How to Make Better Brew

Many people have a go-to coffee shop where they can grab their favorite cup of coffee. But when coffee shops are closed or you’re too busy to leave home, knowing how to brew a great cup of coffee can be very beneficial. Not only will you spend less on over-priced cups of coffee, it allows you to enjoy the beverage anytime you want, make it precisely to your taste, and of course share your personally made delicious drink with your family and friends.

Brewing your own coffee at home doesn’t require any expensive equipment. You just have to learn a few simple techniques that can greatly improve the taste of the beverage.

The first thing that you need to consider is the quality of your coffee. This does not mean that you have to buy expensive coffee beans in supermarkets or to select a specific type of coffee. Your best option is actually to buy beans from a local coffee roaster and here’s why:

The quality of coffee depends on its freshness. You can select any type of coffee that you want: based on roast type, variety, or country of origin. Choosing any variety is absolutely fine as it is a matter of your preference but it is highly important to make sure that it is fresh to get its maximum flavor. Coffee bean reaches its peak flavor a few days after it is roasted and starts to go stale after a month.

Buying whole roasted coffee beans from a local roaster ensures quality and freshness. Coffee in supermarkets does not guarantee freshness as they are probably in the shelves for months. To make sure you get the finest flavor of the beverage, purchase freshly roasted whole coffee beans in small amounts – just enough to consume in two weeks to a month. Then store it in an airtight container at room temperature to keep it as fresh as possible.

You are probably wondering why buy a whole coffee bean when you can have it ground? Experts say coffee begins to lose its flavor 30 minutes after being ground. Therefore, it is important to grind your beans just before brewing. A burr or a mill grinder is the best option to grind your coffee to ensure even consistency of size. A blade grinder is less preferable because some coffee ground will be too fine, and other parts coarsely ground, which will result to uneven brewing.

Water also matters a lot when making a cup of coffee. The temperature must be between 195 to 200-degree Fahrenheit or 90 to 96-degree Celsius to ensure that coffee grounds are brewed properly. Using colder water will result to under extraction making the drink taste flat. Brewing coffee at higher temperature will result to over-extraction which with the loss of the delightful flavor making the beverage taste bitter.

Coffee and water ratio must also be considered but it is a matter of your preference. As a guide, most coffee shops use 1 part of coffee to 20 parts of water but some find this a little bland and would go to 1:12 ratio. Others on the other hand find this too strong and prefer 1:30 ratio. The wonderful thing about this is you can experiment and find what best works for you.

The quality of the water also plays an important role in your cup of coffee. Avoid using tap water as it has a strong chlorine smell that can affect the taste of your drink. Instead, use purified or filtered water when making coffee to get the purest taste of the beverage.

Brewing your own coffee at home is worthwhile and fun. It allows you to get a cup of coffee based on your personal taste and explore new blends that you might never get from any coffee shops.