Ok, you’ve invested in some premium gourmet coffee. Now you want to get the best out of that coffee. Here are some brewing tips to help you.
It’s all in the beans.
Hopefully, you’ve bought the coffee whole bean and not pre-ground. Coffee is a product with a shelf life. In the best of all worlds you would roast your own coffee beans, but not everyone has the dedication or time to do that. Once roasted the longer your coffee stays in whole bean form the longer it will yield the freshest possible cup of coffee.
Invest in a burr grinder (not a blade grinder) and only grind what you need for a few days at most. Even better, grind what you need for this pot right before brewing.
Measure the grounds. Suggested is 2 tablespoons per 6-8 ounces of water. You may prefer more or less.
About Water, Temp & Time
Use the right kind of water, either spring water or filtered water. Tap water imparts undesirable flavors to the coffee and lacks some minerals essential to coffee flavor. Distilled water lacks essential minerals necessary for coffee flavor.
The ideal temperature of the water is 195-205 degrees Fahrenheit.
Brew for 4.5 – 5 minutes.
Miscellaneous Tips
Don’t leave your brewed coffee on the hot plate. This will ruin your gourmet coffee in as little as 20 minutes. Invest in a carafe or thermos mug. Pour the coffee into the carafe or mug to preserve it’s heat and taste.
Depending on your level of enthusiasm for coffee (and your budget) invest in better equipment. Coffee makers with temperature controls, built in grinders and other bells and whistles are readily available in a variety of budget constraints. No need to break the bank with your coffee making equipment and plenty of high end if you’ve got the money.
Until next time – happy brewing.
Coffee has sometimes been maligned as a dubious choice health-wise. That attitude is changing.
None other than the Harvard Medical School is reporting potential preventative benefits for coffee coffee drinkers for:
- Colon and Rectal Cancer
- Type 2 Diabetes
- Parkinson’s Disease
- Heart Disease
They are even reporting increased life span for coffee drinkers, especially women coffee drinkers.
Another study from the National Cancer Institute reports that chronic Hepatitis C sufferers can reduce the progression of liver damage by almost 53% by drinking 3 or more cups of coffee a day.
If you’re concerned about the caffeine gourmet coffee is recommended. The Arabica bean has almost half the caffeine of the Robusta bean. Arabica beans are used almost exclusively in gourmet coffee, while most commercial grade coffees use Robusta beans. And you get the added benefit of a better tasting coffee with gourmet coffee.
Caffeine only constitutes about 2% of coffee. There are also over 1,000 different vitamins, minerals and amino acids. There’s even some fiber in there that may help prevent the absorption of cholesterol.
A cautionary note: Pregnant women should be careful as coffee drinking has been associated with miscarriages. For the rest of us, remember moderation.
So drink up – it’s a healthy choice.
One of the popular niches in the gourmet coffee world is flavored coffee. Coffee is a bitter drink and a small population of hardy few drink it “black.” For some it’s added creamer or sugar, for others it’s flavoring, that takes the edge off and adds to the gourmet coffee experience.
Coffee flavoring is done right after the roasting process when the coffee beans are most porous. Flavor oils are added to the coffee prior to grinding so they can saturate the bean and provide an even flavor experience over all the beans.
Once ground and brewed the flavoring is then spread evenly from cup to cup providing a consistent drinking experience.
While natural flavor oils are available most flavored coffees use artificial flavoring oils as they usually provide a better saturation of the roasted coffee.
Just like coffee blending, this is another way that roast masters practice the art of bringing you great gourmet coffee. The palate of available flavors allow for taste combinations that the coffee alone may not offer.
The purists may never go there, but you can enjoy a world of amazing gourmet flavored coffees.
Drink up and good health.
What is gourmet coffee?
It’s a term bandied about by everyone. But how do we distinguish the acceptable coffee from the gourmet coffee?
It all starts with the beans . . .
A comparative analog often used with coffee is that of fine wine. The distinct difference is that while the wine may be handled by one agent from growing the grape to bottling the wine, coffee will be handled by multiple parties.
The different parties responsible for a gourmet coffee can be roughly broken into the following:
- The Farmer
- The Wet Mill, where the skin and pulp of the coffee cherry is removed. Followed by drying and hulling the coffee bean.
- The Roasting House, the coffee may be ground at this level or just prior to preparation.
- The Brewing Process, at your home or the coffee house.
- Your Cup
Each step of this process can destroy the potential of a gourmet coffee. A gourmet coffee is therefore a coffee that starts with a superior coffee bean, handled with meticulous care, brewed with the finest water, that results in the gustatory pleasure that makes you go, “hmmmmm”.
In the next blog we’ll examine the institutions that set the standards for gourmet coffee. In the meantime, get your grinder out and make yourself a great cup of gourmet coffee.
Don’t forget to thank the farmer for starting it out right.