You wake up in the morning, and you start the coffee pot brewing. Only thing is, you have settled into a routine in which you hardly enjoy that first refreshing cup. Shake things up a bit! Continue reading to find out how you can enjoy more options when it comes to your fresh brew.
Make sure that you make your coffee in water that you would have no problem drinking alone. This is important because the taste of the water will affect the way that it makes your coffee taste. If you live in an area where the water quality is not that great, use spring water to brew your coffee.
Put your coffee in the fridge. After you have exposed roasted coffee beans or grinds to fresh air, the flavor can deteriorate quickly. Actually, a large amount of flavor is lost within seven to ten days. Keeping your coffee in the fridge after you have opened the can keeps it fresh longer.
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.
Make sure you try out your coffee maker after buying it to make sure it performs right. Always remove any oils and residues left over from the manufacturing process by running a pot of plain water through your new machine. That helps get rid of any dust that got into the machine while it was at the store on the shelf.
Do you enjoy the fancy beverages you can get in coffee shops? You can make most of these beverages at home if you have milk, cream and chocolate syrup. Use the Internet to find tutorials on how to make your favorite drinks and with a little practice, you will be able to make the same beverages you can get at your favorite coffee shop.
If regular coffee no longer provides you enough caffeine, consider brewing espresso. This does mean you will need a different piece of equipment, as your regular coffee maker likely cannot do it. Espresso machines are typically expensive though, and the intensity of the caffeine levels is too much for some. Try espresso a few times somewhere else before making this commitment for your home.
A great tip to remember if you love brewing coffee is to make sure you clean your kitchen equipment now and then. If you don’t clean your coffee pot often, it won’t take long for the particles to build up and you’ll soon start to notice a very bitter taste with your coffee.
When brewing coffee, use high-quality water to get a high-quality result. Remember, what you use in your coffee affects its flavor. Filtered water and bottled water will result in a good cup of coffee. Distilled water is not necessarily a good idea, though, as it may not have the necessary minerals to break down the flavors in the coffee beans.
If you grind your own coffee, be sure to only grind the amount you will be using that day. If you grind too much and just leave your coffee around, the elements will take the freshness and taste of it. Contrary to what many believe, storing coffee in the refrigerator does not leave it fresh.
Many people use bacon soda to keep smells from permeating refrigerators, but used coffee grounds have the same effect. Coffee acts like a natural sponge, and it will absorb any odors it comes in contact with. This is why you should place a small dish of them in your refrigerator to keep odors at bay.
If you have trouble staying awake and have been buying those expensive energy drinks, you should start drinking coffee instead. Each energy drink contains about 100-150 milligrams of caffeine. You can get the same effect from drinking a cup of coffee or two, and you will not have to spend as much money.
If you like the flavor of vanilla sugar in your coffee, but don’t like the price, here’s a great tip. Purchase your own vanilla beans, and bury them in a jar of sugar for at least one week. Then, use the vanilla sugar instead of regular sugar in your coffee for added flavor.
Experiment with varying levels of grind for your coffee. Finely ground coffee often results in a strong flavor, but you can weaken flavor with a more coarse grind. The best time to grind is right before you actually brew. Grinding earlier than that can result in stale tasting coffee once brewed later.
Be sure to clean your coffee machine. Many people just keep making coffee over and over again, but you have got to make sure you clean it regularly. Run a mixture of vinegar and water through your machine to naturally clean the machine instead of using chemicals. When you do this, you can be assured you have the most delicious coffee you can have.
Adapt your coffee to water ratio in function of the technique you are using to brew your coffee. A Technivorm or a vacuum pot will require you to use more coffee grounds than a French press or a drip machine. Drip machines are actually the cheapest way to make coffee but you will get a better flavor with other techniques.
In order to maintain flavor in a fresh pot of coffee, remove it from the heat before ten minutes have passed. Your coffee will become bitter because of the burn on the bottom of the pot. Use a thermos instead to keep it warm.
Now are you excited? It’s time to go coffee shopping! No matter what your flavor, and no matter your budget, there are plenty of options available to you. Keep the tips you’ve read here in mind as you hunt down your next fresh brew. You are sure to be delighted.
