Coffee is something that everyone is familiar with. But how much do you really know about it, other than that you like it? Finding out more about coffee can really improve the coffee you drink, whether you drink coffee every day or not at all. Here are some tips to help you do that.
No matter how attached you are to your favorite blend, don’t be afraid to try a new variety. You don’t need to invest in a large bag to try out something new. Almost all brands will offer a single pot or sampler size to allow you to try out new flavors.
For a quick and affordable brew of espresso, try using a Moka stovetop coffee pot. Mokas generally produce one or two cups of coffee in the amount of time it takes to boil that amount of water. The coffee is brewed by pressurized steam rising through a funnel of coffee grinds and then rising again into the top chamber where it is ready to be poured into a cup.
It is a bad idea to let coffee sit on a hot burner after brewing. Keeping the heat on will cause your coffee to “cook,” and will ruin its freshly-brewed flavor. Instead, unplug your coffee-maker or other appliance, or transfer the coffee to an insulated pot to keep it hot.
If you are feeling down, try changing to a new flavor of coffee. Simple changes like this can help stimulate your mind and pull you out of your rut. Be sure to take time to enjoy this special cup and try to identify the new flavors. Keep a few sample packs in your cupboard to pull out for these special occasions.
Are you happy with the coffee made with your drip coffee maker? Your coffee will taste better if you first let the machine brew just water while it heats up. Once you heat up the water, start over with your coffee grounds. You can also use this technique to clean your coffee maker.
Keep your automatic coffee maker clean with white vinegar. Run a brewing cycle with one part water to one part white vinegar. After allowing the carafe to soak in the vinegar for a while, run a cycle with plain water to rinse the machine. Clean your coffee maker once every week or two to remove rancid coffee oils, mold and other contaminants.
The human body needs at least four hours to eliminate caffeine. You should keep this in mind if you want to drink a cup of coffee before going to bed. It is best to drink a decaffeinated beverage if you need to go to sleep within the next few hours.
Avoid storing your coffee in the freezer. The extreme temperatures of the freezer will destroy the oils in the coffee. Instead, drink what you have or buy smaller amounts of coffee. If you do not buy too much coffee, you will not need to worry about storing it for an extended period of time.
If you like strong, robust coffee, use a French press. These types of coffee makers pull out the oils in the coffee beans and deposit them into your drink. With regular coffee machines, those flavor-rich oils tend to get absorbed by the paper filters.
Good water is just as important as quality coffee when it comes to brewing a great cup. If the water you are using is not very tasty, you cannot expect to end up with a quality cup of Joes. The best coffee is made with spring water or tap water that has been run through a filter.
A great tip when brewing coffee is to always use the right water. You can’t just use any water when brewing coffee. If you’re using dirty tap water, you can probably expect an unpleasant tasting cup of coffee. Good water to use should have some minerals in it that will help to extract the best flavor.
Proper coffee storage is crucial to protecting the quality of your beans. Upon exposure to heat or light, fresh beans lose their flavor, and they tend to absorb extraneous flavors. Store them in an airtight container with a translucent coating.
Do not buy purchase coffee that has packaged beans and is pre-flavored. These coffees are made using oil that is hard to clean out of a coffee pot. They will also affect future pots of coffee that you make, giving each subsequent cup a funny taste. Furthermore, the flavors these coffees are made with tend not to taste good anyway.
If you feel the need to lower your caffeine intake, you do not actually have to stop all at once. Try combining equal parts caffeinated and decaffeinated coffee. When using pre-ground coffee, simply use an equal amount of each kind in the coffee maker.
The amount of time that you brew your coffee is very important. Around 4 or 5- is all it should take. If you brew for longer than five minutes, the coffee ends up tasting bitter. If you brew for less than four minutes, usually you end up with a weak and flavorless brew.
Use a French press for your coffee rather than a standard drip. The reason for this is because a greater amount of the coffee oils will get in your cup rather than in the machine filter. As a result, your cup of coffee will taste a lot better. Give it a try!
The tips here can assist you in having great coffee. You might think you’re having great coffee, but until you try all of the tips here, you can never be sure. Use this article to help you make great coffee, cup after cup, day after day, and year after delicious year.
