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Coffee comes in handy for breakfast, after lunch or dinner, and for those so inclined, anytime during the day. During the holidays or whenever you entertain, offering a great pot of coffee is a gracious gesture.
Buying the right kind of coffee
Yes, you can buy a can of preground coffee at the supermarket, but if you want to make the best possible cup of coffee, start with whole beans. Many supermarkets sell whole beans in bulk, but you may have to go to a specialty store to find them. Many varieties exist; a breakfast blend, which is usually a combination of dark and light roast beans, is a good place to start and makes a fine cup any time of day.
Make sure that your coffee is ground to the proper consistency. If you're making coffee via the drip method (which this article shows you how to do), then a medium grind is fine.
If you don't own a coffee grinder or don't want to buy one, buy beans that are ground right before you buy them or buy the beans and grind them in the store.
Storing coffee
 | Whether you buy whole beans or have the beans ground on the spot, store the coffee in an airtight container. If you plan to use it within the week, store it at room temperature. If you need to store it for longer, pop it in the freezer. Placing coffee in the refrigerator will retard spoiling, but the freezer halts it altogether. The pros say that freezer burn is a worthwhile tradeoff, as you fight the degradation that occurs otherwise. Coffee's enemies are oxygen and moisture. The trick is to buy fresh, small batches and use them quickly. |
Brewing coffee
To brew coffee by the drip method, you need a coffeepot, a filter cone, and a paper filter to fit the cone. (Some styles of filter cones are reusable and do not require a paper filter as a liner). Then follow these steps:
1. Place the paper filter in the cone, and then fit the cone on top of the pot.
Whether you use a paper filter or a reusable gold filter is a matter of personal preference.
• With paper, you have a choice of bleached or unbleached. The bleached ones are less expensive, but some connoisseurs claim that they can detect a chemical residue in the coffee that ruins their enjoyment. You can find unbleached filters alongside the bleached versions in supermarkets.
• A gold filter (really 23 karat gold-covered plastic) can be used for years, which to many people is even more ecologically sound. It also makes a completely different cup of coffee. Paper filters absorb some of the coffee's essential oils, whereas gold filters pass them on into your pot along with a very fine sediment. Some people prefer this sediment, and some find the taste muddy. You decide.
2. Measure the ground coffee into the filter.
The proper proportion of coffee to water is crucial. Here's the formula for a strong cup of coffee: 2 tablespoons of ground coffee beans to 6 ounces of water. (Note that this is not 1 cup of water, which is 8 ounces.) If you like stronger or weaker coffee, adjust the measurements accordingly.
3. Slowly pour boiling water over the grounds.
You need good water to make good coffee, and the water from your tap may not be good enough. If your water is highly chlorinated or heavily mineralized, your coffee will have off-flavors. Use a water filter or buy bottled water. Don't use distilled water, which makes the coffee taste flat.
As for temperature, most experts agree that water just under a boil — 195 degrees to 205 degrees — is ideal. You accomplish this by bringing the water to a boil, removing it from the heat, and then waiting a few seconds before pouring it over your grounds.
The brewed coffee drips down into the pot, which is how the drip method got its name. If you drip it into a vacuum pot, the coffee will stay warm for a long time; this is the method of heat retention that most coffee aficionados prefer. If you drip it into a heatproof glass pot, you can place the pot on a flame tamer over very low heat to keep it warm.
| A flame tamer is a heatproof flat surface device that goes between your heat source and whatever you're protecting from the direct heat. It allows a coffeepot, for instance, to be heated on the stove while reducing the risk of the pot overheating and breaking. |
Serving coffee to a crowd
If you need to serve coffee to a crowd of two dozen or more, chances are your home coffeepot won't be large enough. Rather than brewing several pots of coffee, which invariably will cool before your guests can drink it, consider renting a large-capacity coffeepot to use for your get-together. Rental companies usually have at least two sizes available. Some companies may even have a wider variety — 30-, 55-, 90-, and 100-cup sizes, so you can be prepared for anything.
The pots for rent are usually percolators — another brewing method, but it gets the job done. The rental company should be able to supply you with operating instructions, which will include how much coffee and water to use.
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