Anyone got any tips for making good coffee??

[gunship96]

Hello all!

Recently bought a french press and I've been watching some videos on how to make the best coffee with it. I'm not sure the beans I got from tesco are the best, any recommendations on equipment and methods?

thanks

[gunship96]

Not sure if I should get some more expensive beans from the supermarket, or try from somewhere like https://ravecoffee.co.uk/
Anyone had any experience with higher priced coffee beans and are they worth it?

[Them Bones]

I've been ordering from these guys:
https://subterra-coffee.myshopify.com/

Also, I heard using a burr grinder is preferable, although we just use a whirring-blade type grinder.

[gunship96]

I've been ordering from these guys:
https://subterra-coffee.myshopify.com/

Also, I heard using a burr grinder is preferable, although we just use a whirring-blade type grinder.

I've only just started grinding my own beans and it tastes so much better fresh! Will have a look into a burr grinder and could be the next purchase! Thanks

[Oddity]

In the absence of a burr grinder, using fewer grinds than you think is correct, of slightly more coarse of a grind than you'd think was "right", along with a pinch of salt into the grinds, yields much more flavorful results to my palette.

[vjls]

way over my head give me my mr coffee and chock full of nuts i am happy

[pfcs49]

instant coffee man! drink a lot/instant gratification. Once you like it, you like it

[endo_aftermath]

Coffee is such a personal taste. I spent almost 20 years in New Orleans and got completely hooked on coffee with chicory. Much of the population there would drink nothing else but many folks elsewhere can't stand the stuff.

[triumph]

It's nice to have a coffee maker you don't have to clean. One has to be careful that an electric drip one doesn't become a sludge dispenser. I have a K-cup and find the coffee much better than my Mr. Coffee. I totally admire you folks who go for the beans and grinding - no longer for me.

[Bonnette]

I used to be into all the minute details about making the best cup of coffee, but it ended up being a big chore - time-consuming, expensive, and difficult (even dangerous) without the full use of both hands. Now I just buy a dark smoky French Roast from Starbucks, already ground, and it tastes wonderful. I use a good Cuisinart coffee pot with Melitta paper filters and make sure to wash the carafe every day and use filtered tap water (just a charcoal filter that attaches to the kitchen sink faucet, nothing fancy).

If you want to grind your own coffee, a burr grinder is the way to go - but burr grinders are hard to clean and you have to clean the burrs after every use with a stiff brush. I was happiest with a mid-range Capreso model, until I got fed up with the ritual and the need for dexterity. Then I tried three different models of automatic grinders, but beans ground in them didn't taste any better than good pre-ground beans from the grocery store.

Apart from finding the beans and the grind you like, the most important factors are keeping the carafe clean so that oils don't build up in it, and using filtered tap water. If you switch from French press to an automatic coffee maker, make only the amount you'll drink in a reasonably well-defined period of time; don't let the coffee sit on the heating plate for longer than a couple of hours.

Back when I was grinding whole beans, the best ones I found were from a local coffee house that did on-site roasting every day. But nowadays, even regular grocery stores sell decent name-brand beans. Some people freeze their beans, but I never found any taste benefits from doing so.

A good cup of coffee is not only tasty, but comforting and should feel special every time - but IMO, it's not necessary to turn making coffee at home into a science or chore.