How to make your coffee taste better - 2 easy ways
Brewing coffee in the morning has become an enjoyable ritual for many. Here are two easy ways (not ALL the ways) you can get the best flavor out of your coffee.
Improve water quality. Coffee is 98% water, so the water you use has a huge impact on your cup. Pure, clean water is the best. This means for most, the water straight out of your tap isn’t going to cut it. The minerals in the water affect the flavor compounds of the coffee. We recommend using filtered or bottled water.
Now, you can certainly go further in coffee taste optimization. Many coffee enthusiasts and cafes use reverse osmosis or distilled water, which has all minerals removed, and some add Third Wave Water, which adds the mineral content for the optimal extraction & flavor.
However, we find that moving from tap water to filtered or bottled water offers the dramatic improvement in flavor that satisfies our tastes. Not convinced? Brew a cup of coffee with regular tap water then a cup with filtered or bottled water. Taste the difference.
Grind your coffee beans. If you drink coffee for enjoyment versus simply a mechanism to ingest caffeine into your system, buying your coffee whole bean and grinding right before you are ready to brew it is a must. Pre-ground coffee goes stale and loses flavor faster, so you are missing out on the best qualities of your coffee.
Get yourself a burr (not steel blade) grinder. Like most products, these vary in quality, but you can get a decent burr grinder for as little as $35.
Grind your coffee to your brew method and taste. Grind size affects extraction, which is the process of transferring the flavor/aroma compounds from the coffee into the water. The flavor and aroma compounds in the coffee bean vary, some are desirably sweet and fruity, others lead to bitterness and astringency. Grinding your beans to the correct particle size to the method you are brewing allows you to control the contact time between the coffee and the water flowing through it, thus affecting the transferring of flavor and aroma.
Below is a visual chart for grind size to get you started. Play around with the grind size until you get the best tasting cup for you. And don’t be afraid to alter the grind size between different roasts.
Did you try these? Let us know in the comments!
Grind size by brew method.
