Ingredients
- Brewing a simply perfect cup of Joe can be perfectly simple, if you stick to some basic guidelines:
Instructions
- Buy quality whole beans from a reliable purveyor (preferably a roaster). If you don’t have a grinder at home, ask a salesperson to grind whole beans for you rather than settling for pre-ground.
- Purchasing bulk (unpackaged) beans from a specialty shop is okay as long as the bins or jars are relatively small and refilled regularly. Large vats hold a lot of beans and therefore don’t need frequent filling. That means that beans can hang around for a long time being exposed to light and air. That can mean stale beans, and staleness is not a desirable attribute.
- Purchase pre-packaged whole beans only when sealed in a foil-style bag featuring a one-way valve. The dime-shaped plastic valve is usually integrated into the packaging so that it will be as unobtrusive as possible, so check carefully. The absence of a valve means that the coffee probably sat and “gassed out” before it was packaged. That means it could be stale. Stale, again, is not a good thing. And remember: paper bags with twist tops are temporary transportation vessels, not storage devices.
- Try to purchase only a week’s worth of beans at a time. If you live where this is impractical, purchase several small sealed packages rather than one large one. Unopened one-way valve bags will keep coffee fresh for approximately three months. If you buy bulk coffee (not sealed with one-way valves) in large amounts, divide into weekly batches, seal in Mason-style jars and freeze. Transfer these small batches to counter top storage as needed (see below) .
- Store opened or bulk coffee in an airtight, opaque container and store at room temperature for up to a week.
- Grind coffee as close to brewing time as possible. For drip method, grind in blade style grinder for 15 to 20 seconds. For French presses, grind for only 10 to 12 seconds.
- Regardless of method, brew using 2 heaping tablespoons of coffee for each 6 ounces of clean (filtered or bottled), cool water. If you prefer a milder cup, brew to full strength (between 190 and 205 degrees F), and then dilute with hot water. Brewing with too little coffee will result in over-extraction, and that means bitterness.
- If you really want to taste the subtle nuances of regional coffees, consider a gold mesh filter.
- When purchasing a coffee maker (either manual or electric), look for a model that brews into a thermal carafe rather than a glass pot designed to sit on a heating element. Continuous heating of coffee leads to bitterness.
- Quality decaffeinated coffees usually cost more than regular beans.
Reviews
A lot of the reviewers here that did not like the coffee did not follow the directions. They measured the 2 tablespoons per 6 oz of water, but they did not grind the coffee for a 4 minute 30 second rate. It should take exactly 4 to 5 minutes for the coffee to drip completely. If the brew time was say 3 minutes, then the coffee was ground too coarse. If the brew/drip time was 6 minutes, then the coffee was ground too fine. To adjust to this recipe, you need WHOLE BEANS and an adjustable conical burr grinder like the Capresso infinity or the Gaggio. If you purchase already ground coffee, then you are out of luck. The above information is basically how you make espresso. You adjust the grind for a flow of 25-30 seconds for a pull … either 2oz or 1oz.
Update: I noticed later that the 4-5 minutes flow rate was mentioned elsewhere by Alton Brown and not here in this article … sorry …
Update: I noticed later that the 4-5 minutes flow rate was mentioned elsewhere by Alton Brown and not here in this article … sorry …
There’s nothing like a GOOD cup of coffee. I am a coffee snob and prefer not to have a cup of ‘bad’ coffee. I grind my coffee beans just before I make my coffee and purchase my beans from a roaster in sealed foil bags.
Great guidelines for brewing coffee! I actually prefer the paper filters over the gold mesh filters. If you pour a little warm water through the paper filter first, it will take out that pulp taste. That’s just my preference. For the best drip coffee, I love a single filter drip – basically making coffee by the cup. Alton’s advice on fresh roasted coffee in valve bag is right on!
We luv Alton down here at our Grand Isle, LA camp. He’s right-on with his research and comments. We use CDM or French Market brands (got 2 have Chicory Absolut when at the camp). EXCELLANT info Alton. We’re getting ready for the Saints on Turkey Day (THE NEW AMERICA’S TEAM), looking for French ducks and Oysters.
GEAUX Alton…..
GEAUX Alton…..
i love coffee and my husband is a coffee snob.. but 2 heaping tbsp per 6 oz cup is wayyyy too strong. even using the drip method it makes it so bitter. no amount of cream or sugar can cover biterness. 1 level tbsp per 6oz is fine. but i do agree with grinding beans before you use them and use the freshest ones you can find. after a few days you can see the oils leaking out of the beans. its also fun to roast them yourself if you can find the green beans
Great info!
Luckily http://www.ineedcoffee.com/04/delicious/ has AB’s actual press pot recipe in print!
Where’s the recipe? All I saw was a few suggestions that most people can glean from a bag of whole-bean coffee.
2 heaping tablespoons of coffee per 6 ounces of water? That’s utterly ridiculous! A waste of beans and sleep.
Alton is right about buying beans from a glass bin. There’s no proper climate control for the beans and they become stale much too readily. Are the beans dry looking? If so then they’re quite stale! They should appear to have just been brushed with cooking oil. That oily sheen is essential oils. A sure sign of freshness.
If you don’t mind the added expense for top-notch coffee, order it from the plantation itself. Mine comes from one certain plantation in Hawaii. You’ll find what you need with a simple computer search.
Thanks Alton, but you could’ve done so much better.
2 heaping tablespoons of coffee per 6 ounces of water? That’s utterly ridiculous! A waste of beans and sleep.
Alton is right about buying beans from a glass bin. There’s no proper climate control for the beans and they become stale much too readily. Are the beans dry looking? If so then they’re quite stale! They should appear to have just been brushed with cooking oil. That oily sheen is essential oils. A sure sign of freshness.
If you don’t mind the added expense for top-notch coffee, order it from the plantation itself. Mine comes from one certain plantation in Hawaii. You’ll find what you need with a simple computer search.
Thanks Alton, but you could’ve done so much better.
I want to know what equipment he used on the show… particularly the carafe. Any ideas? It looks like it came with the filter, but I haven’t been able to find anything like it yet.
Does anyone remember how long to brew the coffee in the French Press?
A