A Simple Cup of Coffee

You're drinking your coffee this morning, and it is either a really good cup, an ok cup, or it's swill. Why is that? What can affect a simple cup of coffee? Now a good many of know and understand what I am going to talk about, but for the rest, you are about to see how complex a cup of coffee can be.

Let's start at the bean level. Was the coffee picked when it was ripe? Did it still have some ripening to go? Was it overripe? Growers hire people to go into the fields and pick coffee. Because the coffee doesn't all ripen at once, the pickers may need to go in a few times. Because they are paid by the amount the pick, they may not be picking the most ripe coffee.

Next, how was the coffee processed. Was it washed or dried properly? Was it out in the sun a bit too long? Was it a natural process? 

Coffee is transported. Was the coffee properly sealed for the journey, or did air get in? Was it placed near anything which could affect its flavor? How long was it sitting on the docks.

The roaster can make or break a coffee. Did they over or under roast? Did they leave a bag of coffee open and exposed to air? How long was the coffee sitting in their warehouse? Were they able to get the roasted coffee out in a timely manner.

Your coffee at home and how you treat it also plays a roll. Where did you get it? Did you look for a roasting date? Considering the freshness of coffee is limited, this is something you need to pay attention to. Was it already ground? Once coffee has been ground, it needs to be brewed fairly soon, or it loses a lot of its flavor, or the flavor changes, due in part the being exposed to oxygen. 

Are you using good water? Are you cleaning your coffee maker? Are you trying different brewing methods? Are you nuking your coffee(if so....stop that). 

My recommendation....make some investments. First, get a coffee grinder, and buy whole bean coffee, and grind it yourself. Buy as fresh as you can coffee. Figure out how you want to brew it, and be really good to that brewer/method. I suggest buying coffee locally. If you have a nearby roaster, get coffee from them, I promise you won't want Folgers, or most Starbucks again. Ditch the K-Cup. On average the K-Cup coffee costs you $51 a lbs. A good bag of whole bean coffee could cost you between $15-$20  a lbs. Plus, with the K-Cup, you are not getting fresh coffee.

So as you can see, there really isn't anything simple about a simple cup of coffee.

Charlie