Coffee lovers will go all out for a mug of their favourite brew and will try anything from tobacco smoked beans to Kopi Luwak coffee – coffee berries that are eaten by the Kopi Luwak, which then excretes the means leaving a supposedly incredible flavour. But there is more to the perfect cup of coffee than just the beans and their flavouring, although that is important too. I’m going to walk you through my 7 steps for the perfect cup of coffee in the hope that it will help to enhance you’re own cup first thing in the morning.

Water

Water is such an everyday liquid that we only think about the taste when we’re drinking it in its natural state. We forget that there are some impurities when we’re boiling it to use in our coffee and tea. Well it’s time to stop that and start using filtered water, it’ll be easier on your kettle, coffee machine and coffee grounds, allowing their full flavour to shine through.

Equipment

Make sure whatever items you are using to make your coffee are in tip top shape, check your kettle for a lime scale build up, if you have a coffee machine make sure you dismantle it and wash it thoroughly and often, nothing is worse than taint your morning cup with the remnants from the week before! If you do use a machine, make sure that…

Beans!

You need to be sure that whatever coffee you are using is ground down to the correct size, if the pieces are too large then the coffee won’t dissolve properly, leaving you with a weak flavour. The same is almost true of the grounds being too small, they turn the coffee in to a much more bitter drink. Also make sure you’re choosing a flavour and a roast that you like, it’s no use buying the most expensive coffee you can then finding out that you dislike the flavour!

Fresh as a Daisy

Keep your beans fresh! You may think you’re doing ourself a favour by storing your coffee in the freezer but all you’re doing is adding to the inevitable breakdown and loss of flavour as the moisture seeps in to the beans. You should keep your coffee beans in a air tight container away from strong smelling food, light and heat – this will help your coffee keep its flavour. For those of you that grind your own, that’s great! Just remember to do it right before you brew as this will mean the flavours have less time to deteriorate.

The Golden Ratio

Perfection has a golden ratio and it’s two teaspoons of coffee to every six ounces of water. In order to make the perfect cup remember to measure out how much water, and therefore how much coffee you are going to be needing, that way you won’t be wasting any grounds.

Filter

One thing that can really spoil a cup of coffee for me is the sediment you get at the bottom, there is nothing worse than sipping and finding yourself with a mouth full of bitter half dissolved grounds. To combat this make sure you buy top quality filters with as little chemical treatments in them as possible.

Feelin’ Hot, Hot, Hot

Did you know coffee has a perfect temperature? A certain coffee chain brews theirs at exactly 205F as they believe that unlocks the maximum amount of flavour. While their heat choice is debatable it is true that hotter water unleashes a better tasting coffee, you also won’t want to let it cool too much as reheated or cold coffee loses quite a lot of its flavour.

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Vari loves experimenting in the kitchen and enjoys tinkering with commercial coffee machines to see what concoctions she can create.

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