Coffee tips
Buying coffee
When purchasing coffee, check when it was roasted. Many common misconceptions exist when it comes to judging the freshness and optimum time to experience a roasted coffee at its peak of perfection. Generally coffee is best if used a day or two after roasting, and if kept in an air tight container, flavour should not diminish significantly fora couple of weeks. Old coffee beans may appear very oily, will have little or no aroma, or will take on a somewhat unpleasant aroma.
Grinding tips
If you are grinding your own, try not to grind more than you will use for immediate brewing. Once ground, the oils which contain the flavours are exposed to the damaging air. Once ground, coffee will begin to lose its flavour almost immediately. Different methods of brewing will require different grind consistencies. Typically, coffee used for drip brewing should be ground to a consistency similar to granulated sugar. The complete drip cycle should occur within four to six minutes. If the drip cycle is completed in less than four minutes, grind your coffee finer. If the cycle takes longer than six minutes, grind your coffee coarser. When using a French press, the coffee will need to be ground extremely coarse. Espresso requires an extremely fine grind. The key to the proper espresso grind is the extraction time. After the proper dose and tamp, one ounce of espresso should be extracted in approximately 25 to 30 seconds. Like drip coffee, if the extraction occurs in less than 25 seconds, grind your coffee finer. If the extraction occurs in longer than 30 seconds, grind your coffee coarser.
Storing coffee
Don't bother storing your coffee in the refrigerator. Coffee will absorb flavours and aromas from other food products in your refrigerator. Freezing coffee can also have a damaging effect. Coffee should be stored in a clean, dry, airtight container, in a cool, dark place.
Espresso
If you are looking for a decent machine, you need to aim for something that is able to deliver at least 12 bars of pressured steam to extract the coffee. Anything less will result in a fairly poor quality shot, and unhappy faces all round. If you can't afford a full blown machine, the Moka pot method produces a pretty good espresso at a fraction of the cost.
French press
You will want to grind or have your coffee ground to a very coarse consistency for this method. If your grind is too fine, you will over extract your coffee and a bitter flavour may result. It will also be difficult or impossible for you to push the plunger down in your pot if the grind is too fine.