Coffee brewing basics begin clean equipment. We know, you've heard it before. But having a clean brew basket, water tank and carafe is essential for good coffee. So you want to start there before we get into the less basic coffee brewing basics. As you may already know, temperature is an essential element of great coffee. Coffee brewing basics demand a coffee maker that can heat the water to 195 to 200 degrees F. This is where the most oils are released from the beans. There are a couple ways to check this if you're interested in learning coffee brewing basics. First, start with the owner's manual and see what they say their product heats water to. Then run a pot of coffee and put a thermometer in to see what it really does. The farther off the mark you are, the less likely your coffee maker can make a great cup of coffee. Another one of the key coffee brewing basics is having good beans. Ideally, you should use whole beans and grind them just before you brew. The goal is to release the oils just before you need them. That's why one of the coffee brewing basics is to only buy as much coffee as you'll consume between shopping trips. Fresh water is another one of the coffee brewing basics. Since coffee is almost all water, you don't want to use tap water if at all possible. It will taint the coffee. Instead, use water from a filter or bottle. The water should always be cold. Even though you may like to be creative with your measuring in the kitchen, solid coffee brewing basics demand precise measurement. The rule of thumb is 1/3 of an ounce of coffee (two tablespoons) for every six ounces of water.
Don't trust the measure on the side of your coffee maker. Use a measuring cup instead, at least until you know if the coffee maker measure is accurate enough. After mastering these basics, you should be enjoying the perfect cup of coffee. Once you have the coffee brewing basics nailed down, you can then experiment with more or less grind or even different coffee makers. Coffee brewing basics are fairly straightforward : clean equipment, fresh beans, fresh, cold water and precise measurement. Unfortunately, many people don't understand the importance of these coffee brewing basics, which virtually guarantee a good cup of coffee.
