As with roasting and blending, there is no “best way” to prepare coffee. Actually this is one of the things that makes coffee so much fun – experimenting with the myriad of different methods to make this wonderful drink. However, there are a number of simple guidelines that hold true for all brewing methods (other than espresso).

• Use freshly roasted coffee and grind just before brewing. Coffee should be consumed within 5-6 days of roasting to ensure freshness and peak flavour profiles. How long ago do you think your store-bought coffee roasted? Chances are that unless you already home roast – you have been consuming stale coffee. Grinding also hastens the staling process, so store your beans whole and grind just before brewing (within 15 minutes or so).
• Use the correct grind for your brewer. Too fine a grind causes a bitter brew, while too coarse causes watery coffee. Purchase of a good quality home grinder is highly recommended.
• Start with one standard coffee measure (2 tablespoons) of grounds for each 6 ounces(180mL) of water; adjust this amount to taste with experience
• Use fresh water free from taints and odours. Filtered or bottled water may be required in some areas but is not a necessity. Avoid distilled or softened water.
• Bring the water to just below boiling (200 degrees F). The brew cycle should be completed within 4-6 minutes for drip brewers. Better methods are the French Press and Vacuum pot, which brew in about 4 minutes. Avoid methods with brew cycles longer that 6 minutes (percolators for example) as these over-extract the coffee and produce a bitter cup.
• We highly recommend the Aeropress coffee maker. It has a short brew cycle (10 seconds of mixing and 20 seconds to plunge) to minimizes bitterness, while the pressure exerted on the plunger seems to maximize flavour extraction - producing an awesome cup of coffee. The paper filter removes the sometimes undesirable “silt” in the bottom the cup found with the French Press method.