Filtering out the best advice on brewing coffee at home
FRESNO, Calif.—The recession hasn’t been kind to you coffee lovers.
Faced with thinner wallets, fewer of you head to coffee shops for a daily fix. As a result, you’re buying coffee from supermarkets and local roasters, then trying to duplicate the experience at home.
To help these coffee lovers get the most out of their home-brewing experience, some roasters are holding classes.
Jo Ann Sorrenti, owner of Sierra Nut House in Fresno, Calif., does not charge students. She plays a video about coffee cultivation, then walks students through the process of making a great cup—from roasting to serving.
Of course, different roasters have different philosophies, so it pays to talk to a number of them. Here are some tips. Shawn Steiman, a Hawaii-based coffee scientist and consultant, rounds out their advice.
For the best flavor, skip the big brands at the supermarkets. They’ll let coffee sit on the shelves for months.
You want freshly roasted products. Buy only enough coffee to last two to three weeks, since it degrades quickly.
“When you start to drink coffees that are 3 weeks old instead of 2 months old, you’ll eventually be able to tell the difference,” Steiman says.
Get these products directly from local roasters. If they stock other stores, ask how often they add new products. Also, ask your roaster about a coffee’s flavor, acidity, aroma, aftertaste, and sweetness—all characteristics used by the coffee industry to evaluate products.
A key decision while buying coffee is choosing whole bean or ground products. Ideally, you’ll want to buy whole beans, because they maintain their flavor far longer than ground coffee.
But, if you don’t know how to properly grind coffee, let your roaster do it.
Roasters have a variety of opinions on how to store coffee. Sorrenti, for example, refrigerates ground coffee for a week. “In a week’s time, it doesn’t lose flavor,” she says.
James Jessen, co-owner of Tazzaria Coffee&Tea in Visalia, doesn’t like the refrigerator because food inside can transfer odors to coffee. He prefers storing coffee in an airtight container in a cool, dark area. Ground coffee will last for a week, while whole beans will last two to three weeks.
Or, if you freeze coffee, take out only what you need, let it come to room temperature, then brew it, Jessen says.
Scientists are just as varied in their opinions. “There is no definitive answer,” Steiman says. “We haven’t agreed on one.”
He recommends storing coffee in airtight packaging. Once you open the bag, transfer the coffee to an airtight glass or ceramic jar.
But how to brew? Most brewing methods require water heated between 195 and 205 degrees. But you don’t have to use a thermometer to get a good cup of coffee.
For example, when using a French press pot, Steiman boils water until it bubbles vigorously, takes it off the heat, and waits about 20-30 seconds before brewing coffee.
Drip coffeemakers also bring up the question of which filters to use: gold, stainless steel, white paper or brown paper. Some folks, such as Sorrenti, can taste the chemicals from white paper in her coffee. She likes the gold filters because they last a long time, and they don’t impart off flavors.
Whichever method you use, always use water that doesn’t have any off flavors.
“Since brewed coffee is 95 to 98 percent water, using bad tap water will produce bad coffee,” Steiman says.
And be sure to clean your equipment well after each use. Coffee leaves an oily residue that can turn rancid. Steiman prefers using soap and water, while Sorrenti uses distilled vinegar and water. In any case, wash everything well to eliminate any off flavors.
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