-quality natural-ingredients flavor syrup after brewing, if you must be girly about your coffee.

Use Fresh Coffee: "What is fresh?" That's the single most controversial question in the coffee industry. Needless to say, the fresher (closer to the day it was roasted) the better. Interestingly, coffee can actually be TOO fresh if it's within 3 days from roast (coffee needs time to "de-gas," otherwise, water can't penetrate the coffee grounds adequately). Best results will be found before 14 days after roast. Do NOT treat coffee like a can of peas. It has much more in common with fresh produce than a non-perishable.

That said, keeping coffee beans in an airtight, translucent container is best. If you won't use the whole quantity within a week or two, take the excess, divide it into 1-week portions, and store each in its own air-tight container, and put them in the freezer. When it's time to get one out of the icebox, remember this rule: In, out, done. In-out-in-out of the freezer results in a freezing-condensation cycle, degrading the coffee very quickly. Whatever you may do, do not place coffee grounds or beans in the fridge, as they will pick up odors (not exactly the type of flavoring you want for your coffee).

Grind Fresh: Pre-ground coffee? Do you buy pre-chopped vegetables? Ground coffee stales (oxidizes) immediately after grinding, so grinding fresh is integral to a great cup.

Buy a quality burr grinder. A burr-grinder uses two cutting surfaces (that vaguely resemble gears) to cut the coffee into small particles. A blade (a.k.a. "whirly-bird") grinder is NOT, in fact, a grinder at all. The spinning, dull, blade pulverizes the coffee into random bits, and is like chopping your vegetables with a baseball bat.

Grind Properly: Once you're sure everything else is proper, adjust the grinder a little finer or coarser, and find the "sweet spot" of the grinder. For auto-drip, the grinds should resemble the size of granulated sugar.

Measure Correctly: You must measure the appropriate amount of coffee grounds you need to make that terrific cup of coffee. As a general rule, you should add two level tablespoons for every six ounce cup of coffee. If you're more picky, weigh-out your coffee before brewing: 0.35 ounces (10 g) of coffee for every 6 ounces (170 mL) of water. Most coffeemakers one-cup is closer to 4 ounces, so it pays to figure out or measure your brewer's measurements.
This is coffee, and coffee is a grown-up drink. This is NOT Country Time Lemonade, so don't treat it as such. What this means is, if you want it weaker, either add a little hot water after brewing, or coarsen-up the grind. Using less grounds for the same amount of water will result in an over-extraction. Once the coffee has relinquished the proper flavors, brewing further yields unpleasant-tasting compounds.

Use Clean Water: Take the water factor into consideration. Since coffee consists of about 98% water, you want to make sure that you have the clean water. Do NOT use distilled or purified water, which will overextract the coffee. A carbon-filter (like Brita) will do the trick.

Hold Properly: Heating-plates or the like will break-down the flavors in the coffee brew. A vacuum flask, pot, or Thermos will keep your coffee hot before you chug it.

Enjoy!: Drink what you like! If, as the coffee cools, it starts tasting nasty, it's likely not the best quality coffee.

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