It can be quite an understatement for some people to say that coffee is a necessity in our daily lives. Because perhaps for you, coffee could be the batteries you need to start your day right! There are tons of ways to prepare coffee, however, quite a handful of common mistakes could be made in the process. That’s why today, we will be focusing on the three classic ways that you can prepare your coffee and how to do them like a true coffee connoisseur.
In this post, we’ll be covering how to make coffee with a machine drip or your trustee coffee maker, with a French press, and with the process of cold-brewing. Always use your beans of preference and if you need to pause or moderate your caffeine intake, be sure to know the best decaf coffee money can buy. Ready to start brewing? Let’s begin!
Table of Contents
1. How to Brew With Your Coffee Maker the Right Way
First things first, when making coffee with a coffee maker, you got to make sure that you’re using the right kind of grounds. The choice of beans whether it’s arabica or robusta, or a mixture of both, is completely up to you! What you would need to look out for in the packaging is if it’s meant for coffee makers. Whenever using a machine drip, the grounds should be in a medium size that is about as big as sea salt crystals. If you’re grinding the beans yourself, it must take around 10-15 seconds to achieve this on a coffee grinder.
The size of your coffee grounds is crucial because, with the appropriate size, you are sure to extract all the rich goodness out of your coffee the best way possible.
When in a hurry, others simply fill the coffee maker’s filter basket and head straight to brewing, which is a common mistake. That is why one step you should never skip is to bloom your coffee grounds. Once you’ve filled the coffee maker reservoir with water, place your coffee filter, and the filter basket with grounds, you don’t turn on the machine and leave it to brew just yet. Here’s what you should do:
- First, turn on the machine and wait until it starts to drip
- Once you see the first couple of drops fall into the carafe (the kettle/serving container), turn off the coffee maker
- Wait 30 seconds for the grounds to bloom, and then you may turn the coffee maker back on and leave it to brew
The reason why you need to bloom your coffee grounds before you leave them out to brew is that you want them to expand as it gives them the best condition to be extracted perfectly. After 30 seconds, they will be at their best for brewing. Voila! You can enjoy a nice cup of brewed coffee.
2. How to Prepare Your Morning Joe With a French Press
Now, let’s find out how to brew coffee with a French press. The best size for this method is coarse or chunky. This is the biggest size used for brewing coffee, so when you’re buying online or going to the supermarket, be sure to buy pre-ground coffee in this size. If you’re using a coffee grinder, it must take only 8-10 seconds to achieve the grounds that are fitting for a French press.
Coffee strength is relative, so we will leave it up to how much water and grounds you would like to use. Ideally, though, coffee to water ratio of 1:15 is your best bet! Here are the steps to brew with a French press:
- Put the grounds in the French press and bring some water to a boil
- Once your water is boiling, pour some water that is twice the amount of the coffee
E.g. You have 40 grams of coffee, initially add about 80 grams of water
- With a wooden spoon, mix around the grounds and let it bloom for 30 seconds
- Once the grounds have bloomed, pour over the rest of the water
- Cover the French press with a lid and let it steep for 4 minutes
- After steeping is done, press the grounds and serve immediately!
If you would notice, just as in brewing with a coffee maker, it is crucial to bloom your grounds and to do it for 30 seconds as it makes the perfect extraction for your coffee. Also, be sure never to leave your coffee in the press after 4 minutes. If you prolong those grounds in your coffee, they will over-extract and only leave you with a bitter or acidic beverage.
3. How to Perfect That Home-Made Cold Brew
Now if you’re feeling more adventurous and would like to craft your own cold brew coffee at home, you’re in the right place!
Coffee aficionados like to take on a glass of cold brew coffee to avoid the acidic tendencies of any coffee brewed with hot water. Instead, cold brew boasts that suave and smooth taste that coffeeholic’s would enjoy–without the acidity yet with more caffeine! Its name is cold brew because you can do the brewing at room temperature or in the fridge.
Unlike your usual coffee brewing done with hot water, the best steep time for cold brew is around 12 hours and nowhere beyond 16. This is why it gets more caffeine and less acidity. These are the steps you should follow:
- Using a clean or sterilized bottle, add drinking water and coarse-sized coffee grounds with a 1:5 coffee to water ratio
- Seal the bottle with its cap, and you may shake it around to make sure all the grounds are suspended in the water
- Let it sit for 12 to 16 hours at room temperature or the refrigerator
- You may use a strainer, a French press, or a coffee sock to separate grounds from your cold brew
There you have it! Delicious homemade cold brew. Similar to coffee preparation with a French press, you need coarse or chunky coffee grounds which would take 8-10 seconds to grind. Also be sure not to exceed 16 hours, because you will end up having over-extracted coffee. What’s the point of making cold brew if it would only be acidic.
Takeaway
There is an artful science behind coffee making, and we hope you enjoyed it with this guide on how to properly brew coffee at home! We were able to cover do’s and don’ts such as making sure that we use the right size of coffee grounds and that we don’t leave our coffee over-brewing or over-extracting. So, let’s always follow the best steep time depending on how we’re brewing. That said, also be sure to check out Recipes.net for amazing recipes and food product reviews!
