1. Grinder

The key to great coffee is freshness and unfortunately pre-ground coffee just isn’t that fresh. Air is the world’s greatest thief and given its chance it steals valuable flavour from coffee. If you can smell coffee in the air, then you’re losing flavour from the cup.
 
Of course some loss is inevitable; there’s no stopping air. But you can minimize the affect by reducing coffees contact with the air. Whole beans are much better protected than grounds as they have a much smaller surface area. While whole, air only has contact with the outside of the bean. But once its ground into many tiny pieces air can penetrate nearly everywhere.
 
So if you grind just before you brew, you’re going to capture much more flavour in the cup. Now you don’t have to invest hundreds in a grinder to reap the results. A simple hand grinder (less than £20) is perfectly adequate for most brewing methods – filter, cafetiere, stove-top coffee maker. It’s only when you start brewing under substantial pressure (espresso) that you really need to invest more money.

2. Water Filter

Water is the main ingredient in your cup of coffee. Around 97% of it is actually water. So it makes sense to put some consideration into the water you use when brewing coffee.
 
Unfortunately, tap water isn’t that pure. It’s full of small particles which affect both its flavour and smell (probably explains why there is such a big market for mineral water). So if you’re not keen on the taste of your tap water, then you’re best not using it to brew coffee. Instead invest in a simple water filter, such as a Britta jug. Not only will this remove impurities, it also improves the extraction from coffee as the water is hungrier (yes hungrier – the less particles water holds the hungrier it is to dissolve more).

3.Digital Scales

Measuring grounds with scoops or tablespoons isn’t the most accurate way to measure how much coffee to use – although it is very convenient. The problem is that coffee doesn’t all weight the same. Both growing conditions and roast level affect how heavy coffee is. Coffees grown at high altitude are typically denser than low grown beans as they grow much slower. Lighter roasted coffee will weight more than darker roasted coffee as less water has evaporated from inside the bean during the roasting process.
 
Digital scales will allow you to measure the coffee grounds much more accurately. The coffees you make will be much more consistent and with a bit of practice excellent brews will become the norm.
 

Tags: coffee grinder, scales, water filter

This entry was posted on Friday, January 29th, 2010 at 6:32 am and is filed under Brewing Tips. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.