As I’m writing this article, I’m enjoying the best gourmet coffee on the planet. No brag, just fact. Talk about soul satisfyingly good. This is the epitome of comfort food and exactly what God had in mind when he made the coffee plant.
Author: Russell Volz
So, how do you make the best coffee ever? Well, before you can make the best coffee ever, you have to decide what great coffee tastes like. I mean, it’s like many things in life. It depends on what you like. Some people like industrial coffee that’s burnt and bitter, others like it smooth and flavorful.
In the old days, prior to WWI, people purchased raw green coffee, roasted it themselves to a medium brown, and brewed it in a matter of days. And what they got, was a very smooth and naturally sweet coffee. Burnt and bitter coffee was unheard of back then.
So, if we’re not shooting for burnt and bitter and instead want smooth and flavor, i.e., the best gourmet coffee, then there’s a few simple steps to follow.
Best Gourmet Coffee Step-by-Step
#1 Best Coffee Beans
Start your best gourmet coffee with top quality whole bean organic coffee. The difference in price between organic beans and chemically treated beans is minimal, yet the quality difference can be easily tasted.
So, since you’re probably already purchasing the best coffee beans right here at Lake City Coffee, you’re all set.
#2 Fresh Roasted Beans
Make sure that your gourmet coffee was roasted less than 4 weeks ago. Remember this. Old coffee is bitter coffee. The fresher the roast, the better the coffee. I personally, won’t touch a coffee bean that’s over two weeks old and nothing beats coffee that’s two or three days old. That’s why we roast and FedEx our coffee the same day. Make sure that your coffee beans aren’t over roasted. If it’s black, then it’s not worth drinking.
#3 Grind
Don’t grind your coffee beans until you’re ready to make your coffee. The minute a coffee bean is ground, the oils start to evaporate. And it’s those oils that have all the good stuff in them; bioflavonoids, antioxidants, caffeine, and taste.
#4 Brewing
Percolate
The only brewing method that I would definitely not recommend is percolating. It has a tendency to make even good fresh roasted coffee to taste bitter.
Drip
I prefer drip with a metal filter. It’s not the best coffee, but it is easy and still pretty darn good.
Cold Brew
Cold brew is perhaps the smoothest and naturally sweetest method. I just coarse-grind a quarter pound of coffee beans and mix it well with a quart of cold water. Then set it in the refrigerator over night. In the morning, just pour off what you want and leave the dregs in the bottom. You don’t have to filter it. Besides, good coffee has a few dregs in the bottom anyway.
Espresso
Espresso is fine. It’s just not my thing. Yet, my wife makes espresso every morning. Oh, and don’t think you need an espresso blend. That’s a bunch of hogwash. Just use your favorite whole bean organic coffee.
AeroPress
Ok, so this is just plane weird. An AeroPress is basically a poor man’s manual espresso machine. I poo-poo’d the whole idea, but after trying it, wow does it make a super smooth cup of coffee. And it’s only $30!
#5 Water
Yah, who’d guess. Use good water. If your water sucks, then get a filter. It really does make a difference.
#6 Condiments
Just for kicks, before you add anything to your coffee, taste it. As a Master Spokane Coffee Roaster, I can confidently say that you’ll probably find your coffee is so smooth and flavorful that you won’t want to add anything.
And for God’s sake, if you put any artificial white powdered creamer in your fresh gourmet coffee, you should at the very least be horse whipped. If you do have to add something, use the real thing! Shhh… don’t tell anyone. I usually add one tablespoon of 40% real cream; just to make the color right.
Well, that’s pretty much it for how to make the best gourmet coffee ever. Bon Appetit!
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