How to make better coffee, whether pour-over, cold brew or Keurig

But here’s the thing about gadgets: No Japanese origami dripper, sleek, high-tech grinder, pouring tool, and temperature-controlled gooseneck kettle can overcome a batch of substandard beans. As James Hoffmann, managing director of East London’s Square Mile Coffee Roasters and a general authority on the subject, writes in his latest volume, The Best Coffee at Home: Depending on the method, use the beans four to five days after they’ve been roasted (for filter coffee) or seven to eight days after roasting (for espresso). But either way, once you open the bag, you should plan to use it up within two weeks.

It’s safe to say that you won’t always find these types of fresh roasted beans in supermarkets, even at Whole Foods. Because of this, you need to stop by your local roastery frequently and befriend the team. They make sure you start with the freshest beans, which often come from small farms or collectives that have developed strong relationships with roasters.

Over the years I’ve written a great deal about home brewing coffee and my relationship with the beverage. As we head into the cooler months, I thought it would be a good time to collect these items onto a single site, at least for easy reference.

My knowledge has evolved as has the industry, which is just another way of saying I may approach some of these stories differently in 2022. But I think they still give you an idea of ​​how different brewers, techniques, beans, water temperatures, roast levels and more can affect what you taste in the cup.

The stories might not change how you make coffee at home, and that’s cool. If there’s one thing I’ve learned about coffee over the years, it’s this: people love to fight for their right to enjoy a dark roasted blend that’s reduced to sludge after an hour on a Mr. Coffee’s hot plate.

And you know what? You’re right. Coffee is one of the most personal things you consume every day. It should be prepared the way you like it.

How to make better coffee at home and save money in 5 easy steps: You don’t have to be a barista to make better coffee. With only a small investment in equipment – you don’t need a scale or thermometer! — and a little time, you can turn your morning cup of tea into something significantly better than what you can make out of a cheap drip coffee maker or a Keurig.

How to hack your Keurig machine and get a better cup of coffeeSpeaking of the Keurig, the popular push-bottom brewer might be anathema to specialty coffee snobs, but we find you can improve the machine’s performance with a few key tweaks.

I thought cold brew coffee wasn’t worth a hill of beans until I used the right ones: Cold brew is a contentious topic among coffee lovers for a reason: Soaking ground beans in cold (or room temperature) water doesn’t extract the same flavors as soaking in hot water. The cold brew process does produce a cup that’s sweeter and rounder, but usually at the expense of acids and other aromatics that add depth and balance to the coffee. However, both of these recipes result in a coffee that is more complex than a typical cold brew.

Each coffee brewing method has advantages and disadvantages. We tried 5 to help you find your perfect mug. No two coffee makers are the same, even if they use the same beans. Each will extract different flavors. Each results in a different viscosity or weight that you can feel on the tongue. That’s why it’s important to find the brewer that best suits your tastes. (By the way, if you’re curious, Mia Farrow went for the Chemex.)

How to prepare an excellent coffee pour over and start your day right: Do you find it tedious to prepare coffee by hand? This streamlined recipe offers many of the benefits of pour-over coffee without all the equipment and hassle. The recipe also suggests you can treat the morning ritual more like a meditation, one that leads to a stimulant, the perfect combination to start each day.

Coffee at home: experiments in brewing. You may be wondering why there are so many coffee makers on the market, some requiring no skills and others taking weeks to master. We’ll walk you through the ins and outs of nine brewing systems, whether it’s a French press or a cool Japanese siphon that requires a small butane torch. You might find one that suits your daily habits and needs.

Coffee isn’t just a drug that makes us good worker bees. It’s a pleasure. No matter how you brew coffee, you shouldn’t treat the drink as if it’s just to prepare you for another day on the hamster wheel. Sit back. Hold a warm cup between your hands. Enjoy it for what it is: one of life’s greatest joys.