Just about everyone loves a great cup of coffee. Creating excellent coffee is an art, much like creating wonderful and delicious meals. The good news is you can become a coffee expert, too. Use the tips laid out here to brew better coffee or to get better at it.

A French press brews coffee with a rich and robust flavor. In a drip-style machine, the filters take in most of the oils. A French press operates differently. It uses a plunger to concentrate the bean at the lowest point of the pot. The oils stay in the brew making for richer coffee.

Wait until you are ready to brew before grinding your coffee. Ground coffee beans lose their flavor quickly. Your grinder should have a blade attached. Not only will you get a better yield, you will also get grinds that are less powdery (powdered grinds can taste unsavory or bitter).

It can be exciting to stray away from your usual coffee flavor. Try different types each time you purchase coffee. Don’t be afraid of purchasing more than one kind, and always store your coffee grounds or beans in an airtight container for freshness.

When shopping for coffee grinders, try getting one with conical or flat grinding burrs. These grinders reduce produced heat. This lets your coffee remain delicious. Grinders with blades are inconsistent. They generate way too much heat, and can actually burn the beans.

Coffee Beans

If you purchase coffee beans in bulk, you must protect them. You do not want your beans to suffer from heat and light. Additionally, other foods can contaminate unprotected beans. Keep your coffee beans in an opaque, air-tight container.

Keep coffee sealed if you want it to stay fresh. Oxygen can influence how your coffee tastes. That can get it tasting stale and not so fresh. The coffee will taste fresher when sealed away without any chance of oxygen touching it.

To retain the flavor of your freshly brewed coffee, remove the carafe from the burner within 10 minutes. Leaving coffee on the burner longer than ten minutes will make your coffee turn bitter. An airtight thermos or insulated mug is a good option to help keep your coffee nice and warm.

Only use airtight containers to store coffee in your refrigerator. When the container isn’t airtight, odors and flavors from other foods can seep in. If coffee is stored a long time in the wrong container, moisture can also get in.

Sugar is not an option if you suffer from diabetes, so using a substitute can help to sweeten your coffee without effecting your blood sugar levels. Because Stevia uses all-natural sweetening ingredients, it is a healthy way to lighten up your coffee without adding glucose or calories. You can find it at grocery or health food shops.

While placing things in the freezer gives them a pretty long shelf life, keep in mind that any coffee that is in your freezer should only be kept there for up to three months. The quality of the coffee will degrade if it remains in the freezer any longer.

Without any of the fattening ingredients, like cream, coffee can actually assist you in your weight loss endeavors. Adding sugar to your coffee nullifies its fat burning properties. Try to drink black coffee prior to breakfast to easily manage your weight.

If you are having a hard time making the jump over to decaffeinated coffee you are in luck. Substitute decaf beans for part of the regular beans when you brew a pot of coffee. When using pre-ground coffee, simply use an equal amount of each kind in the coffee maker.

You shouldn’t store your coffee in the refrigerator prior to brewing. There is a common misconception that storing coffee in the fridge will preserve it. In reality, the coffee absorbs the other flavors and aromas of the foods in your fridge.

Think carefully about the coffee machine you want to buy in order to brew coffee. Consider that glass carafes may not keep brewed coffee fresh for that long, and French presses produce strong brews. If you’re the only one that drinks coffee at your house, try getting a single-cup brewer.

Iced Coffee

When making iced coffee at home, do not use the traditional method of simply making the coffee and pouring it over ice cubes. This will water down the coffee. Make the coffee as you would normally, then pour the finished brew into an ice tray. Once they are frozen, they are ideal for iced coffee, adding flavor as they melt.

The coffee is the most important factor in how your drink will taste. Look around at stores in your area. Fresh roasted beans are often available. If you cannot find the coffee beans you truly crave, then consider shopping online. Though this route may cost a bit, you are still unlikely to spend as much as you would at a coffee shop for a cup of joe.

When you brew coffee, use water that has gone through a charcoal filter. This will allow you to filter your tap water with charcoal, improving its quality. Another alternative is to buy a coffee machine that has its own built-in filter. Supermarkets and mass merchandisers also sell water filters.

As this article has shown, there is a lot that goes into a perfect cup of coffee. Armed with the tips here, move forward with confidence in becoming a master coffee maker. Practice often and then enjoy the perfection you achieve.