How do you make coffee?

There are many ways to brew coffee. Below are a few steps to make truly delicious coffee. If you don't have a coffee maker yourself, don't panic: you can also enjoy a nice cup of coffee by placing a filter on a mug, by using a French press, or by brewing coffee with a mug and a tea towel.

Brewing filter coffee with a coffee maker

• Add filtered water or spring water to the reservoir.
  This is not always necessary, by the way: some machines have a fine mesh filter basket that you could use instead of paper filters.
• Use a paper filter and place it in the filter holder.
  This is not always necessary, by the way: some machines have a fine mesh filter basket that you could use instead of paper filters.
• Put the ground coffee in the filter.
  For filter coffee, use coffee with a filter grind. This is a fairly coarse grind. The finer the grind, the faster the coffee components dissolve. Since coffee brewed with an average filter machine has a considerable brewing time, you use this coarser grind, otherwise the coffee will become very bitter. You need 1 tablespoon (7 grams) of ground coffee per cup. If you like strong coffee, you can also use 2 tablespoons (14 grams) per cup. Just experiment with this and see what strength of taste you like best!

Tip: For the best coffee, you can grind the coffee beans yourself first.

• Now the coffee can be brewed.
  Slide the filter back into place or close the lid (depending on the machine you have). Turn on the coffee maker and wait until the coffee is brewed. How long that will take depends on how much water you have put in the reservoir. In most cases, this will take about 5 minutes.
• Turn off the coffee maker.
  After the machine is off, you need to remove the filter and discard the coffee grounds.
• Pour the cup of coffee.
  You typically pour the coffee black, but you can sweeten it with, for example: milk, sugar, or cream.
   

Supplies:

• Coffee maker
• Whole coffee beans or ground coffee
• Coffee grinder (if you want to grind beans)
• Coffee filter
• Filtered water or spring water

Tips for the best taste in your cup of coffee:

• Buy fresh roasted coffee beans of good quality. You can buy ground coffee, but it is much better if you grind the beans just before using them. This is because ground coffee loses its freshness faster than coffee beans.
  Store the beans properly and preferably use them within a week.
• Use a good quality coffee filter. Don't buy cheap coffee filters, as these coffee filters can eventually affect the taste of the coffee.
  Use filtered water or spring water. If you use tap water, let the tap run for a few seconds first.
• Make sure the water is warm enough. The water you ultimately use should be between 91 and 97 degrees Celsius. Water that is too hot or too cold will result in foul (sometimes bitter) tasting coffee.
  Don't wait too long to pour your coffee. The longer you wait, the less flavour the coffee will have. If you store the brewed coffee in a thermos, drink it within 1 hour.
• Keep the machine clean. Rinse the pot and filter (if you use a reusable filter) thoroughly. Then wipe them dry with a clean cloth and put everything back in its place. This way you can prevent coffee residues and coffee oils from building up, as this can make your coffee taste increasingly bitter.

Want to know more about coffee? Read here what to look for when buying coffee beans.