If you're a coffee lover who's looking to level-up on their coffee enjoyment, the next step -- after investing in a kettle, a scale, and a grinder -- is to get yourself a brewer. Which one? That all depends upon you -- who you are; your temperament; the time you have to spend. These are all individual factors which you will know better than anyone else.
As I've mentioned in previous posts, I would avoid the typical 1970's Mr. Coffee automatic drip brewers which many of us grew up with. Typically, they're unable to heat water up hot enough to properly extract the coffee from your grounds. That being said, I haven't knowingly had coffee from any of these old-school types of brewers in decades, so it's possible their standards for heating water may have increased. A recent Consumer Reports article I've read definitely takes water temperature into account, so they're certainly aware of its importance. It might be worth looking into. I just wouldn't expect too much from any machine which costs $10-12. Also, I would avoid Keurig machines. Although they rank high in convenience, the pods are expensive and the quality of the cup they produce does not justify the expense of either the machine or the pods. Don't get me wrong -- I'll still grind coffee for those who would like to use our coffee in their re-usable Keurig pods. I believe our coffee will still be a step up over the coffee that's offered in the available K-cups. The Keurig simply is not going to give you the best cup of coffee you can get, and the convenience they provide comes at a great cost in quality -- not to mention money. My recommendation for novices is to get yourself a simple French press. Not only do they tend to be inexpensive, but they're also very easy to use. Grind your coffee fine enough so that most of your grounds do not float and put the grounds into your brewer, boil water in your kettle, pour and let it infuse. If you're making one cup, just use twenty grams (25 g) of coffee to 333 grams of water; thirty grams of coffee (37-38 g) to 500 grams of water; or forty grams of coffee (50 g) to 667 grams of water. [In general, we're going by a ratio that dictates sixty grams (75 g) of coffee per liter (1,000 grams of water).] Your coffee should sit for about four minutes. Then, gently -- GENTLY, I say -- plunge the grounds down to the bottom and pour your coffee. One of the benefits to the French press is an increase in body. A drawback, however, is you'll have to tolerate a bit of sediment at the bottom of your cup. If you're looking for a cleaner cup, you've got a few different options. You could go with a manual pour-over, such as a Melitta, a Beehouse, or a Hario V60; or you could compromise between the French press and pour-over and get a Clever Coffee Dripper. The Clever Dripper uses standard Melitta No. 4 paper filters, but because there's a rubber stopper at the bottom of the dripper it acts as an immersion brew as the French press does. One of the problems I remember having when the Clever first came out : We had trouble determining the best grind size and the right time to release the brew. Since the coffee takes time to drain, that should be taken into account when determining the contact time -- and therefore, the extraction of your brew. Therefore, rather than waiting for four full minutes to release the coffee, you might want to time the release so that your coffee finishes draining at around four minutes. Also, beware: If your grounds are too fine, your filter might clog up and your coffee will stop draining. As with all of these methods, some trial-and-error might need to take place before you learn your own standardized method that works for you. -- Roaster Dutch [In part two, I'll go over a couple of other brewers]
Rube's Good-Brain Coffee is a specialty coffee roaster located in Kittrell, NC. We will your coffee to order which you may either pick-up or have shipped. Should you have any questions, please contact us at dutchroaster [at] gmail [dot] com or by calling us at 252-430-0676. If you're interested in ordering wholesale for your business, please contact us for more information. Customers outside of our area may order via our easy-to-use online shop. Just click onto wherever it says: Fresh Coffee Now!
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