That morning cup of joe is something million of Americans can’t live without. You might start asking yourself “what more is there to know about coffee”, but do you know what? With all the blends out there and all the different styles, there are some things about coffee you might not know. Here are some tips to make coffee even more palatable to you!
It is a bad idea to let coffee sit on a hot burner after brewing. Keeping the heat on will cause your coffee to “cook,” and will ruin its freshly-brewed flavor. Instead, unplug your coffee-maker or other appliance, or transfer the coffee to an insulated pot to keep it hot.
Keep your automatic coffee maker clean with white vinegar. Run a brewing cycle with one part water to one part white vinegar. After allowing the carafe to soak in the vinegar for a while, run a cycle with plain water to rinse the machine. Clean your coffee maker once every week or two to remove rancid coffee oils, mold and other contaminants.
Brewing your own coffee at home can add up to huge savings when you compare it to the costs of going to a coffee shop every day. Invest in a good no-spill travel mug so that you don’t regret your decision. Use that expensive coffee as a way to treat yourself when you achieve one of your goals.
To save money by buying bulk coffee without sacrificing flavor, measure out what you plan to use immediately and store it at room temperature. Coffee tastes best when it is brewed from room temperature grounds. Coffee you plan to use within the next week can go in the refrigerator, and the remaining beans or grounds should go in the freezer.
The price of ground coffee has increased considerably over the past year, and even if you grind it yourself, the coffee beans have also increased in price. Sometimes the less expensive coffee tastes just as good as the higher priced brands, but it may take some trial and error to find one you like.
For better coffee, try using a French press. Coffee made in a French press is often more aromatic and flavorful. This kind of press helps more of the coffee’s oils go into the coffee itself instead of getting trapped in a coffee pot filter. The more oil you have, the better your coffee will taste.
Just because you are drinking a dark roast coffee does not mean your coffee has more caffeine in it. This is just the way the beans were prepared, not how much caffeine is in them. If your coffee has the term Robusta on it’s packaging, it usually has twice the amount of caffeine as standard Arabica coffee.
To ensure that your coffee stays fresh as long as possible, avoid grinding all your beans at once. Once ground, heat and humidity will rob your coffee of the fragrant oils that provide much of its flavor. Instead, only grind the amount of coffee you will use for a day or two. Doing so will help you maximize the flavor of your beans.
Invest in a good-quality coffee grinder. A good grinder grinds coffee beans efficiently and consistently to ensure even extraction. The reason for efficiency is to ensure that not much heat is generated during grinding. Too much heat being generated during the grinding process can negatively affect the taste of the coffee. .
Don’t keep any coffee storage contains near ovens. This is possibly the fastest way to reduce the quality of your coffee, due to the heat emitted from the oven. So keep your coffee in places like a pantry. Do not put it in a cupboard above your oven.
It’s important to be on the lookout for the caffeine levels in your coffee. Not all coffee has equal amounts of caffeine. For instance, Robusta beans contain two times the coffee that Arabica does. Depending on the type of beans used and the amounts that were used, drip coffee can actually contain more caffeine than espresso. Make sure you keep yourself informed.
There are many brands of coffee out there, and it can be hard to decide on a brand. Keep in mind that when it comes to coffee, the more expensive, it is the better it tastes. Avoid buying any coffee that is much to cheap since that means the quality will most likely not be that great.
Understand that the fineness of your grind affects the quality of your coffee taste. A very fine grind will leave your coffee tasting really strong, whereas a course grind will give a very dull and weak taste. Some people prefer different types of tastes, so understand this before making coffee for them.
To gauge which roasts are right for your taste preferences, pay close attention to the color of the beans. Typically, the darker a bean is roasted the stronger its brewed taste will be. French roasted beans are dark but Italian roasted beans by far produce the darkest and strongest coffee.
When brewing coffee, use fresh, clean water. Since your coffee essentially consists of mostly water, the quality of the water you use will affect the quality of the coffee you drink. Avoid using a water-softening filter for the water you use in your coffee. Super soft water fails to properly extract the coffee oils.
Now that you’ve read this article, you should know a lot more about this extremely popular drink. Take the tips in this article and use them to help you get even more enjoyment out of the drink you love so much. In fact, share the information with others and they will appreciate it!
