I love coffee! It is definitely one of those simple pleasures, whether that is a treat from a coffee shop or a home made brew. Today I have a post to share with you on how to create the perfect cup of coffee at home…

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3 ways to achieve the perfect cup of coffee in the home

Achieving the perfect cup of coffee can be a lifelong endeavour, rife with improper brewing methods and other rookie errors. Good cups of coffee are very hard to come by, particularly in people’s homes.

While going into the precise details of what it takes to make a perfect cup of coffee is beyond the scope of this article, there are three things you should start following in order to get you on the right track.

Get a capable coffee machine

There are all kinds of coffee machines out there, with newer, more affordable ones proliferating on the market. Machines from the likes of Tassimo seem to be directed at those who are intimidated by the overly expensive industrial coffee machines – they are smaller, more affordable, and are perfect for those who want to be able to make a range of drinks as well as those who are usually rushing out of the door in the morning.

Use good quality beans

Your first step to moving towards that ever-elusive, perfect cup of coffee is to make sure that you’re using high-quality, sustainably farmed coffee that has been roasted within the past few weeks.

Choosing the perfect coffee bean is nearly impossible. ‘Green’, sustainable coffee unfortunately has a shelf life; good coffee roasters must manage their inventory based on the harvest cycles.

So, developing an appetite for a particular bean from Guatemala could lead to disappointment a few months later. The true coffee connoisseur is always on the hunt for coffee beans that are in season.

Treat your beans right

After you’ve found your favourite type of coffee bean, you still run the risk of ruining your beans by improperly storing them at home. You should make efforts to keep your coffee beans away from direct sunlight, preferably in an airtight container, perhaps in your refrigerator or freezer, if needed.

You should also make efforts to grind your coffee beans right before you brew them. Grinding coffee beans and then not using the coffee immediately is a grave mistake to make. This is because roasted coffee is delicate and perishable: if you expose it to light and oxygen, the flavour compounds in the coffee will deteriorate at a very fast rate.

If you grind your coffee before you brew it, you can make sure that the flavour compounds are indeed intact, which will deliver a much richer, flavoursome cup of coffee.

Use the right water

Whenever you make coffee, always make sure that the water you’re using is fresh. If it’s been sitting in your kettle for some time, it’s no good. The optimum temperatures for brewing coffee range between 90 and 96C. This means you should pour the water into your machine around thirty seconds after the water has boiled.

As stated above, these three factors are some of the basic fundamentals behind the art of making a perfect cup of coffee. There is quite a lot more involved, so make sure you do some more homework before declaring yourself a coffee connoisseur!

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I think there are some great tips there, I do store my ground coffee in the fridge now! Are you a coffee fan? How do you make your coffee at home?

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