Brewing

Coffee beans lose their freshness very quickly after they are ground. Be sure to grind your coffee beans for the...

Coffee beans lose their freshness very quickly after they are ground. Be sure to grind your coffee beans for the method of brew. Grinding too fine for your filter will cause an over-extracted bitter result. A extra fine grind works best for a cone drip while you will want a fine grind for a flat bottom or Chemex filter. The more common, and least expensive blade grinder works fine for a cup at a time but if you are grinding for a pot, the coffee heats up in the grinder losing much of its snappy flavor. A somewhat more expensive burr grinder is necessary to control the level of grind. For example, it is almost impossible to achieve the necessary fine even grind for an esspresso machine or the coarser grind for a French press without a burr grinder. The right ratio of coffee to water. The optimum ratio of coffee to water is two tablespoons of ground coffee per six ounces of water. This will produce a cup of coffee on the stronger side. For brewing coffee on the weaker side, use one tablespoon of ground coffee per six ounces of water. A better approach for weaker coffee, rather than reducing the amount of ground coffee to water ratio, use the same ratio of coffee to water and dilute the coffee by adding a little water to your cup after you are done brewing. Ice Coffee: Grind the coffee as you would for a full pot of brew. Fill the coffee carafe with ice cubes then use half the amount of water to make your coffee. Coffee is brewed directly onto the ice capturing the full flavor.