Oh boy. You've really asked for it now. I'm a... um... little bit of a coffee snob. So much so, that at one point, I had several people on Facebook asking about good coffee technique. I got tired of retyping it every time, so I made a rather exhaustive bit of instruction. You can read as much or as little as you want, but... you asked, so here goes my opinion of what it takes to whip up a much better than average cup of joe. Warning: follow these steps any longer than a week or so, and you won't be able to stand coffee made at other peoples' houses. Seriously. My wife was not a coffee snob before she met me. Now she won't touch anything that isn't made well. Life's too short for crappy coffee. Here goes:
The Coffee Snob's "Guide to Being a Coffee Snob"
by
Steve Costello on Friday, October 1, 2010 at 2:42pm ·
Yeah... this is long... really long. But please read at least the first few paragraphs. It sets things up, and gives you reading options to make this a faster read, if you want.
On three occasions now I've had the opportunity to share my coffee snobbery on Facebook. As it requires a cup of coffee just to get through it, and I tire of retyping it every time, I hereby present more permanent documentation of how to step up your coffee game. This is rather long, so if you do not have one already, why dontcha go ahead and get yourself a cup o' joe. And if it happens to be a cuppa Folgers, instant coffee, or God forbid, three-hour old brew from the break room, please make it your last questionable cup. Also, I know some people will not want to read this whole thing. I get that... it's long and detailed. If you just want the basic info, just read numbered text blurbs below. If you want the explanation about what I said in those blurbs, refer to the respectively numbered footnotes at the end.
Here are the steps I go through every morning (almost) to get a perfect up every time:
- Grab my french press and fill it with cold, filtered water from my fridge water tap.
- Pour water into tea kettle and heat it.
- Grab some breakfast while the water is heating.
- When the kettle whistles, or just before it whistles, I remove the kettle from the heat and let the water sit while I do the rest.
- Open up my airtight coffee container, grab my digital scale and measure out 43 grams of whole coffee bean.
- Dump the measured beans in our burr grinder, and make sure that the grinder is set to the right grind size.
- Grind. Plug ears.
- Dump the fresh grounds into the press, and pour the freshly boiled (but now slightly cooled) water over the grounds.
- Grab a plastic spoon and give the grounds a stir.
- Place plunger on the press to cover, but not actually plunge just yet.
- Wait between 2 and 3 minutes (breakfast cleanup).
- Plunge, pour into our coffee thermos', and look forward to that first sip.
That sounds like a lot... but it took me longer to type that than it actually takes to make the coffee itself. Total time spent actively preparing the coffee is
just over a minute. I'm happy to spend the extra 30 seconds and minimal effort to produce a FAR better cup of coffee. All of these steps are expanded and explained below in more detail.
This document isn't just for people with French Presses or people that are already well on their way to coffee snobbery... it's also for
everyone that drinks coffee. If you are going to consume something Every Single Day Of Your Life, you may as well make it some quality stuff.
A few things out of the gate: Coffee snobbery does not
need to be expensive. Depending on what level you take this to, it can start to put a dent in the wallet, but to make a marketable improvement over drip coffee out of a can is not a financial strain at all (in fact, there is an entirely different level of snobbery that I don't even hit here: roasting your own beans). But if you do decide to put some more coin into this, thankfully, coffee is one of those cases where you really do get what you pay for (well... unless you count paying $5 for a venti(??) mocha-frappe-latte-hypersugar-sweetened-but-nonfat-please-with-whipped-cream-accino from Starbucks) . That said, here are the basic things you will need to begin your life as a Coffee Snob:
- Quality, freshly-roasted, whole bean coffee.
It all has to start with good coffee. And good coffee comes from good, whole beans. Once coffee is ground, it has a VERY short shelf life (20 minutes!), no matter how you store it. Basically, a whole roasted bean holds its flavor longer. For the real science behind why pre-ground coffee (or even coffee that you pre-grind the evening before) is a major no-no, see footnote #1. Good coffee will also have been roasted no more than a week ago. A few weeks after roasting, the coffee will still be acceptable, but a month after roasting, the quality starts to decline pretty quickly, especially if it isn't packaged well. Again... see the footnote for more.
To get both of these issues taken care of, I would highly recommend finding a local roaster. Here in St. Louis, we have a terrific roaster called Kaldi's. Their coffee is available in Schnucks and several coffee shops in the area.
Every metro area will have at least one local roaster, and many smaller towns will, too. Why a local roaster? Because your chances of getting a fresher roasted bean are significantly greater if you know your coffee was not shipped from who knows where (if from across the country, shipping could take weeks), who knows when (bulk coffee could be months old before it hits store shelves), who knows how (shipped coffee will likely not have been kept in temperature controlled conditions... think hot tractor trailers and warehouses). I would recommend sourcing your coffee from a local coffee shop that uses a locally roasted coffee. Test a few out to see what you like (and be mindful that the coffee shop may not be brewing the coffee in the best way).
- Airtight storage.
So you've got the good beans, now you should keep them good. There are definitely those who have taken 'airtight' to the extreme and purchased vacuum units to keep their beans protected. At that point, however, it seems to make more sense to just purchase the amount of coffee you would expect to drink in a week or so, and save that chunk of coin for the next item on the list.
Basically, storing your coffee in an airtight container in a dark, cool, and dry place (light, heat, and moisture are also big enemies to coffee) should suffice if you are reasonable about the amount of coffee you buy. We go through about a pound a week, so spending a lot of money on special storage simply doesn't make sense.
Do not store your coffee in the freezer. There are several factors that can affect the quality of the bean if stored in this manner. Freezing can break down the oils and fats that are in the bean... the very components that give coffee its flavor. If freezing doesn't kill the coffee, thawing can, as condensation can form, and moisture is definitely not on coffee's Facebook friends list.
- The right grinder.
So we've got the beans covered. Now what to do with them before brewing. There are a few different ways to grind beans, but only one is universally considered to be the best way. These grinders are known as conical burr grinders, or just simply, burr grinders. These devices grind the bean between two conically-shaped pieces of steel or discs with teeth. The conical shape and gap between the grinding surfaces provides a highly uniform grind, meaning that if you look at a batch of coffee ground in this manner, all of the grounds are almost the same size and shape. This uniformity goes a very long way in producing not only a well-rounded, good-tasting cup of coffee, but the ability to repetitively produce quality cups on a very consistent basis. For more info, check out footnote #2.
Blade grinders, which are more than likely the most common method of home-grinding in the United States, cannot produce a uniform or consistent grind. They produce dust and chunks. Blade grinders are much more blunt force, whipping a blade of steel through a pile of beans. There is absolutely no way for this grinder to create anything resembling a uniform grind, as all of the grounds have a random chance of being split by the blade of doom, even if they are already the right size, while some of the larger bits of bean are spared the thrashing of the blade. You'll see why ground size is so crucial in a bit.
A grinder/mill is the first place where one can (and probably should) drop some very serious cash on coffee. There are grinders out there that cost well into the hundreds of dollars, and pro models well into the thousands. I have not taken that leap (yet - see footnote). I have a much more affordable Cuisinart Burr Mill, and it does a fine job for the money and the coffee we make. It clocks in at just under $50 retail, but you can often find it for a little cheaper, or better yet, through a retailer on sale or with a discount. Check out Bed Bath & Beyond... they have two Cuisinart mills. Get the $50 number (non-programmable) with one of those 20% coupons BB&B sends out every month.
All that said, if you can't afford to pay up for a burr mill, a blade grinder is better than no grinder. However, the grinder is arguably the single most important piece of equipment in this entire process, even more so than how you actually brew the coffee. It's definitely worth it to at least get an entry-level burr mill.
One more quick note: you should avoid grinding pre-flavored coffees with the same grinder you use for regular coffee. The flavor oils are particularly tenacious about sticking to grinding surfaces, affecting the flavor of future grinds. You can easily flavor coffee after it is brewed with all sorts of tasty syrups, if that's your thing.
- The right grind.
We've got the right grinding equipment, so now what? If you have a burr mill, you almost certainly have the option to set the grind size. (If you don't, take that sucker back!) The size of the grounds you are seeking depend on how you are preparing your coffee. To prepare drip coffee (as most Americans do), you will want a finer ground, but certainly not as fine as you would use for espresso. On my Cuisinart, I set the grind to 3 or 4 stops more coarse than the finest grind it can achieve. For a bold, tasty flavor from your drip machine, adjust your grind to be as fine as it can be without clogging your paper filters, leaving sediment, or creating a bitter result. You'll need to experiment, as each coffee maker will be slightly different.
To grind for french press (some people call it a press pot), you want to get to a grind size that is as fine as you can get it, yet still allow the mesh filter to grab 99% of the grounds (a little sludge should be expected with a french press, but you should definitely not end up with mud). Even at that point, you are looking at a pretty coarse grind; far more coarse than for a drip pot (which is another negative on pre-ground coffee... it is far too fine to use in a french press. Refer to previous comment on mud). On our Cuisinart, I set the grind size to one stop past the mid-point.
If you are grinding with a blade grinder, you'll just have to experiment with timing and hope for the best. In addition, in a small way, I found that shaking the grinder in the air a bit helps with uniformity. No matter what, though, you are still going to end up with dust and chunks, which is no good for a press.
- The perfect amount of coffee.
Obviously, this topic, like most others in the world of coffee snobbery, is highly subjective. But if you are really serious about consistently producing quality cups of coffee, you need to accurately measure the amount of coffee before you grind (and do measure before, or you'll almost certainly end up having some left over or need to grind just a bit more). And by accurate, I don't mean using a measuring spoon.
That's right. I said it. A measuring spoon is not an accurate method of determining the amount of coffee you are about to grind. Different coffees (and even different roast batches of the same type/brand of coffee) are not uniform in weight. Depending on the roast or the actual type of bean, there can be significant differences in the actual amount of coffee between volume measurements. The solution to this issue is simple: measure by weight.
No! Seriously! I mean it! Measuring your coffee by weight before you grind it is second only to the uniformity of your actual grind. Measuring by weight gives you absolutely consistent results, no matter what coffee you are brewing. And it isn't any harder than measuring with a spoon. All you need is a relatively cheap digital scale (available just about anywhere they sell kitchen stuff starting around $20 - again, 20% off at BB&B makes this even more affordable). Place a container (such as a custard cup) on the scale to hold your beans, zero the scale WITH the container on it, then measure the appropriate amount of coffee for the amount of coffee you need. Grind, brew.
So how much? You are looking for 0.38 ounces (10.6 grams) of coffee per 6 ounce cup. To figure out how much coffee bean you need, determine the number of ounces of coffee you want to produce (see footnote), divide by 6, and multiply by 0.38 oz. or 10.6 g. To make this process speedy in the future for varying amounts, I made up a quick reference chart for us so we don't have to do any math when we only want a 1/2 pot of drip coffee. Our french press gets 43 grams of coffee.
- Cold, filtered water.
Whew. We are almost there. First things first: use filtered water (but NOT distilled water... that will make some seriously flat coffee). There are compounds such as fluoride and miscellaneous metals that can seriously throw off the flavor of your coffee through either chemical reactions between these compounds and the actual coffee, or the water itself changes flavor when these compounds are heated and have their own chemical reactions. If you have filtered water out of your fridge or tap, that should do the trick. If not, either get a tap filter such as the PUR device you can attach to your faucet. I haven't tried filtering with a Brita pitcher, but I am sure that is also acceptable.
Second, if you are preparing your coffee with a french press or other manual pour method, the temperature of the water is fairly important. You should never use boiling water for coffee. Ever. It will produce one heck of a bitter brew. You should also not reboil previously boiled water, or use hot water from the tap for the same reason that you should not use distilled water (see footnote #6). The water should be about 195 degrees. Sound insane to get into that much detail? Here's a pro-tip: boil your water (stove-top, electric kettle, whatever). When it hits boiling, or JUST before, remove the heat source. Now go measure and grind your coffee and prepare your brewing device. By that time, the water will have cooled to about 195, +/- a few degrees.
That sounds silly enough, but if the water is too cool (below 185 or so), you will get a weak, under-extracted brew. And I've already mentioned what happens with water that is too hot. Ick.
- BREW!
Yes! We finally made it! Time for the real action to happen! Basically, just follow the instructions on whatever brewer you are using. A few caveats, however:
*Why is the French press method supposed to be so much better than your common drip machine? The filters used in a drip machine not only keep most of the grounds from ending up in your cup, but they also remove many of the coffee oils in the process. The oils found in coffee are what give it flavor. French presses filter only the grounds... the oils stay in the brew, therefore producing a more complex, flavorful (but not necessarily stronger) cup of coffee.
* If you are using a drip pot with a heater under the base of the carafe, turn the coffee make off after it is finished. Direct heat and coffee (brewed or in bean form) are mortal enemies. If you need to keep the coffee warm, use a thermos or insulated container of some sort. Some drip machines come with insulated carafes these days. Ours does, and it works quite well.
* If you are using a french press, be sure to give the grounds a stir with a plastic or wooden (to prevent glass breakage) spoon before placing the plunger on the press. The coffee grounds will bloom when you pour the water on them, and if left unstirred, you will not get an acceptable extraction.
When using the french press, I let it brew for about 2 minutes. Any less than that produces coffee that wasn't worth the time. Any length of time significantly longer than that produces some pretty bitter stuff.
Well.. that wasn't so hard, was it? If you made it this far, you rock, and are hopefully more informed and ready to make some great coffee. Thanks for making it all the way through my tome.
Footnotes:
- One of coffee's worst enemies is oxygen. Oxidation of coffee rapidly reduces it quality and taste. Pre-ground coffee exposed to oxygen, whether just in open air or in a can, loses most of it intense flavor characteristics within 20 minutes. 20 minutes! So, one would think that buying coffee (whole bean or ground) in vacuum-sealed bags would guarantee freshness. That, unfortunately, could not be further from the truth. Immediately after roasting, coffee goes through a process known as off-gassing, releasing surprising amounts of CO2. This is why you see coffee stored in bags with one-way valves... not so you can smell the coffee goodness, but to keep just-roasted and packaged coffee from bursting their bags. So, buying vacuum-sealed coffee actually guarantees that you are buying stale coffee, since those bags clearly never expand from off-gassing.
- Conical burr grinders have two grinding surfaces that are set at an adjustable distance from each other like so: \V/. The gap a the bottom of the grinder is smaller than at the top, allowing whole beans to fall into the grinding plates, but not permitting anything larger than the smaller gap at the bottom from going through. Some grinders spin the top surface, some the bottom surface. Either way, since the gap between the surfaces is a positively set amount, as soon as a bit is small enough, it falls out of the grinder, and no larger pieces can escape without being crushed into smaller pieces.
As a side note to the burr mills, most of them come with a hopper of sorts to store beans in. My Cuisinart mill can hold JUST shy of one pound. No matter what it holds though... don't use the hopper unless it is actually airtight, top and bottom, and is not clear. I've not heard of a grinder that has top and bottom airtight capability, but they may exist. Also, most hoppers are clear plastic, and light is also not buddy-buddy with beans. Whatever the case, you already know how important proper bean storage is, so I would recommend not using the hopper for storage. Coffee shops get away with it on those fancy automatic espresso machines with built-in grinders because most of those shops rip through a LOT of beans, so there isn't any great loss in quality.
- What is the difference between a $10 blade grinder, a $50 entry-level burr grinder, and a $300 prosumer mill? Quality and uniformity of the resulting grounds. For $10, you get no uniformity. For $50, you get enough uniformity to produce decent coffee from drip pots and french presses. For $300, you get a machine that can produce the fine, uniform grounds that are absolutely necessary for quality espresso. I once read that a decent espresso machine should compliment a high-quality grinder, not the other way around. If you want good, consistent extractions and pulls from your espresso maker, you'll need to step up into the Benjamins for a good grinder.
- Very fine grounds take longer for the extraction process to occur. Coarse grounds take more time. This explains the different sizes needed for different brewing methods... or should I say, different brewing methods for different grinds? An espresso machine applies water under high pressure to very fine grounds for a short period of time (~20 to 30 seconds). Done well, this produces a smooth, terrific bit of brew. Use those same grounds in a drip machine, however, and you'll deeply regret that first sip. The density of the grounds will hold the water longer in the filter basket, and will over-extract the coffee before it VERY slowly makes it to the carafe. Using coarse grounds in a french press makes sense because the grounds literally swim in the water for several minutes before being filtered away.
- The fact of the matter is this: we Americans drink some seriously weak brew. I have a hard time believing that many of these supposed caffeine addicts are actually physically addicted to coffee based on what little actual coffee molecules they drink. And hey... I was in that boat once not too long ago, so don't think I'm some high-falutin' snob whose forgotten his roots. I remember them every time I go to a wedding, or anywhere else that mass amounts of coffee are prepared. (Office coffee... WORST. EVER.) After finding a chart on the proper amount of coffee to use per cup, making and enjoying coffee at home has not been the same. We've been shown the light. And we've tasted the goodness. Oh, the coffee goodness.
One thing I need to mention for you drip brewers out there: do not believe what your coffee maker says on whatever measuring device it uses to tell you how much water it has in it. Take a few moments to figure out just how many ounces are in a 1/2. 3/4 and full pot of coffee, make note of that somewhere, and use those measurements. Even higher-end coffee makers are woefully inaccurate in their water measurement. I should know... we have one.
- Filtered, freshly heated/boiled water will produce a bright, solid cup of coffee. Unfiltered water contains compounds such as chlorine and fluoride that will seriously affect the coffee's flavor. Water that has already been heated or boiled, such as hot water out of the tap or distilled water, will produce very flat coffee.
