Making good coffee

[elzmaddy]

I really do not know what I am doing when it comes to coffee. I can't make a good cup of coffee at home, so I usually get one from Dunkin Donuts. I've tried making my own with their brand of ground coffee, but not only is the taste unacceptable, it doesn't have that same caffiene kick to it, no matter how much coffee I use.

Maybe there's something wrong with my coffee maker (basic Braun model)? But the more I think about it, I recall that even coffee I've had at other people's homes and at restaurants doesn't compare to the coffee I get at Dunkin Donuts, McDonalds or other chains where they use fine-tuned methods. Does anyone know how I can replicate this at home?

 

[Crono]

Originally posted by: elzmaddy
I really do not know what I am doing when it comes to coffee. I can't make a good cup of coffee at home, so I usually get one from Dunkin Donuts. I've tried making my own with their brand of ground coffee, but not only is the taste unacceptable, it doesn't have that same caffiene kick to it, no matter how much coffee I use.

Maybe there's something wrong with my coffee maker (basic Braun model)? But the more I think about it, I recall that even coffee I've had at other people's homes and at restaurants doesn't compare to the coffee I get at Dunkin Donuts, McDonalds or other chains where they use fine-tuned methods. Does anyone know how I can replicate this at home?

I don't know, but the coffee I make at home (Gevalia w/their coffee maker) when I do have coffee seems ok. Maybe they the stores like Dunkin DoOnuts use a special coffee maker?

 

[Jzero]

There's a lot of factors, but a big one is probably that your grounds are not as fresh as the ones in the shop.

 

[zebano]

ummm. McDonalds coffee sucks. Never eaten at Dunkin doughnuts though my home brewed stuff is usually as good as what I buy elsewhere. Just be sure to buy good beans and grind them yourself.

 

[elzmaddy]

Yes, they use a BUNN coffee maker that costs several hundred dollars. It's for commercial use, so I don't know why I would need something so big at home. Maybe it does a better job in some way, getting the water hotter?

 

[Yossarian]

pm Descartes. That dude lives for coffee.

 

[Lola]

I like strong coffee and i get the "good stuff" so all i do is put one teaspoon of coffee grounds per cup of coffee that i am making.

It seems to be great every time. That is just my opinion though. I have a grinding/brewing coffee maker.

 

[Baked]

Did you buy the beans and grind it yourself or powder? Oh wait, looks like you bought the grounded kind. They don't taste as good as ones you grind from beans.

 

[Descartes]

This is what you need:

1) A suitable machine that maintains the right temperature. Most of these cheap drip machines don't produce the right temperature of water for extraction. Get yourself a quality machine like a Melitta or seek another brewing method. I personally find Vacuum Pots to be the most palatable brewing method, but a press pot produces a nice full-bodied brew as well. The key point is this: You are controlling the temperature of the weater, the extraction time, etc. and not the machine.

2) Do not by preground. It's stale by the time you get it home.

3) Buy only freshly-roasted beans. This means a roast date of absolutely no more than two weeks (one week recommended). Fresh coffee is profoundly different than what you typically find in the bins in most grocery stores.

4) Get a quality burr grinder. Blade grinders destroy the beans and produce flakes and an overall inconsistent grind. The result is uneven extraction, and this gives you bitter notes or a brew entirely lacking in flavor.

That's it.

 

[elzmaddy]

What coffee would you recommend? Something from Starbucks maybe?

 

[Descartes]

Originally posted by: Yossarian
pm Descartes. That dude lives for coffee.

:thumbsup:

Thanks for the reference.

 

[davestar]

Originally posted by: elzmaddy
What coffee would you recommend? Something from Starbucks maybe?

nope. do you have a whole food near you? their coffee bins are stocked with freshly roasted whole beans. the other obvious choice is a local independently-owned coffee.

 

[elektrolokomotive]

Originally posted by: elzmaddy
What coffee would you recommend? Something from Starbucks maybe?

I find Starbuck's to be too acidic. I like Seattle's Best a lot more. Tully's isn't bad. Tim Horton's is good too, when I can get it.

 

[elzmaddy]

Your reputation precedes you, Descartes. Thanks for the info.

 

[Descartes]

Originally posted by: elzmaddy
What coffee would you recommend? Something from Starbucks maybe?

I respect Starbucks, and they do have extremely high-quality beans most of the time; however, they are generall overroasted and stale. They are extremely high volume, so it's difficult to fault them for this.

I'd seek a smaller more quality-oriented company, a microroaster. There are some great ones in the US, but it would be difficult to list them all. I always suggest people start with Intelligentsia, Coffee Emergency or some of the others about that size. You could also look at Coffee Review and simply find a high-rated bean and follow it back to the company that roasted it.

Let me know if I can help.

 

[soup or man]

Let me fill you in. If you want to make the absolute best cup of coffee, you need to have the right tools.

You need to have great beans, hot water, and this. It's called a one-cup pour over, and it makes the perfect cup of coffee. First, only buy great beans. You can actually get them from that same website. Don't buy your coffee already ground. Invest in a nice burr-grinder, not one that uses blades. Only grind your coffee right before you're going to make a cup/pot. Keep the rest in an air-tight container, and for god's sake, don't put your beans in your fridge.

Now once you have some grounds, place the bottom of your pour-over on top of your cup. Drop in exactly 2-table spoons of grounds. Place the top of the pour-over in position, and pour 6 ounces of boiling water. Wait about 1 minute and a half for the water to drain through, and you've got the best coffee you'll ever taste.

Coffee runs in my veins. My family roasts it and sells it at local shops in town, and via that website I linked to earlier. I wasn't trying to whore it out or anything, I just know what we carry. Indirectly, I know more about coffee than I'd ever care to, and about the people who grow it. It's usually a pretty sad story, but that's why everybody should only buy fair trade beans. The farmers get a bigger cut that way. And I like to go organic, if for no other reason than the farmers aren't killing themselves with pesticides.

If anybody has any coffee related questions, I'd be more than happy to answer them.

 

[Descartes]

Originally posted by: davestar

Originally posted by: elzmaddy
What coffee would you recommend? Something from Starbucks maybe?

nope. do you have a whole food near you? their coffee bins are stocked with freshly roasted whole beans. the other obvious choice is a local independently-owned coffee.

That's a great suggestion. Many of the stores roast in the store (all the ones I have been to do, but not sure if all of them do), and they generally have high-quality beans as well. Just be sure to look at the roast date; you're not likely to find anything stale, but just don't pick anything that's starting to show oil or shows a roast date > 7 days.

 

[iroast]

Starbucks coffee is fine, but there are better coffees to be had...particularly when you start roasting your own. PM me if you want details.

 

[Yossarian]

what do you guys think of the French press / press pot? I just got one, it's better than my black and decker one cup brewer but that's not saying a lot.

 

[soup or man]

Originally posted by: Descartes

they are generall overroasted and stale.

Ain't that the truth. I've found that basically everybody overroasts their beans. People think that a really dark beans is ideal, when that is rarely the case. Even our french isn't charcoal-black. You really seem to like coffee. YGPM.

 

[Descartes]

Originally posted by: soup or man
Let me fill you in. If you want to make the absolute best cup of coffee, you need to have the right tools.

You need to have great beans, hot water, and this. It's called a one-cup pour over, and it makes the perfect cup of coffee. First, only buy great beans. You can actually get them from that same website. Don't buy your coffee already ground. Invest in a nice burr-grinder, not one that uses blades. Only grind your coffee right before you're going to make a cup/pot. Keep the rest in an air-tight container, and for god's sake, don't put your beans in your fridge.

Now once you have some grounds, place the bottom of your pour-over on top of your cup. Drop in exactly 2-table spoons of grounds. Place the top of the pour-over in position, and pour 6 ounces of boiling water. Wait about 1 minute and a half for the water to drain through, and you've got the best coffee you'll ever taste.

Coffee runs in my veins. My family roasts it and sells it at local shops in town, and via that website I linked to earlier. I wasn't trying to whore it out or anything, I just know what we carry. Indirectly, I know more about coffee than I'd ever care to, and about the people who grow it. It's usually a pretty sad story, but that's why everybody should only buy fair trade beans. The farmers get a bigger cut that way. And I like to go organic, if for no other reason than the farmers aren't killing themselves with pesticides.

If anybody has any coffee related questions, I'd be more than happy to answer them.

Agree with everything you said except for one thing: Temperature. Everyone has different tastes of course, but boiling is likely going to leave you with a "cooked" aroma. SCAA suggests no more than 200F, and I personally brew at 195F. The difference might sound pedantic or even silly, but anything > 200F generally leaves a bitter or underflavored cup at full extraction times.

IMO of course.

Also, those little single-cup brewers are great. I have a Chemex, but I rarely use it as I'm a bit of an espresso fiend.

 

[DurocShark]

Ya'll have missed the biggest issue in coffee taste: The water!

Most places filter their water through a pressurized carbon block. Makes a world of difference.

 

[Descartes]

Originally posted by: Yossarian
what do you guys think of the French press / press pot? I just got one, it's better than my black and decker one cup brewer but that's not saying a lot.

They're great for a few reasons:

1) You control the process. This includes coarseness of grind, temperature of the water, etc. Temperature, coarseness of grind, and extraction time are the only variables between an underflavored cup or a bitter cup (those are mostly the extremes of coffee flavor).

2) No filter. This has recently taken a bad reputation due to cholesterol concerns, but press pots obviously have no filter. The result is more coffee oils in the cup, and this is precisely what you want for flavor. Paper filters are generally quite horrible, and while they produce a "clean" cup they are usually devoid of flavor.

If you're not getting a marked different between press pot and your average cup you're likely not controlling the process properly. If you give us more information we can help get you the results you want.

 

[GhostDoggy]

I've always found that almost any coffee can be remedied by adding increasing amounts of Irish Cream--the kind that challenges your sobriety.

 

[soup or man]

Originally posted by: Yossarian
what do you guys think of the French press / press pot? I just got one, it's better than my black and decker one cup brewer but that's not saying a lot.

I used to use a french press. I really like it better than a standard machine. I found that it was great for a cup, but as you go back for more it just starts tasting funky. The coffee is basically just soaking there absorbing more grounds into the water while you're enjoying your first cup.