Besides being a coffee professional, I'm also a consumer. As such, I've run the full course of miserable incremental brewing upgrades over almost 20 years. I was also a pro barista at one point, so I have a fairly good grasp of gear, brewing, and what works (or mostly doesn't :lol: ). I'll give a quick overview here:
Coffee
There are a lot of good sources for good coffee. I'm one of them. Roasting coffee is like art: each coffee is up for the roaster's interpretation, and every roaster hopes their style resonates with customers. So instead of plugging myself, I hope you'll just give us a try!
In general, the main points to keep in mind when buying beans are freshness, grinding before brewing, and proper water temp. If it doesn't have a roast date, it ain't fresh, so buy freshly roasted stuff.
Coffee is generally at its best from days 3-10 out of the roaster, after which it's a gradual decline, and after a month or so, would use fresher stuff. Freezing coffee slows staling a LOT, but it must be done like so: keep a weeks worth out, and freeze the rest in ziplock freezer bags. Every week, pull more out. Many people keep it all frozen, and open it daily to remove the desired quantity. This promotes condensation, and basically ruins the whole idea.
Ground coffee goes stale to the point almost anyone can taste it within 2-3 days. That's why pre-grinding sucks. STORE IT AS WHOLE BEAN, GRIND BEFORE BREWING!
Water temp isn't as hard and fast a rule as some think. My preference is 200-205 degrees, and if you want to 'keep it simple, stupid', just do that. If you want to geek out, in general lighter roasts can handle (and require) hotter water to extract the same amounts of solids as a darker roast, and Matt Perger, world champion barista/brewer, uses boiling water. I suspect he's using very light roasts when he's doing that, but according to him, he uses boiling water for all drip coffees. I disagree, but of course cofees difer, as do tastes. That gives you an idea on water temps.
Cliffs: great coffee is easy, just follow the above three points. Gear advice to come!
Coffee
There are a lot of good sources for good coffee. I'm one of them. Roasting coffee is like art: each coffee is up for the roaster's interpretation, and every roaster hopes their style resonates with customers. So instead of plugging myself, I hope you'll just give us a try!
In general, the main points to keep in mind when buying beans are freshness, grinding before brewing, and proper water temp. If it doesn't have a roast date, it ain't fresh, so buy freshly roasted stuff.
Coffee is generally at its best from days 3-10 out of the roaster, after which it's a gradual decline, and after a month or so, would use fresher stuff. Freezing coffee slows staling a LOT, but it must be done like so: keep a weeks worth out, and freeze the rest in ziplock freezer bags. Every week, pull more out. Many people keep it all frozen, and open it daily to remove the desired quantity. This promotes condensation, and basically ruins the whole idea.
Ground coffee goes stale to the point almost anyone can taste it within 2-3 days. That's why pre-grinding sucks. STORE IT AS WHOLE BEAN, GRIND BEFORE BREWING!
Water temp isn't as hard and fast a rule as some think. My preference is 200-205 degrees, and if you want to 'keep it simple, stupid', just do that. If you want to geek out, in general lighter roasts can handle (and require) hotter water to extract the same amounts of solids as a darker roast, and Matt Perger, world champion barista/brewer, uses boiling water. I suspect he's using very light roasts when he's doing that, but according to him, he uses boiling water for all drip coffees. I disagree, but of course cofees difer, as do tastes. That gives you an idea on water temps.
Cliffs: great coffee is easy, just follow the above three points. Gear advice to come!
Coffee FAQ's - need advice? Gear got you stumped? Inquire within!
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