How to make delicious coffee that suits your taste?

How to make delicious coffee that suits your taste?

Coffee is one of the most popular beverages in the world. Many health professionals believe it’s also one of the healthiest. For some people, it’s the single largest source of antioxidants in their diet, outranking both fruits and vegetables combined.

Many friends like to drink coffee, but everyone is worried about how to make a coffee that suits their taste. To get the ideal taste, it’s essential to consider the type of coffee, the brewing method, and the choice of coffee filters.

Next, we will introduce determining the right coffee bean quality, selection of coffee beans, brewing type, and different coffee filters, so that you can make a cup of coffee suitable to your taste.

Determining the right coffee bean quality

Green coffee beans have no taste or aroma, and it is only during the roasting period that it gets its aroma, taste, and color.

The roasting quality directly determines the quality of coffee beans. Even if the green coffee beans are very good, they cannot become good coffee beans if they’re poorly roasted. Only with good green coffee beans, after proper roasting, is it possible to process good cooked coffee beans, and provide a good prerequisite for making exceptional coffee.

Roasting requires heating coffee beans at a high temperature to create a unique color (similar to amber, depending on the degree of roasting), flavor, and aroma of coffee. Roasting turns light green (or light yellow) coffee beans into brown tea beans that we are familiar with. High-quality roasting means that the aroma, acidity, and bitterness of green coffee beans can be skillfully expressed, so determining a good coffee bean is crucial.

The quality of coffee beans is scored by Cupper (CUPPER) and by several international coffee organizations that divide rankings into 5 levels:

• Cup of Excellence: more than 84 points, small production of rare special coffee beans (award-winning beans);
• Specialty: more than 80 points, specialty coffee beans, only accounting for 2% -3% of the total global coffee bean production;
• Good grade commercial: high-quality commercial beans;
• Basic Commercial: Ordinary commercial beans, the above two can be found in chain fast-food coffee shops;
• Off-grade: poor quality or defective coffee beans.

Selection and preservation of coffee beans

Freshness, altitude, soil, climate, variety, grower’s consciousness, etc. are all factors that determine the quality of coffee beans. When buying, try to select good varieties and detailed descriptions (naming method: origin + manor + variety + organic or not). The more complete, the higher the coffee bean grade, but some varieties are grown by scattered planting by farmers and may not disclose this info. Make sure the freshness and cultivation altitude is high at about 1500 meters, and the cultivation environment and processing methods are suitable for coffee beans.

Always using fresh coffee is best as ground coffee ages it loses its flavor, aroma, and strength.

Store coffee in a cool and dry place. Heat and moisture cause coffee to quickly go stale and pick up outside odors very quickly. Consumers should pay attention: general raw beans should not be stored for more than 1 year. The best drinking period after roasting coffee beans is 4 weeks, and it is best to have beans come in contact with the air for no more than 3 days. The flavor changes significantly within one week. After a week, it tends to be stable, and the shelf life is around 3 months. It is better to drink coffee beans as soon as they are ground into powder. If the coffee isn’t consumed frequently, you can grind or divide the coffee powder into smaller portions.

Coffee brewing methods

The general brewing methods for household coffee use include: Hand Drip coffee, Siphon pot coffee, Moka Pot coffee, French press pot coffee, and Espresso coffee.

1. Hand drip coffee

First, warm the coffee cup and brewing appliance. Fold in half along the bottom and side threads of the filter paper. Open the filter and place it on the filter cup. Measure the coffee powder and pour it into the filter paper. Shake the filter cup to make the surface of the coffee powder smooth and flat. Add hot water (~90 degrees Celsius) till it wets the surface of the coffee evenly and slowly. Let it steam for 20-30 seconds while pouring the hot water slowly from the center to the rim 2-3 times. Finish by completing a circle from the edges to the center.

2. Siphon Pot coffee

The siphon pot has been around for 200 years. It has a beautiful shape with a complex and exquisite structure. The brewed coffee is clear, leaves no residual grains, and the taste is clean and rich, but its usage is not easy to master. The structure of the siphon pot is composed of upper and lower pots that are connected by a pipe in the middle. The flower pot filled with hot water will be first heated by an alcohol or gas lamp, and the water will continue to be supported on the upper pot by consistent steam.

During the brewing process, when the water temperature is too high, the coffee powder will be burnt, resulting in a bitter taste. Long-term steeping will produce astringency, and excessive stirring will produce a sour taste. So, using a siphon pot is a tool that requires considerable experience to be used properly.

3. Moka pot coffee

The Moka pot adopts a one-piece design that is elegant and has a generous shape. It displays high-end beauty, exquisite operation, it’s precise, and can also brew high-quality coffee. It is more suitable for family use, and nowadays, many Moka pots are on the market that can be used directly on induction cookers.

Moka pots are generally used to brew deeper roasted coffee beans. The flavor of the coffee produced by this tool is strong, and the coffee is more comfortable to drink (somewhere between espresso and siphon coffee).

4. French press pot coffee

Representative of lazy people, the French press is very simple to use. It has various sizes and shapes and can be used for a single cup or more. It is self-contained, and except for using the pot itself when brewing, there is no other prep required.

The basic configuration of the French press is the same: a bottle cap, a plunger attached to the top for easy pouring, and a coffee filter at the bottom to prevent powder from mixing into the coffee. Without much skill at all, the original flavor of coffee can be completely preserved!

5. Espresso coffee

Many researchers now believe that the key ingredients for making espresso coffee include milk froth production and coffee garnish. But the most important thing for Italian coffee is the extraction of espresso, which has become the preferred brewing method for almost all coffee shops.

Espresso is the quickest way to extract coffee. The equipment is also the most expensive. The average speed of a cup of espresso coffee is 30 seconds. The steps included are also very simple. Most uses are used as a base for other fancy coffee.

Each cup of espresso (Italian concentrate) extraction is an artful conversation between classical craftsmanship and modern technology. The appearance and taste of each cup of espresso is also a typical report of the physical examination of coffee beans.

The high-pressure method involves allowing steam to quickly pass through the coffee powder. In turn, this extracts the aromatic coffee. Add the coffee powder to the middle coffee compartment, add water to the lower pot, close the upper and lower pots, and add heat to the lower pot. The water evaporates and is then poured out for drinking.

Coffee filter selection

Paper coffee filter

Coffee filter paper is the most traditional single-time use filter product. The extremely dense paper fibers are used to retain the ground coffee beans and coffee powder. Filter the coffee into the cup to get a clean coffee solution. The filter paper can also filter the coffee terpene esters, most plant organic products, and good filter papers can filter out impurities. The taste of the coffee is also brighter and fresher.

But the main problem is that if the coffee brewing method is done incorrectly without pre-wetting and preheating the filter paper, your coffee may taste a bit “papery.”

Advantages: Very convenient, throw away after use, can change brands, the taste is clean and fresh.

Disadvantages: Not environmentally friendly, paper without bleach will have a paper smell, coffee bean oils will also be filtered out, resulting in a rich-less feeling and coffee taste.

Coffee filter cloth

Usually used with a flannel filter cloth, the Chemex hand punch pot is a Siphon type of coffee maker that is troublesome to clean and store. If oils on the filter cloth are not cleaned, it will affect the taste over time. It is a bit more troublesome to store in the refrigerator, and it cannot be used many times throughout the day. There is a residual taste of coffee somewhere between metal and filter paper that requires balancing the advantages of the two.

Suggestion: The filter cloth needs to be cleaned and preserved. Otherwise, the smell of the cloth may come through. It is recommended to use baking soda powder to clean it. The flannel filter cloth has better permeability and thermal insulation, and the aroma and taste of the brewed coffee are both saturated and rich.

Advantages: The fiber is thicker than the filter paper, and the oil will remain for a longer period of time, resulting in the water and coffee coming into contact and fusing.

Disadvantages: It is not easy to store, it requires time and labor, and it requires more practice and skill.

Metal coffee filter

The metal coffee filter types include single funnel, chassis, and bracket models.

Metal coffee filter characteristics

1. The entire filter shell is made of high-quality food-grade 304 stainless steel mesh that is both strong and durable! The bottom piece has a water outlet design. The flow of water passes through more smoothly, ensuring the taste of hand-made coffee. The chassis is designed as a lucky four-leaf clover.
2. Double-layer filter structure can filter 99.9% of coffee grounds more effectively, ensuring the delicate and high-quality coffee taste.
3. Easy to clean. No need for filter papers. The chassis and skeleton design concept are both beautiful and clean.

The most important advantages of coffee made using a “coffee metal filter” are “strong coffee aroma” and “environmental protection.”

1. Ecological and environmental protection: Unlike disposable paper filters, it is ecological and environmentally friendly, more robust, and can be used permanently. Therefore, from a long-term perspective, metal filters are more economical and practical.
2. Taste:Paper filter papers contain grease and produce a weak sweet coffee flavor that will be absorbed into the paper. But if using metal coffee filters, there will be more fat content in the coffee, and the taste will be more mellow and full. If you like thick coffee, it is best to go with a metal filter.

When you want to enjoy rich coffee, a metal filter will be your perfect partner.

Please also recommend it to people who like to drink coffee, it will give them a different and enjoyable coffee experience.

Which coffee filter produces the best taste? It is perhaps the most critical and the most common concern of customers. Different coffee filters produce a completely different taste. Since the metal filter does not filter out coffee alcohol, the oil content in coffee will be greater and the taste of the coffee will be more mellow and full. If you like thick coffee, it is best to choose a metal filter.

But if you prefer fresh and bright coffee, your best bet is to go with filter paper.

Whether you can make a cup of delicious coffee that suits your taste depends on many factors. We have introduced the influence and characteristics of coffee beans, brewing types, and different coffee filters. Do you have other thoughts about the taste of coffee made with different brewing methods and filters?

Remember to choose the method that best suits your ideal coffee taste!