3 Simple Tips for Brewing Coffee

So, let’s say you have just bought a bag of whole coffee beans from your favorite coffee roaster. How do you bring out the most out of your beans?

It does not matter what type of coffee maker you are using. In fact, you can use any type of coffee maker to make a good cup of coffee, whether it’s a manual drip coffee maker, a French press, or an automatic drip coffee maker.

Here are three simple tips that will help you brew a great cup of coffee.

Water

First of all, what type of water are you using? Coffee is 99% water, so when it comes to brewing coffee, using fresher water is better. The quality of the water has a great influence on the quality of the coffee.

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This is why some automatic drip coffee makers have built-in water filters. These water filters remove the impurities in the water that have a negative effect on the taste of the coffee.

If you’ve been using tap water to brew coffee and are unsure about the mineral content and the quality of your water, try using bottled water the next time you’re making coffee and see if there’s a difference in the taste.

Temperature

The second tip is to make sure that the water is heated up to the ideal brewing temperature. The ideal water temperature for brewing coffee is around 195° to 205° F, which is just off the boiling point.

Never pour boiling water over the coffee grounds. If the water is either too hot or too cold, there will be a significant difference in taste.

The coffee will either taste too bitter or too weak. Some people have an easy method of heating up water to the ideal brewing temperature.

Bring the water up to a boil, then let it cool down for a couple of minutes. Doing so will bring the water temperature down to just below the boiling point, which is ideal for brewing coffee.

Correct grind size

Lastly, make sure that you are using the ideal grind size for your coffee maker. Different types of coffee makers require different grind sizes.

Using the wrong grind size for your coffee maker would lead to over or under extraction, and you may also find that some of the coffee grounds have found its way into your cup.

Whatever the case, the end result is lousy coffee, which is a waste of good gourmet coffee beans.

Therefore, for automatic drip coffee makers, use a medium grind. For Coffee French press, make sure that you’re using a coarse grind. For espresso machines, use a fine grind.

Of course, there are other things that you can do to bring out the most out of your coffee beans. However, keeping these three simple tips for brewing coffee in mind will help you brew great cups of coffee consistently.