Air is the enemy of all coffee drinkers. Once air comes in contact with your coffee grinds, they begin to lose their flavor. Coffee manufacturers vacuum seal their grinds to keep them fresh while they sit on the shelves at the supermarket but once you break that seal, it’s all downhill from there. Buying whole coffee beans and grinding them yourself is a great way to ensure that your coffee remains as flavorful as possible. But do you know how to grind your coffee beans properly?
Different types of coffee calls for different types of grinds. So you’ll need to learn to use your coffee grinder properly if you want to make the freshest best tasting coffee possible.
If you plan on brewing your coffee with a percolator or a French Press coffee maker then you’ll need a coarser grind. Place the coffee beans in your coffee grinder and tap the grind button a few times as you would use the pulse feature on your food processor. The goal is to break the beans up so that they look like tiny pieces of coffee bean. If they look like a powder, then you need to slowly back away from the coffee grinder and start again. Remember to tap the button and not hold it down.
If you are a coffee person, this grind and brew coffee maker is the right one for you.
Automatic drip coffee makers work best with medium grinds. Picture the grinds that you’d find in a can of supermarket coffee. Those are medium grinds. They can be described as looking like brown sand. So remember the last time you went to the beach but instead of seeing the sand in between your toes, imagine seeing sand in your coffee maker. Once again, while holding the coffee grinder button, don’t get carried away and over grind your coffee beans. You do not want a fine powder if you’re going to use an automatic coffee maker.
Finally if your using an espresso maker, you want those fine powdery grinds that you’ve been trying to avoid when making coarse and medium grinds. So grind away until your heart is content.
Grinding your own coffee beans right before you brew your coffee is a great way to make sure that you’re getting the freshest cup of coffee possible. But a fresh cup of coffee can still be bitter or weak. Learning how to grind your coffee beans is an important part of making great coffee.
Monday, September 20, 2010
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
How To Choose A Coffee Maker
Have you seen the choices in coffee makers today? Have you seen what they can do? I don't think it will be long before they are able to bring you your cup of coffee in bed!
There are the very popular filter machines, French press and stovetop espresso coffee makers. There are glass carafe coffee makers, thermal carafe coffee makers, some industrial sizes with two pots that brew at the same time. If you are into espresso did you know that there are three different types of espresso makers to choose from? Steam, pump or piston. How about the coffee maker that makes you one individual cup of coffee?
If you are a coffee person, this grind and brew coffee maker is the right one for you.
Then, to complicate it even more there is the decision of what you want the coffee maker to do other than brew coffee!!! Do you want your coffee maker to have a pause so that you can pull the pot out for your first cup before it is finished brewing? Or, do you want your coffee maker to have the coffee ready for you when you get up? Do you want to be able to grind your own beans? If yes, do you want a separate coffee bean grinder or do you want one that is built right into the coffee maker? If you say yes, do you want your coffee maker to figure out just the right amount of ground coffee for the amount of water you choose? How about the strength of coffee? There are machines that let you choose how strong they brew your coffee. Some have built in water filters. Some have auto turn offs. Some allow you to use a permanent filter rather than deal with messy paper filters.
If you head isn't spinning enough now comes the toughest decision of all... what type of coffee do you want? Do you prefer a light roast or a medium roast or a dark roast? How about an Italian or Espresso roast - the heaviest of all roasts. Have you thought about roasting your own beans? There are many sources of green beans available and home coffee roasters can easily be purchased and you can be well on your way to not only brewing your coffee, but roasting your beans.
There are the very popular filter machines, French press and stovetop espresso coffee makers. There are glass carafe coffee makers, thermal carafe coffee makers, some industrial sizes with two pots that brew at the same time. If you are into espresso did you know that there are three different types of espresso makers to choose from? Steam, pump or piston. How about the coffee maker that makes you one individual cup of coffee?
If you are a coffee person, this grind and brew coffee maker is the right one for you.
Then, to complicate it even more there is the decision of what you want the coffee maker to do other than brew coffee!!! Do you want your coffee maker to have a pause so that you can pull the pot out for your first cup before it is finished brewing? Or, do you want your coffee maker to have the coffee ready for you when you get up? Do you want to be able to grind your own beans? If yes, do you want a separate coffee bean grinder or do you want one that is built right into the coffee maker? If you say yes, do you want your coffee maker to figure out just the right amount of ground coffee for the amount of water you choose? How about the strength of coffee? There are machines that let you choose how strong they brew your coffee. Some have built in water filters. Some have auto turn offs. Some allow you to use a permanent filter rather than deal with messy paper filters.
If you head isn't spinning enough now comes the toughest decision of all... what type of coffee do you want? Do you prefer a light roast or a medium roast or a dark roast? How about an Italian or Espresso roast - the heaviest of all roasts. Have you thought about roasting your own beans? There are many sources of green beans available and home coffee roasters can easily be purchased and you can be well on your way to not only brewing your coffee, but roasting your beans.
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