I’m lazy. I’m especially lazy before I’ve had my coffee. Asking me to perform some convoluted task for making perfect coffee just isn’t going to cut it at the crack of dawn. My brain just isn’t going to cooperate. I needed an easy and foolproof way to make perfect coffee without having to engage my brain. I’ll break down how I do coffee while in my zombie-like state early in the morning.
Simple Coffee Maker
I use a very well respected yet reasonably priced and very simple coffee maker from Bonavita, the BV1900TS It gets high marks because it brings the water temp up to 200º which is the ideal temperature for brewing coffee. The coffee maker itself honestly isn’t much to speak of but it does it’s one job flawlessly. If you choose to go with a different coffee maker just make sure it hits the 200º mark for brewing. The other options are bonus.
Filtered Water
No mystery here, just use good filtered water to avoid chlorine and other things that’ll taint the flavor a bit if using tap water. I use the water from the filtered dispenser in my fridge. Bottled water will do very well, as will just about any activated carbon water filter. No need to get heavy-handed here.
Paper Filter
Some claim you must go with high quality paper filters. I personally just use the unbleached kind and leave it at that. I personally have never been able to taste a difference between bleached and unbleached but some say they can tell.
Fresh Coffee Beans
My wife and I get a regular delivery of beans via mail-order. This way we always have fresh whole beans that we can grind ourselves. There are many great coffee brands to choose from. Blue Bottle would be a great choice for instance. I won’t get into the debate over the beans from a fairly well-known Seattle brand. I will say that within reason, a good grind can make so-so beans pretty darn good.
Burr Grinder
Speaking of grind, most serious coffee drinkers swear by burr grinders. To me the grind is the most important aspect of the whole process. I’ve used both blade and burr grinders and burr is the way to go for sure. The main reason is that you can much more easily control the grind. This is the real trick for how to make perfect coffee. Perfect varies from person to person. My wife prefers a harsher and more bitter coffee while I prefer my coffee silky smooth. She grinds coffee very fine and I grind it much more coarse. We both drink our coffee black of course. The other great thing about a burr grinder is that once you dial it in for how you like your coffee you can leave it set there, unless of course someone comes along behind you and changes it. Check out what we think are the best budget coffee grinders.
Wrapping Up:
How To Make Perfect Coffee
I think the whole perfect coffee thing has gotten a little overblown due to our love of coffee. It’s pretty simple aside from fiddling with the grind coarseness to get the flavor just how you prefer. There are lots of ways to make coffee such as cold press, pour over, French press, etc. I have nothing against all of these but I really just want a simple and easy to make quality cup of coffee.
Again, the secret to how to make perfect coffee is in the grind. So whether you’re using a regular coffee maker or something a little more esoteric, getting the grind to your liking is going to be the real key. If you’re gong to spend a little extra money I’d suggest putting it toward a burr grinder and not a coffee maker. As long as the coffee maker brews at approximately 200º and is fairly easy to use it’s not as critical. A quality burr grinder should last a good amount of time and it’ll be capable of easily grinding your coffee beans at a consistent coarseness every morning for years to come.
