Making Good Coffee

Making good coffee in the morning has become a ritual.

Buying good beans and grinding them fresh makes a world of difference.

If I am using a pour over I pour the water very slowly about half way between the centre and the edge of the filter paper. This way the water dissolves as much flavour as it can before seeping through. When I do it just right I get a beautiful dome-shaped pile of sediment when I’m done.

A good dome always bodes well for the day.

Lately, I have started using an AeroPress.

The AeroPress was created by a man named Alan Adler. A mechanical engineer from Stanford. After it was released in 2006, the speciality coffee community adopted the AeroPress as their own.

Letting the water cool for about 5 minutes after it boils makes for a fine cup of coffee. The most bitter compounds only seem to dissolve above 85 degrees celsius.

If you want to step up your coffee game:

Buy great beans

Bad coffee brewed well is still bad coffee. I usually live in India and I buy incredible coffee from Blue Tokai. I also subscribe to Misto box, they ship internationally for free.
Blue Tokai
MistoBox
If you live in the states, I have heard good things about Intelligentsia.
I am in London at the moment and trying out Pact.

Grind Fresh

I used to use a cheap electric spice grinder but I now I use a Hario slim burr grinder (Porlex is another option). It’s a much better grind and I don’t have to worry about electricity sockets when I travel.

If you have never used a pour over or an Aeropress then:

Here is a video guide for pour over (notice the dome at the end).

Here is a video guide to using the AeroPress.

Image credit to Lara Orrico.