- Everyone takes their coffee differently, but certain tried-and-true methods will ensure you a great cup every time.
- The first step is ditching your machine and making your coffee manually.
- Controlling the water temperature and using fresh, high-quality beans are two other ways to make the best-tasting coffee possible.
Brewing the perfect cup of coffee is everybody's mission. Everyday, we wake up with the prospect of being productive all throughout the week. And what better way to kick it off than to create the perfect brew.
Needless to say, people will think that perfection when it comes to coffee is, like everything else in life, unattainable. There are no standards to follow, no guidelines to subscribe to. The thought of a perfect cup of coffee is a personal thing — it all depends on taste.
Still, you will have to agree with the fact that, even without any standards, everybody makes it a point to brew coffee with richer and bolder flavors. If you ask anyone, the best cup of joe is often the one that has a rounder taste and produces the right "kick" to the senses.
There is no perfect way of brewing coffee, but there are methods that enable you to achieve something close. Here are three ways to creating a richer and smoother cup of morning fuel.
1. Make it manually.
If you have been using a coffee maker for a long time, chances are you have already developed a routine. Your body is probably programmed to choose machine-brewed coffee. It's much more convenient and less time-consuming, after all. However, in terms of taste, French press or pour over coffee offers the kind of flavors you would want from the quality beans you have bought.
If you don't have the luxury of preparing your cup of manually brewed coffee, you might as well consider a single-cup brewer that mechanically mimics the pour over process. One such product you might want to try out is the Technivorm single cup coffee brewer. The brew cycle takes about four minutes, but the output is just as exquisite as a manual brewer.
2. Control the temperature.
The flavor of a cup of coffee depends on several factors. Water temperature is one such factor that allows you to unlock the richness of every coffee bean you infuse to your cup. In a way, using the right temperature is crucial to a great mug of coffee. Boil the water too hot, and you'll be left with a bitter aftertaste in your coffee. If the water is too cool, then you won't be able to bring out the full flavor of the beans.
To properly extract the flavors from the beans, you will need to set the water temperature anywhere between 90 and 96 °C (195 to 205 °F), according to the National Coffee Association. This range is just enough to dissolve coffee grounds and achieve a more even distribution of flavors.
3. Choose your beans carefully.
Now that we have discussed the technical aspects of brewing, let's move forward and discuss the most critical part in creating the (near) perfect brew.
The choice of coffee beans is essential, as it determines the flavor profile your prefer. As you may already know, there are two common categories: robusta and arabica. Under these categories, you will find many more strains and subfamilies with their own distinct flavor profiles.
It's only a matter of knowing the source of the beans as well as the roasting process. You may want to opt for Turkish strains. Make sure to focus on the roasting date to ensure the freshness and, eventually, the richness of your early morning fuel.
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