Home Brewed Coffee 101

   The coffee ratio is the key to making a perfect cup of coffee. Learn about the ideal ratio of coffee to water, how to measure coffee grinds, and tips for achieving the perfect coffee preparation.  before you begin   Finding the best grind size for your beans is the first step to improving your coffee game. Use a balanced coffee-to-water ratio to start with. Sixty grams per liter is a good guideline. Use a coarser grind than usual for how you brew your coffee and fine-tune it until it tastes too bitter, then go back to slightly coarser than that. You’re set. Make sure to only tweak one variable at a time, so you can tell what makes a difference for you. Then, you need to dial in the right dose.  setting everything up      There is no universal answer, just what works for you. Making awesome coffee is like science because you want to repeat good results and avoid bad ones.  The best way to do that is to measure everything. I recommend u...

Grind size plays a crucial role in coffee making, affecting the taste and aroma of your brew. Discover the different grind sizes and how to achieve the perfect grind for your preferred coffee preparation method.  Shortly after purchasing an expensive camera, I learned a little bit about photography.  I got a book that explained the main variables in creating the exposure; shutter speed, f-stop, and iso.  Making craft coffee is much like that, in that there are a few main variables, and how they interact with each other can change the results drastically.        The first variable that I am going to discuss is grind size.  This is important because the way that coffee is made is by adding water, the solvent, to a bed of coffee grinds and extracting soluble material.  How finely ground the coffee is, will determine how easily it is extracted.  A finer grind will expose more surface area.  If coffee is ground too coarse it will un...

Discover the emotional attachments people have to coffee and the impact it can have on their mental and emotional health. Explore the relationship between coffee and emotions, as well as coping with loss and grief through coffee rituals.  I have been watching a show with my wife called "This is us" on NBC lately.  In one episode a character makes coffee for herself and her husband because that is how her mornings usually went.  After filling up his cup the realization that he just died hits her again.  Fortunately, I have not shared that experience yet, but it made me think.        When talking about the term ritual many think about religion.  One of the definitions according to Webster is "an act or series of acts regularly repeated in a set precise manner".  When I wake up, making coffee is part of my morning ritual.  How it is done exactly is also a ritual.  I know exactly how much of each ingredient to use.  I mak...

Distinguish between fresh and stale coffee beans with these simple tips. Learn how to assess the quality of your coffee beans and ensure a flavorful cup of coffee every time.        The quality of your coffee depends on the freshness of your beans. They begin to lose quality when they come in contact with air. That’s why it’s better to grind your own coffee and brew it immediately. Roasted coffee is good for four to fourteen days, but green beans can keep for up to a year. Dark roasts go bad faster than light roasts. The perfect age also changes with your brewing method. Sometimes, they can be “too fresh”. Given that, how do you know if they are stale? 1. The first thing to look at is a "roasted on" date.    This tells you when the coffee was roasted, not when it will expire or be past its best, like the dates you usually see on supermarket coffee. A really good coffee company will let you know the roasting date and leave it up to you to determine how ...

Discover the benefits of roasting your own coffee at home. From flavor control to cost savings, learn why this DIY approach to coffee preparation is worth exploring.      I find it fascinating to learn how the products we use every day reach us. I think anyone who enjoys caffeine should try roasting their own green coffee beans at least once. I don’t mean to say that everyone should become coffee snobs who only drink their own homegrown coffee, but just give it a shot. We live in a time when we can get anything we want almost instantly, like making a K-cup with a push of a button without thinking much about it. But do you know how much work went into making that product?       Most of us can’t grow our own coffee trees, since they only grow in certain places. But ordering green coffee beans online and roasting them ourselves is possible. By trying to roast coffee, I can appreciate the art of the roasters better. When I realize the skill that is needed ...