5 tips to make perfect coffee at home!

Let's do a simple calculation. Suppose you go to Starbucks every morning and buy a large cup of coffee, which costs $2 per cup. Then you will spend $60 on coffee every month.

That's before you factor in the extra cab fare, the tip for the waiter, or the fact that you just can't resist a caramel macchiato, which costs $4, double the price of a regular cup of coffee. That's a lot of money, but from a money-saving perspective, why not just brew your own coffee at home?

You can choose any kind of coffee at home, whether it is your favorite blended coffee or single origin coffee from different origins. And after repeated practice, the coffee you make may be better than that of chain coffee shops, and the quality will be more stable!

Some people may object to this:

– “Oh, I don’t have time to make my own coffee!”

– “I can’t afford such expensive equipment!”

But these are all excuses. Today, let me show you 5 tips on how to make perfect coffee at home!

Always buy freshly roasted coffee beans

The quality of ingredients determines the taste of the dish, and the same is true for coffee. You must buy the freshest and best quality coffee beans, especially freshly roasted coffee. Remember that coffee must be consumed within 2 weeks after the roasting date, and no longer than 3 weeks, otherwise the coffee will oxidize, causing deterioration and affecting the taste.

If you see a package that says "shelf life 6 months", be careful. The coffee has a long shelf life because the package is filled with nitrogen, but when you get home and open the package, the coffee will deteriorate faster. Also, be careful not to buy ground coffee!

Always use filtered water

Experts say that 98-99% of coffee is water. What does this mean? It's simple. Water quality is extremely important to the taste of coffee. Using tap water to make coffee is like using tomato sauce to make a pizza base. You know.

Tap water contains a lot of things that can affect the taste of coffee, such as chlorine and too many minerals. Of course, you can use bottled water, but this is expensive and not environmentally friendly.

My suggestion is to buy a simple filter pot, which can filter out most of the chemicals, metals and minerals in the coffee. The only thing to pay attention to is to replace the filter regularly. In general, a simple filter pot can provide the best guarantee for the high quality of coffee.

Master the water-powder ratio

Don't worry, I'm not asking you to buy a $40 Japanese electronic scale with a built-in timer. In fact, any common household electronic scale can be used to weigh coffee. If you don't know how to adjust the water-to-powder ratio, you can start with 16:1, which is 16 parts water to 1 part coffee beans.

If you really don't have an electronic scale, remember that the most standard brewing method is to use 4 spoons of coffee beans to brew 1 cup of coffee, and the amount of water is about 1 and a half cups, leaving enough water to prevent evaporation during heating or spilling during brewing.

Choosing the Right Grinder

Can the blade grinder at home work? Of course, but the only problem is that the blade will cut the coffee beans into particles of very different sizes, which will directly affect the extraction of coffee.

What to do? You can try a hand grinder from a hand brewing brand like Hario. They are very cheap and easy to use. For example, the hand grinder I use can grind 4 spoons of coffee beans in just 1 minute. You can also adjust the coarseness of the coffee powder according to your personal preference and actual effect.

Recommend a brainless coffee maker to everyone!

Moka pot, siphon pot, French press, hand-poured pot... There are many types of coffee pots available on the market, with varying prices and difficulty of use.

I think the most convenient one is the Clever drip pot, which is a coffee pot between a hand-poured pot and a French press pot, and the operation requires no technical skills. Here are the steps:

Pour the weighed water into the kettle, bring it to a boil, and let it sit for 30-45 seconds. The water temperature should drop to between 195-205°F, depending on the kettle's heat preservation capacity.

Place the filter paper into the coffee pot and pour in 4 tablespoons of coarsely ground coffee;

Pour in 1 1/2 cups of hot water and stir gently;

Cover the lid and let it sit for 4 minutes, then place the entire coffee pot on the coffee cup and the coffee will flow out automatically.

How about it, it’s very simple, right? The whole operation process will not take more than 15 minutes, during which you can go to wash up or have breakfast, without any delay!

The price of a coffee maker is about $100, and each bag of coffee beans costs $16. Sounds a bit expensive, right? But over time, the cost of coffee will get lower and lower. If you drink 1 bag of coffee every 2 weeks, in a year, your per cup of coffee will only cost $1.5, and it will continue to drop after that!

Compared to the bland Starbucks coffee that costs $2 per cup, brewing your own coffee at home is obviously the best choice! At the same time, you can also enrich your coffee knowledge, try different brewing methods and coffee from different origins, it is simply killing two birds with one stone!

author

Tim Carman

English original address

www.chicagotribune.com/dining/drink/ct-5-easy-steps-to-better-coffee-20171031-story.html