
How to Make Perfect Coffee - jonbaer
http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2013/08/how-to-make-perfect-coffee/278944/
======
philip1209
This article attempts to delve into the world of hand-brewed coffee, which
became a trend in the professional barista world after Starbucks acquired the
Coffee Equipment Company for its Clover Machine in 2008. The Clover was an
$11,000 coffee maker that allowed for the precise digital control of every
aspect of the brewing process. When Starbucks yanked the machine from the
market for exclusive use in their stores, the coffee industry rebounded to
more analog brewing methods that relied on the art and craft of the brewer. By
providing pourover bars with $12 ceramic funnels in place of $50K espresso
machines or $10K brewers, baristas strived for perfect coffee through
individuality, as they highlighted method, bean, and flavor. What this article
attempts to highlight is the fact that this hand-brewed coffee equipment is
both accessible and affordable, thus allowing home brewers the opportunity to
appreciate the effects of coffee freshness, grind, temperature, and proportion
during the brewing process.

The article could be drastically improved by highlighting the bisection
between immersion and pourover brewing methods in hand-brewed coffee.
Immersion methods, like the French Press, leave all coffee beans in the full
quantity of water for the brew time, and by using filters that remove only
coffee grounds, produce a flavorful, full-bodied cup of coffee with natural
oils. Pourover methods, such as the Chemex or the V60, generally combine the
use of a paper filter with a specific coffee grind to limit the rate at which
water flows through the coffee, generally in a cone-shape, which results in a
"clean" (less oily) cup of coffee with more fruity and citrusy flavors. The
line between immersion and pourover coffees is blurred by hybrid brewing
methods such as the Aeropress or the Syphon, which mix ground beans and water
for the full brewing time, then extrude through a filter that extracts oils
from the coffee.

To get started in the world of hand-brewed coffee, I suggest the Aeropress and
a burr handgrinder (total <$40). This combination allows full experimentation
into the effects of grind size and extraction time on coffee flavor. The next
step would be acquiring a scale, to perfect the proportion of coffee and
water. A thermometer would then provide insight into the variable of water
temperature, which generally is about ten degrees Farenheit below boiling.
Moving forward, the brewer learns about the benefits of preheating the device,
the speed of extraction (here, plunging) and its effect on flavor, and about
the freshness of beans based on the bloom period of the coffee.

~~~
harrytuttle
I don't get all this fanfare over coffee with respect to all these processes
and equipment etc. In a blind taste test, much like wine, I reckon a lot of it
is the knowledge and observation of the process rather than flavour or the
outcome.

For me, a dirty knackered Bodum french press bought in a charity shop in 1997
for £1 and the cheapest value brand ground coffee the supermarket sells works.
Sometimes I can't be bothered with that and just instant.

Perhaps I'm sad but I've spent the last decade playing a game with people.
When I lie about the coffee's _heritage_ just to see, they remark that it's
good. If they do know the genuine story, they make no remark. I've even thrown
some instant in a cup or two next to people drinking pressed as a control and
there is still a consensus.

YMMV but I think it's mainly hokum.

Suppose I better tell them all now :)

~~~
goostavos
>I think it's mainly hokum.

Ha! I completely agree. Drink snobbery, whether relating to coffee, beer,
wine, or [insert beverage here], has always seemed like confirmation bias in
action. Is Startbucks _really_ undrinkable sludge to some people, or is only
that way because of that sweet, sweet feeling of smug superiority that they
feel when they say it?

I am one of the few that is nerdy enough to blind test myself and friends with
things that have an entire culture of snobs around them -- a trait which I
picked up after working in the audio industry for years (where people will
believe and argue to the death about magical cable properties (give me
measurements, or give me death!)).

If I could assemble enough coffee samples, I would love to put myself under
test and see if one is empirically "better" to my taste buds. However,
logistically it's not possible.

That said, beer and wine is readily available, transportable, and easily
testable! So, my girlfriend and I set up a tasting night a few months ago. We
grabbed a 6 pack of every cheap beer in the grocery store (pbr, miller lite,
Natural Ice, bud, etc..), and then a whole range of wines -- everything from
the $70 2011 wine of the year, to a $3 ABC brand bottle. We randomized each
trial, poured the wines into glasses and then left the room so others could
enter so we wouldn't influence their decisions (our attempt at setting up a
double blind test). We had people log their impressions of each one, and then
attempt to rate them in ascending order of "quality."

After 4 or 5 trials (it stopped being fun around the 3rd set of trails) we
called it quits and looked at everyone's results. It was pretty interesting.
In with cheep beer, there was only one consistent looser, and that with Miller
Lite (I honestly expected it to be Natural Ice), the rest were all randomly
distributed. No one could tell one from the other -- or if one was better than
the other -- with any reliability. It actually made it a little frustrating
while testing, as some people (including me) though they were being messed
with by having several glasses all with the same beer.

The wine had similar results. No clear winner. Result were all over the place
with the "best" tasting wine being different for each person each time. With
my pallet, I couldn't discern one as being "better," so much as just
"different." This one is a little more X, while this one is a little more Y.
It was an interesting experience. So, moral of the story, I only buy cheap
wine now, because I honestly can't taste the difference. That $70 bottle
wasn't even distinguishable from the rest.

I've rambled, but I highly suggest self testing! It's fun, and I can now say
that, empirically, Miller lite is undrinkable piss water to my taste buds :)

~~~
cypherpunks01
Beer snob here, with a nitpick!

The beers you picked (PBR, miller, bud, etc) are _all_ one single beer style,
which BeerAdvocate classifies as an American Adjunct Lager. I'm not at all
surprised that you couldn't tell one from another, but if you picked beers out
of a wide variety of styles, I'm positive your taste buds could differentiate
them.

American Adjunct Lagers:
[http://beeradvocate.com/beer/style/38](http://beeradvocate.com/beer/style/38)

All Beer Styles:
[http://beeradvocate.com/beer/style](http://beeradvocate.com/beer/style)

~~~
goostavos
Right, right. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that all beer is the same!
The specific thing under test was the assertion that some of the "shitty"
beers are better than others -- the stuff you can get a 12 pack of for under
$10. The thing that spawned the test was someone objecting to me picking up a
pack of Coors because it was on sale, to which I asserted that all of the
cheap stuff is indistinguishable from one another, and thus snobbery is not
needed. Which ultimately lead to our science throw down.

It was a very narrowly scoped test.

------
tmoertel
I can understand how people can read an article like this and think it's too
much work or money to get a good cup of coffee. And many folks, including lots
of programmers, view coffee as a utility beverage and are okay drinking
anything that's drinkable. It's for these people that I wrote "The Coder's
Guide to Coffee," [1] aiming for the sweep spot of _cheap, easy, and pretty
damn good._

Although I wrote it in 2002, the recommendation hasn't changed:

1\. Buy only whole-bean coffee roasted within the last few days.

2\. Grind it fresh, just before brewing. (Yes, a cheap "whirly blade" grinder
is fine.)

3\. Brew it in a French press or a pour-over filter using fresh water, off the
boil.

That's it, in a nutshell.

I've gotten criticism for claiming that a cheap blade grinder is fine, but
it's true. You can make better coffee using a better grinder, but just using
_any_ grinder lets you ditch pre-ground coffee, which is almost always stale,
and switch to brewing with fresh coffee, ground on the spot. That one change
produces a huge jump in quality. And I'd rather you experience that jump, even
if you can't justify more than $10 on your grinder.

The other thing I'd add is that if I had written the Guide today, I probably
would have included the AeroPress. It makes really good coffee, but there's a
bit of a learning curve before it becomes an easy, reliable brewing method.

[1] [http://blog.moertel.com/posts/2002-04-25-coders-guide-to-
cof...](http://blog.moertel.com/posts/2002-04-25-coders-guide-to-coffee.html)

~~~
matt__rose
I don't even think you need the french press. My method for making fantastic
coffee is simple Buy fresh-roasted beans Grind, then _immediately_.. Throw in
a standard drip coffee-maker. Have my morning shower. Enjoy

~~~
shoover
Not bad. Agreed on fresh-roasted beans being the most important factor. The
smell of stale preground coffee drip brewed can ruin my day, but fresh ground
brewed the same way isn't so bad.

Still, I prefer the pourover/Aeropress style and if given the option will the
standard drip machine as a pourover conversion. Just swing open the filter
basket, put the coffee in a standard filter, and pour over hot water, letting
it drop down into the carafe or a mug. Make it concentrated and top off with
water.

~~~
tripzilch
no stirring? I always stir while the water is seeping through my pourover.

i should probably do some taste testing on that myself, but it seems most
logical that you need to stir at least _once_ , to make sure all the coffee
gets wet.

~~~
shoover
I stir in the aeropress but not the pourover. I basically use this technique:
[http://stumptowncoffee.com/brew-
guides/chemex](http://stumptowncoffee.com/brew-guides/chemex).

------
cheald
I drink enough coffee that I've been working on finding better ways to prepare
it.

Good beans matter a lot. I typically like medium roasts, since dark roasts
often taste burnt, while light roasts end up tasting too weak. I also tend to
not like Indonesian beans, since they tend to have too much peaty taste for my
liking. That said, I've been drinking Kicking Horse dark roast[1] lately and
it's quite good. Lots of flavor, nice oily beans, no burnt taste.

I boil water, then grind my beans after removing it from heat, which means
that the water has cooled to around 195 by the time I pour it. The brew
happens in a thermally insulated French press, which maintains the water
temperature while it brews. It makes a remarkably smooth, flavorful cup of
coffee.

[1]
[http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0027Z8VES](http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0027Z8VES)

~~~
philip1209
I think you'll find that dark roasts are popular now because they have a more
robust, classic coffee flavor that stands up to the fat of milk. Lighter
roasts seem to come off as citrusy and less flavorful for two reasons. First,
roasters tend to use V60s to profile their beans, and the V60
disproportionately removes citrus flavor. The second reason is that many
people drink their coffee immediately after brewing, when in fact the flavor
completely opens up after the coffee cools down to about 140 degrees (about
the temperature of a hot water faucet in a home).

Try a darker roast if you put cream and sugar in your coffee. If you have a
lighter roast, be sure to let it cool down to appreciate its benefits. If you
buy a medium roast, keep in mind that each type of bean is unique, and certain
beans have unique qualities that are highlighted by their roast, so don't
assume that the flavors you enjoy are particular to the "medium" roast.

Finally, keep in mind that lighter-roast coffees actually have the most
caffeine. This is because heating the coffee breaks down the caffeine
molecule, so the longer the roast process and the darker the roast, the more
caffeine is broken down.

~~~
cheald
In general, I shoot for medium roasts just because they're safer - I like the
richer flavors from dark roasts, but most dark roasts are just burnt, which
makes for a really bitter and unpleasant cup. You're absolutely right about
the range of flavors, though - I tend to like nutty coffees (not nut-
flavored), and citrus/floral/peaty tend to be less appealing to me. Light
roasts seem to accent lighter flavors, like citrus, whereas the darker to
roast, the more accented the round, full flavors like peat and nut tend to be.

I actually drink my coffee black (for health reasons; I realized that I was
taking in a ton of daily calories in milk and sugar) which is what motivated
me to find better coffee. When you're masking the flavor of the coffee with
additives, it's easier to get by with bad coffee, but when it's just the brew
itself, the tastes matter a lot more.

The lighter roast = more caffeine thing is actually (kind of) a myth; you get
less caffeine per bean, but since the dark roasting process removes more
water, you actually end up with a higher caffeine-by-volume content in darker
roasts. If you're using the same volume of coffee per pot (say, 4 tbsp), then
you may actually end up with more caffeine from a dark roast, since
substantially more of that 4tbsp will be the coffee itself rather than water
left unextracted from the bean. However, the caffeine differences between
something like a robusta vs an arabica bean are very significant, so if you
need more or less caffeine, you can pick a roast you like with a bean that
gives you the caffeine you desire.

------
ams6110
I don't know if it's perfect, but you can do far worse than an Aeropress. It
will make a really good americano with ordinary supermarket coffee, and an
awesome one with good coffee.

~~~
deckiedan
I've been using areopresses for a few years now and absolutely love it. I
still make cafatiere (french press), stovetop and occasionally vacuum-pot
(usually if we have a lot of guests) but areopress is extremely good, and
somehow makes even cheaper pre-ground supermarket coffee taste many times
better.

------
nrivadeneira
You want to know how to make a perfect cup of coffee? It's easy. Make yourself
perfect and then just brew naturally.

EDIT: Jeez, downvoters clearly have never read Zen and the Art of Motorcycle
Maintenance.

~~~
visakanv
I can't downvote you, but I would if I could.

Here's why: [http://blog.bumblebeelabs.com/social-software-
sundays-2-the-...](http://blog.bumblebeelabs.com/social-software-
sundays-2-the-evaporative-cooling-effect/)

TL;DR:

Witty comments might be funny but promoting them is anathemic to serious
discussion (in the long run). You can always go to Reddit if you're out to be
witty and funny. I realize this sounds harsh and dismissive, I apologize for
the tone. (Interwebs and all.)

~~~
hudibras
But I think you also have to take into account the context of the comment. A
glib comment would seem out of place in a more "HN-centric" post about VC or
Scala or something, but when a fun story about, say, brewing coffee makes the
front page I think the comment standards should naturally loosen up.

------
selectstar
Grinders are so important with hand crafted, I've not dropped the $350+ on a
Mahlkonig, and I go through a bag a week, so I'm happy to have the store
grind. I do have a porlex hand grinder for times when I order a bean based
pack from somewhere online, but it's time consuming.

One simple 'hack' for using a french press, as I prefer, is that when pouring
the water over only pour enough to cover the grounds. Then stir/shake this
around and let it sit for 30 seconds. Then pour over the rest of the water and
leave for 4 mins without stiring.

I don't know the science behind it I'm afraid as I read this tip a long time
ago, but that inital absorption rather than drowning - leads to a smoother
cup. (in my opinion.)

Oh, and support your local roasters! I'm lucky that in my small city there is
half a dozen independent companies knocking out great quality beans. For all
the staff in their shops may look like the kind of people you don't want to
ask a question of, do it, they probably really love coffee and will be able to
help your home brew immensely.

\--Edit : Beans from Peru are my fav at the momement, give them a shot. :)

~~~
e12e
My guess: Less water means less heat energy, meaning you don't "overheat" the
coffee as badly. It tends to bring out the bitter taste. You find similar
things with (proper) tea -- I suppose most infusions.

If you only have one french press it might be difficult to experiment; but
like the top comment says; if you want to find out why, getting a thermometer
might help (or a timer -- boil water and leave it to cool for x minutes before
pouring -- would be somewhat harder to replicate with different ambient
temperatures and different vessel, though).

------
rdtsc
Coffee is a drug and an obsession.

It affects mood & brain function rather strongly compared to other legal non-
prescription drugs (alcohol for example being another). I am not surprised
there are quite a few people who shell out thousands of dollars on hand
crafted espresso machines.

It is pretty interesting. I can see why. I drink coffee and tea and I find
myself day dreaming about my next cup of coffee. That is pretty weird. I never
did any drugs so I guess that must be a one of the "signs" of addiction? ;-)

Speaking of perfect coffee, there is this latest craze out there and that
brewing cold coffee. Not ice coffee as in brewing coffee with hot water and
pouring over ice but instead let coffee steep in the refrigerator for 8+ hours
with cold water. This is nothing new but I feel I keep hearing about it more
lately. I tried it and it is actually pretty good. It is like a completely
different drink. There is minimal bitterness and just a different taste
profile. Try it the next time, put the grounds in your french press with cold
water, stir it, but don't press it, put it the refrigerator for 8+ hours and
then pour it over ice.

------
techtalsky
The best coffee I've been able to make at home is with a red plastic #4 cone
filter holder and a large mason jar, slowly pouring boiled water over the
grounds until the jar is full. Now they have those fancy looking chemex ones
for $60 and I'm sure they make good coffee as well. I was seduced by the
inferior coffee of a coffe maker because, well, it can have coffee ready for
me when I wake up.

~~~
TheBiv
Forgive my ignorance, but a mason jar can withstand temperatures of 200+
without shattering?

I kind of feel bad asking this bc I have lived my entire life in the south
(Dallas, Texas) so I feel like I should already know the answer; yet I don't.

~~~
cheald
They're frequently used to store jams, which can be quite a bit hotter than
coffee when prepared. It wouldn't surprise me. Just don't plunge it into an
ice bath right after filling it with boiling water.

~~~
teeja
Unless it's one of those rare Pyrex mason jars.

------
jballanc
Interesting article, but they overlooked (or at least downplayed) what I think
is the most important part of good coffee:

> _They should be whole beans, sustainably farmed, and roasted within the past
> few weeks._

Roasted within the past few weeks? How about the past few hours? Seriously, if
you haven't had coffee on the same day it was roasted, you don't know what
you're missing. All the other variables of preparation method fall by the
wayside in the face of the freshness of the roast.

Of course, roasting yourself is not really an option. Still, if you can find
someplace that roasts their own on a regular basis, go for that. (For my part,
I've been spoiled by the fact that almost every dry goods store where I live
roasts their own, usually right in the shop...)

~~~
snowwolf
Actually according to Tim Wendelboe (a former world barista champion) you
should rest fresh roasted beans for a few days to allow it to degas.

From [http://timwendelboe.no/coffee/finca-tamana-
espresso/](http://timwendelboe.no/coffee/finca-tamana-espresso/) "When the
coffee is roasted it develops a lot of CO2 gas inside the beans. This gas will
make the coffee taste smokey and ashy immediately after roasting. It is
absolutely crucial to let the coffee degas and rest for a while before use to
ensure maximum flavour."

He gives a great talk on sourcing high quality beans here:
[http://vimeo.com/69487909](http://vimeo.com/69487909)

~~~
devindotcom
Was going to note this - I asked a local roaster about it and they said yeah,
you're going to taste a lot of carbon dioxide. If you don't know what that
tastes like.. you will.

------
jacques_chester
This was a great read. I am not prepared just yet to deal with the
inconvenience of buying, storing and grinding my own beans, but our household
gets through a small packet of vacuum-sealed preground stuff each week. It's a
workable compromise.

I've prepared coffees with french press (we call them "plungers" in Australia)
and a mini espresso machine. Recently I've been playing with cold brew as
well. Like the article suggests, different methods bring out different notes
in the coffee.

For the next 10 days I am on decaf-only, so cold brewing has made life more
tolerable. Decaf in the espresso machine is like liquid dirt. As a cold brew
it has revealed surprising tastiness.

~~~
cheald
For what it's worth, grinding your own beans is not really any more work than
pre ground. I think it's actually easier, since I don't have to carefully
measure - I just know that I have to cover the blade with beans, and that
turns out to be perfect for my size pot. I just keep my beans in a zip lock in
a cabinet, so they stay dark and cool and air sealed. As a bonus, you can
decide how fine a grind you like per pot.

~~~
lostlogin
The extra step of roasting isn't really that bothersome either. If it takes
more than about 10 minutes you have baked them, any less than about 5 and they
are scorched. Always fresh, very cheap (for me its about $10 New Zealand per
kg versus $14 NZ per 200g) and you rarely run out. I get 5kgs per purchase and
it lasts about 3 months. I use a heat gun ($15NZ) a wooden spoon and an old
colander. Heat them and stir them outside.

~~~
cheald
I've been wanting to try my own roasting, but I've heard that the roasting
beans smell truly vile, and I don't live alone, so I haven't attempted it out
of courtesy. Any guidance there?

~~~
lostlogin
If possible, do it outside. A dark roast will be smokey. It doesn't smell bad,
its more of a burnt toast type smell. The biggest problem is the chaff that
comes off. I finish up by giving myself a quick dust. The beans each shed a
thin layer of their shell as you roast them. If you are doing a dark roast
this can also catch fire. If I was doing a light roast with a small volume of
coffee (say 2 handfuls) I'd do it inside if my wife wasn't too close by.

------
JimmaDaRustla
I have an AeroPress and a Bodum conical burr grinder. Buy beans from local,
independent companies. Grind on medium-fine setting, 200 degree water, 1
AeroPress scoop of ground beans, fill up cylinder, stir 30 seconds, fill up
again, place plunger on top to steep coffee for 30-60 seconds. PRESS SLOWLY
AND GENTLY. Should take approx another 30-60 seconds to press the coffee out.

I freeze my beans, grind 5 days worth at a time, but keep in a extremely air
tight container during those 5 days.

Edit: What I love about AeroPress is that I can buy it from many, local,
independent retailers. The girl I bought it from didn't even know what it was,
or that her store sold it!

~~~
dmckeon
I use an AeroPress when car-camping, and often show it to other campers if
they complain about the difficulty of making decent coffee in the field.

A surprising number (1/3..1/2) glance at it and ask: "How do you make coffee
with a breast pump?" I should start replying: "Follow the instructions: press
slowly and gently."

------
tailrecursion
I think a large part of making better coffee is a matter of iteration, or
trial and error. If you do something and it tastes better, you keep doing it.
But you're never sure if there's some patch of the search space that you
missed, that's even better.

If anyone wants to make splendid coffee, and doesn't fear learning a
significant new art I'd suggest roasting your own beans. You can do it with a
heat gun or an air corn popper, modified. It's not simple and it's a bit of a
fire hazard, but you can get satisfying results blasting some hot air at beans
in a pot. Roasting can be more fun and aromatic than making coffee. It is
amazing.

For a brewer you could get a sock pot aka woodneck (or just the sock without
the pot -- or just muslin cloth if you want to make your own); or, a ceramic
cilio-freiling cone, or an inexpensive melitta plastic cone. Both sock & cone
are considered pour over methods but they taste different.

For a grinder there are too many choices to pick just one, and the good ones
are expensive. For the grinder it may be safer to avoid mass-market products,
just because it's too easy to make a mistake and buy an inadequate product.

[Edit: there is another effective trick to get better at brewing. Coffee
brewing competitions. It is surprising how effective these are at improving
the art. Watching videos of what the contestants are doing is one important
tool for improvement.]

------
illumen
Pretty good article. I'm glad that it mentions freshly roasted and light
roasting as the most important factors. This is true, but most people have
never experienced it. Roasts a few hours old are the best!!

Article does not mention types of bean. Beans are themselves also dried in
different methods. The most expensive coffee in the world is scooped up from
poo after digesting in an animals stomach.

Also getting different types of air to blow over the coffee after roasting can
change the taste a lot.

Finally... what you drink as 'coffee' is mostly water (and milk for many).
Better quality water goes a long way. Your tap water probably tastes very
different to mineral water, or rain water. Different types of blends mix well
with different types of milk too. With milk, you can usually get away with a
more bitter coffee.

The pour and grind are important I guess... it's what lets people make a
ristretto for example. But not as important as the roast.

Finally, what many of these coffee articles fail to consider are asian
methods. I guess it is either racism, or ignorance. Try Viet, and turkish
styles for example :)

Coffee snobs! There is no 'good' coffee, just different methods and tastes.

ciao! xo

------
mmariani
Even though I lived years drinking coffee brewed with a moka nowadays I think
that If the coffee is not ristretto it is not coffee.

It's not hard to get nor to operate a small espresso coffee maker, and as a
bonus you get to make not only perfect coffee but wonderful cappuccios. They
go for about €120 on amazon, and for €20 more you can get a reasonably good
electric grinder.

That's it for the hardware, now the coffee beans. As others mentioned, it's
very important you get the good stuff. My taste is 100% arabica medium roast,
yours may differ. BTW, what's your favorite coffee beans?

Anyway, no matter what beans you choose you have to grind them thin otherwise
you won't get out of it those incredible flavors you're expecting due to lack
of pressure.

After all this talk I'm having the need for a ristretto... So it's coffee
time! :)

~~~
dsr_
Arabica is a species of coffee; coffee changes from place to place depending
on where it's grown.

I'm currently working my way through a perennial favorite, Tanzanian Peaberry,
with occasional changes to Ethiopian Yirgacheffe and sometimes Kenyan.

Yeah, I like East African coffees. Although I'm less thrilled by a bag of
Rwandan I picked up -- it's not great hot, but it does reasonably well cold-
brewed.

~~~
mmariani
> Arabica is a species of coffee

I forgot to mention that I drink Italian arabica coffee which is usually is
grown in South America.

Thanks for the tip on East African coffees. I'll look for it in my next buy!
:)

------
16s
Two teaspoons of Taster's Choice. That's my perfect coffee. It's quick,
affordable and gets the job done. Doesn't taste bad either.

------
zw123456
This was a great read, thank you for the post. I recently purchased a La
Pavoni, I am not pushing any particular brand, but these types of machines,
the manual type, honestly make the best Espresso, which in my view is the best
way to enjoy coffee. I have tried every contraption out there over the years,
by far a manual pump machine is the best.

------
sixothree
As an outsider looking in, meaning I don't drink caffeine, this guide seems
like something only an addict would create.

~~~
pivo
Addiction may be a secondary effect, but I'd say the appreciation of good
coffee flavor is the primary motivation. You can be addicted to caffeine and
not care about good quality coffee. In fact, I'd say most coffee drinkers fall
into the latter category.

To me it's simply the equivalent of a foodie's interest in preparing good
food.

~~~
sixothree
George Carlin once described being addicted to drugs as the enjoyment of the
ritual surrounding the usage not the actual effect. He was addicted to feeling
you get while preparing to get high possibly just as much as to the effects.

------
lnanek2
I think I would prefer tips from their marine days on how to get maximum
caffeine into it. Currently I just get three espressos in one coffee cup, but
could use a more powerful technique. I don't really understand their chart
with perfect in the middle between weak and strong, isn't perfect what comes
after strong?

------
giardini
Just a heads up:

"How Unfiltered Coffee Can Cause Heart Attacks"

[http://www.drmirkin.com/nutrition/8241.html](http://www.drmirkin.com/nutrition/8241.html)

The original study:

[http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/71/2/480.full](http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/71/2/480.full)

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moo
I'm liking my cowboy coffee right now. Made with whole beans, crank grinder,
and camping pot. Boil water, dump in the grounds, cover and remove from heat,
sit for ~ 5 min.

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iopq
I just like really really strong coffee. What's with this "perfect" stuff? I
want my coffee to be very flavorful and bitter.

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nicholassmith
An article entitled 'How to Make Perfect Coffee' is probably going to be as
popular as 'Why Vim/Emacs/Nano is The Programmers Editor'.

There's at a certain stage a level of subjectivity, the perfect cup of coffee
is the one that makes you smile. There's a similar argument made in
photography that a perfect photo conforms to rule of thirds/perfect
whitebalance/correct exposure triangle/tripod shot, but it's not always got
enough soul to work.

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bromagosa
What? 17.42 units of water to 1 unit of coffee? This is not perfect coffee,
this is slightly flavoured water!

~~~
rafitorres
I suspect you are coming from the same background as me, where "coffee" means
espresso. I need to keep reminding myself when reading these discussions that
for most people in the US plain "coffee" means brew or drip type. (I'm Puerto
Rican BTW, where most households use a moka pot[1] that produces coffee very
similar in strength to espresso.)

[1]
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moka_pot](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moka_pot)

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sdnguyen90
too much work.. need coffee in under 5 minutes of waking up

~~~
evandena
I'm in a similar boat. Any minute I spend preparing coffee is a wasted minute
I could have been sleeping. It's hard to motivate myself out of bed in the
morning, so a fast coffee prep is paramount.

I've tried plenty of methods, and for me, the easiest way of making 20 ounces
is a Yama stove top vacuum pot. Look it up, it takes mere minutes to produce
quality coffee.

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zerr
Don't forget to drink perfect tea[1] while you're making this.

[1] See upcoming articles about how to make a perfect tea (involves drinking a
perfect coffee).

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lazyant
I'm sorry but there's no way a French press has more body than a "Moka Pot".
(also wtf with the gun comments/pic?)

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AsymetricCom
useless article, like disecting a frog. nobody brews good coffee this way. It
hardly even mentions roasting, goes into trivial details the will have
negligible or no effect on the final product, doesn't even mention bean
sourcing. A technical distraction; don't waste your time reading it.

