3-Keys to Great Coffee

There are really only three keys to a great cup of coffee and I am going to share them with you here...

1.  Coffee must be fresh!  

Some coffee brewers promote the freshness of their coffee because it is brewed a few minutes before you get it and then it is poured into the drain when it becomes so-many minutes old.  That is commendable but it is only half of the fresh equation - the other side of the fresh coin is that the coffee needs to be roasted fresh. Coffee begins to stale the very moment that it is cooked.  It oxidizes from the air just as metal begins to rust. The process of staling coffee is impeded in a variety of ways but stale it still goes. (And the freezer method to keep coffee fresh is little more than a mythical hope).  I give coffee 14 days before it goes off, not Cinderella off but off enough that one can tell the difference. 

2.  Coffee must be made with good water!

Coffee too easily takes on the flavor of the water that is used to make it with.  I once made Michigan Snow Coffee and I also made coffee using good old-fashioned rain water - I don't suggest it without good filtration because it was nasty. Even with the tap water you can tell the difference between filtered and non-filtered--So get yourself a Brita or something like it if for nothing else but your coffee.

3.  The Coffee-to-Water Ratio must be Correct!

And here is the greatest of the three...We've all done it. We get the coffee container out of the freezer and use a spoon to fill the filter with grounds, we stop adding grounds only when we "feel" like there is enough caffeine and from pot-to-pot we wonder why we cannot get it to taste the same.  The fix to this is to weigh your coffee (ie. For every ounce of water you need a set amount of grounds to go with it).  I use a standard .042oz. (by weight) to 1oz. of water (by volume) for my ratio.   

Of course, coffee flavor will always be subjective according to the tastes of the person drinking it. There are a thousand things that factor into the flavor of your coffee (what you ate earlier, the roasting profile of the bean, the origin of the bean, the specific crop that the bean has come from, the blend, the cleanliness of the cup that is used, etc. etc.) but getting these three keys under control are huge and will lead to consistency and a better cup of brew.

For those who are purists:  Although I did not include it here there is something that needs to be discussed in another post - The idea of the Single Origin bean. Just as a single-malt scotch is preferable to a blended scotch or how a bottle of wine is known for the specific grape that is used to produce it so also a single-origin coffee bean is preferable to the blended grind.  At least that is my position as a coffee snob. ;-)

Coffee Like Motorcycles - Improve Your Coffee Part 1...

Ratio is a key to good coffee.  


When I had a 4-wheeler with a 2-stroke engine I had to mix oil with the gas.  There was a certain percentage of oil that had to be added to the gas for the engine to run properly: Add too much oil and it smoked - Add too little and it seized.  Coffee is the same.  Add too much coffee to your water and it is too strong (I know, hard to do but follow me here will ya?) - add too little and you're lucky to get bad tasting tea.


What ratio of grind:water do you use to make coffee?  You have likely learned that you just throw so many scoops in and hit the button right?  Try weighing your coffee.  I know this is a pain but really, you will thank me.  


1. Find out how many ounces of water you use in a pot of coffee.  
- Cups of coffee are 5 ozs. each.  So if you have a 12-cup pot you have (12 * 5) 60 ozs. of water.  


2. Now multiply the ounces of water with .042 ...  This results in a number that indicates how much grind (by weight) to use for your pot.


- 12 C = 2.5 oz
- 10 C = 2.1 oz
- 8 C = 1.7 oz
- 6 C = 1.25 oz
- 4 C = .85 oz
- 3 C = .65 oz
- 2 C = .40 oz


As a disclaimer, coffee tastes are subjective so you may be used to just heaping the coffee grind into your maker as drinking strong coffee.  Using the lower ratio may indeed make you think that the coffee is too weak.  Actually, your coffee is fine it's just that your 2-stroke engine is not smoking as much.

Which is True?

When I was a kid I always used to see my grandma with her coffee cup.  As I grew I learned that she did indeed drink coffee in the mornings but in the evenings it was actually Pabst Blue Ribbon in her cup.


I once went to a hoity-toity wine tasting in Lansing, MI and as I was standing behind a lady to get some wine I watched her get a glass of Merlot and ask the server for "a couple of packets of sugar" to put in her glass.  I was not actually appalled but I did find it amusing that she had not even tasted the wine and she was asking for an additive.  You know, good wine does not need sugar and if wine does it is not actually good wine.


The same is to be said about coffee - it actually has a good-tasting God-designed flavor that can be experienced in each cup.  If it does not then you either have bad coffee or you do not really like coffee to begin with.


What's in your cup?


anchorbayroasts.com

Coffee Dreams - Thom's Rebuttal!

Well - as promised Thom has seen fit to change his 50% plus of the Coffee Dreams post. John - is seriously considering that allowing me to be a guest blogger may have ended his blogging career.
Here is Thom's take on the coffee roasting experience.

The Other Side…

It was still early, Friday night around 5:30 PM and Malcolm had already called me three times, left voice mails for my wife twice, and sent out several text messages and emails. The messages were all the same: Thom, do not come over before 10 AM – otherwise, you might not like what you find (imagine Malcolm sitting in his wife’s pink bathrobe at his computer creating fabulous stories of grandeur and laughing hysterically to himself).

[I note here that Thom fails to account for the Oatmeal Breakfast Stout in the bathrobe pocket - but then this is his rebuttal - so I shall let him continue]

Due to snow and a pregnant wife asking for just three more things to be done before leaving, I didn’t arrive at Malcolm’s until 10:30 AM. I drove faster and faster though, worried that my friend would not wait for me, but instead pioneer ahead without me. Finally I arrived… and was somewhat concerned at the sight of hazy smoke pouring out as Malcolm guiltily opened the door. He had indeed begun without me; luckily though it was with just a handful of beans in a skillet to make what he repeatedly called Cowboy Coffee. It was wonderful – the smell was deep and strong, the color a black mocha. The steam coming off the mug actually tickled my nose and forced a slight giggle out of me (which I quickly covered with a cough).

After much debate, two spreadsheets, a PowerPoint presentation, and a heads/tails toss of the coin, we started roasting the Costa Rican beans. I spent the first hour trying to distract Malcolm, so as to keep him from continually opening the oven door and frowning at the beans: “Why aren’t you popping!” Finally, after turning up the oven and hearing a few lonely pops, we pulled beans out. We both sampled a few and found them to our liking. We set them aside and immediately began roasting the Brazilian beans. We played with the oven settings – going from 410 to 425, trying to find the golden spot – the perfect temperature. We heard a glorious sound after only 5 minutes... it was a choir of popping, aww yes, such a sweet popping sound, like little angles clapping their hands to our hard work.

The smile upon Malcolm’s face was indescribable – the kind of smile that makes every wrinkle disappear and the eyes glaze over with contentment. We congratulated each other - our second batch was successfully roasting away, quickly approaching the famous 2nd pop… just as we had hoped and dreamed it would.

The process was at its end – we were happy, sad, wired and exhausted. What a morning… why oh why had it taken us so long in life to rediscover the simple and beautiful process of roasting our own coffee. It was at this point I noticed Malcolm fondly holding the bowl of yummy roasted coffee beans close to his chest. He had a look in his eyes… the look of pure determination, “this is mine.. mine.. all mine.” I realized then we had not discussed how, if at all, we were going to divide the beans. I knew I had one chance at breaking through to Malcolm and so I did the only thing I could, I casually handed Malcolm a paper bag and with arms wide declared loudly, “well done my friend, now, let’s hug it out.” Needless to say, I left with half the beans, of which I’m now enjoying my first cup.

Ok – time for a reality check: The process was very fun and exciting, though in the oven on a pan seems to take a considerably long time – about 1-2 hours depending on how dark you want to go.
I’ve heard about a popcorn popper that works much quicker – any comments out there? The taste of the coffee is satisfactory; I would call it a light bodied smooth blended taste. It isn’t nearly as harsh/dark/acidic as I sometimes like my coffee, but still good. I think we needed to roast it longer to bring out a more robust flavor. I’m excited to try again and again and again.

Thanks for believing in us!

El Conquistador Tarrazu - 2

Costa Rica

I presented this Tarrazu at a coffee demonstration the other day - it was a hit roasted at City. With this batch I roasted it Full-City+ to Espresso when the second crack was in full force and the beans displaying a beautiful oily sheen. I've been grinding just two cups of beans (very coarse) and soaking them in boiling water in the French Press.

This coffee is strong, straightforward, and possesses a flavor that is in full-swing. It is a very enjoyable cup when the temp cools a bit and it has a great body. It is unique in that it burps bacon (please forgive the unsophistication of this description but it seemed the best way to communicate it).

I am learning that there is a happy point with coffee. Too many grounds to water ratio and your coffee is too much like a bully forcing its flavor upon you but too little grounds and you have a cup of hot brown water that desires to be good coffee when it grows-up.