A confession, I'm an addict
Their are few drinks as satisfying and hard to make as a good cup of coffee.
A so so coffee variety can make a decent coffee if properly prepared and brewed. A really good coffee variety can very easily - in fact too easily be turned into a horribly cup of coffee. Their is no hope for bad coffee beans or a badly roasted bean.
How long do various coffee beans last?
Green beans
can be stored for around 12 months with bags or glass jars. Stored in a cool 60 degree area, out of the light. I like a glass container such as a mason jar for short term amonth or so. Longer term 2-12 months a mason jar with a oxyegen absorber. If you really want to store them long term a mylar bag with o2 absorber and food vaccuum, they will last 20-25 years. Oxygen is not your friend here, oxygen oxidizes the bean and that leads to being stale.
Roasted beans
if you buy pre roasted beans buy them in the mylar vented bags, or if you buy from one of the kiosk where you pick what you want and they are dropped in a bag and the provided bag is not the mylar vented when you get home put them in a glass jar.
The bad news is roasted beans start getting stale after 24-48 hours after roasting. The first 24-48 hours allows the beans to off gas co2 which improves the flavor. The good news is you will probably not notice staleness until 6-8 weeks after roasting. So buy smaller bags and you will have great to good coffee for 6-8 weeks.
Ground Coffee
Oh boy where to go with this one. You can find people that say 3-5 months. I’m call BULL on that. After 2 weeks I can taste stale and after that, donate it to your garden. The new plastic cans are horrid, they breath, coffee picks up the plastic flavor, the old metal cans at least did not let air in and taint the coffee with plastic taste. I admit I’ve spoiled myself but to say ground coffee lasts for 3-5 months is just wrong. Maybe the ole taste buds are dead?
Coffee is a true pleasure and lift me up and with the craziness in the world today we all deserve some pleasure in life - even if its a simple cup of coffee.
You maybe wondering why I never mention plastic containers. Well plastic breathes and off gases so your beans or ground coffee will get stale sooner.
It all is in the brewing methods once your beans are properly stored and roasted.
1. Drip coffee maker
Drip coffee makers are easy, cheap, and quick. The old saying you can have have it cheap or you can have it good, but not both applies.
Drip coffee makers range from $10.00 to over $100.00 Sure the more expensive ones use better material, some use copper piping vs the cheap ones that are all plastic except the element and the warmer. And yes the more expensive ones can make better coffee but still they lack the ability to bring out the subtle flavors of different coffees.
Drip coffee makers do have the advantage of being able to use more or less coffee according to taste.
Kuerig
Not a drip not a pour over, so who knows?
Quick, consistant, easy. Consistancy is the big plus on these, but you only have one strength. Great number of varietes. Great for single cup but if you’re having friends over its a process. I’ve had good coffee and bad coffee with Keurigs, I’ve never owned one but family and some offices have them. So not an expert by any stretch.
Machine pour over
What is a machine pour over? It is a coffee maker that attempts to mimic manual pour over coffee. Their are numerous coffee makers that imitate pour over coffee. These pups can run $200-$400. Moccamaster, KitchenAid makes one their are others. I’ve used the MochaMaster, for a machine pour over its a decent enough machine, but at $250.00 and up I have other toys I’d like to ad to my arsenal of toys.
They precisely control water temperature and unlike drips they distribute the water better and in spurts. Put some water over the grounds, stop, let bloom, more water, stop repeat several times. This lets the coffee release its oils and solids making coffee what it is.
Siphon Coffee maker.
My mom and dad had one, its fascinating to watch and since it brews / simmers so to speak it does release the oils and solids that make good coffee. It produces a vibrant coffee bringing out flavors that cannot be imitated by a drip brewer. It produces a clean bright crisp cup of coffee. The water is heated and is pushed to the top bowl where the coffee grounds are and the grounds are allowed to immerse and release their oils and solids. The change of pressure and force of gravity then vacuums the coffee downwards through the filter to the bottom flask. This method produces a superior taste that avoids boiling the coffee, which is why syphon coffee makers are widely celebrated for brewing some of the best, purest coffee.
From $40.00 to $250.00+ they all look like Rube Goldberg contraptions they are however cool and make great coffee. Visitors will be raving about the coffee and the coffee maker.
4.French press
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Pretty simple device that makes good to great coffee. They can be a mess to clean. I call them drain cloggers, as dumping them in the trash invaribly leads to a leaking bag you carry across the house so you get your bending over excersize cleaning up the drips. Or you pour them down the drain and clog your drain or if you’re on a septic system you can kill off your drain field. I’ve used them, I own one but am not wild about it. one or two cups at a time. $15.00 to around $50.00
Pour over
Hario Switch
This is a glass unit with a switch that keeps the water and coffee together to immerse the grounds and pull the oils and solids. I would get the #3, its larger. Single cup. Uses regular filters. Around $35.00 Similar to Bonavita pour over but a better build. I had a Bonavita, the letting the coffee brew and then opening to let it run out produces better than drip or machine pour overs. The Bonavita had a overly complicated switch that broke easily.
Pour overs without switch
Plastic, porcelian or metal. Single cups $10.00 to $30.00 I use this type. Makes a good cup of coffee, its simple, uses standard filters. Would be better if coffee and water could set for 3-5 minutes before dumping, that’s why I’d get the switch. For camping their is a collapsable silicone one that works well.
Chemex
This makes even bad coffee beans drinkable. Chemex is a pour over, it requires their filters, and the filters have everything to do with making a great coffee. Its a heavy paper so it takes the solids out better than the regular store filters. I mean these things make memorable coffee. I have had friends over and they cannot believe the flavor profile from this pour over, they literally rave over it and when we are out for dinner they even talk about how great the coffee was. Its simple, nothing to wear out, it will last generations as long as you don’t drop it as it is heavy glass. It brings out the nuances of the variety of coffee you use. $40.00-$60.00
On to doing pour over
Doing pour over is not hard, its time consuming. With the Hario its a 3-5 minute process. Chemex 7-10 minutes
Ideally you should use a goose neck kettle. $50.00 to $100.00+
I use just a regular electric kettle, $20.00-$50.00
The difference? the goose neck concentrates the water so you can do a better job of soaking the grounds. Most also have temperature controls
195 degrees is ideal for coffee, boiling is a no no as it releases the bitterness, much cooler than 195 and the flavors stay locked up. So its a delicate dance - or a Goldilocks operation. You start by slowly pouring into the center and swirl around moving your way to the outside of the grounds. No too much water, just a few drops should fall through, let set for a minute or two and repeat, another minute or so pour more water on to the grounds for 6 cups you will stretcht this process to around 7-10 minutes . So multiple times you will pour water over the grounds and let drain.
One you have the Chemex to 6 cups or whatever your Chemex holds you are ready to serve some of the best coffee ever.
My preference?
The Chemex and Hario are what I use daily. The Chemex is my favorite but the Hario is the work horse. Since I’m the only coffee drinker in my house 6 cups is excessive for breakfast or dinner. The Hario makes a decent cup of coffee but still lags behind the Chemex. I would like to get a siphon but I have a induction cooktop and their are none that I have seen and really, while not a total pain like the french press they do require more than a quick rinse like the Hario and Chemex.
At the end of the day
Of course the better the beans the better the coffee, its all about your taste buds now. Like a lot of things in life, quality takes time. With all the crazy stuff going on in the world, which I am still writing about, a great cup of coffee is a welcomed sanity in an insane time.
In a future stack I will cover different bean varieties ( the number of varieties is simply amazing) and roasting them - the various methods to roast them - different levels of roast bring out different flavor even with in the same bean, grind size and the equipment. This is where its really at for great coffee each and everytime. Roasting your own gets you fresh not stale coffee, and roasted to your tastes, not burnt, not under roasted - roasted just right for you by you. The store bought roasted beans while okay once you roast your own you will not buy them. A lot of times they are weeks to months old, once roasted coffee degrades after a couple of weeks - thus stale flavor. Of course if you burn them you cannot taste the stale - I guess that’s a good reason to burn them and why so many of the store bought roasted beans are burnt.