
The least you need to know to experience the joy of better brewed coffee - jtrtoo
https://joshrichards.net/2013/08/16/the-least-you-need-to-know-to-experience-the-joy-of-better-brewed-coffee/
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sli
This is an excellent list, and it absolutely mirrors the advice I give to
people.

> Use the same amount of coffee grounds in your maker regardless of whether
> you’re making a full pot or not.

This is a tip that is missed way too often, and I love sharing it with people
because it seems counter-intuitive. Always prefer to use more coffee than
less. If you use too little, as you approach the end of the brew, you're going
to start extracting bitter compounds. I think this is probably the _easiest_
way to improve your coffee (though not the best; a grinder and fresh, whole
beans is the single biggest improvement one can make -- I consider that one
upgrade, not two).

This is why otherwise terrible coffee from the gas station still tastes
"strong." It's not strong, it's just really bitter.

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LargoLasskhyfv
Regarding 4. Store the beans sealed as tightly as possible (exposure to
oxygen/air speeds up their deterioration)

I'm always wondering if i did a great ghetto-style hack, or just deluding
myself? What is a tight seal in the context of outgasing co²? When you buy
beans in bags they have to have a kind of vent/seal, because otherwise they
would burst. So i used a leftover 500g can from a protein shake, and the clear
plastic protecting lid from a 500g yoghurt which sits over the aluminum foil,
and fastened the clip with the use before date from a toast/sandwich bag as
handle to pull it out with adhesive tape to it. The idea being: when i insert
the clear plastic lid into the can over the coffee, it makes a DOUBLE seal
with a buffer of co² between the cans loose lid and the inner plastic lid. It
is sitting so tight that i can see it slowly glide down on the air cushion
which it replaces, the more empty the can gets. Anyways, just four always
availabe leftover parts. Am i ingenious, or what? :-)

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makerofspoons
Be mindful of where you get your coffee. Intensive coffee farming is
environmentally destructive:
[https://academic.oup.com/bioscience/article/64/5/416/2754235](https://academic.oup.com/bioscience/article/64/5/416/2754235)

Absent urgent climate action wild coffee will likely be extinct by 2080 and
farming will likely have to move regions or move indoors:
[https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/coffee-
cou...](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/coffee-could-be-
extinct-by-2080-due-to-climate-change-destroying-areas-suitable-for-growing-
beans-a7222241.html)

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zaphod12
Excellent list.

As an additional reason to buy whole beans, consider this:

Researches who work often with cockroaches tend to develop an allergy to them,
over time; requiring them to wear heaving gloves to handle the creatures.
These individuals also become allergic to pre-ground coffee at the same time.

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slowmovintarget
Wouldn't the takeaway there be to not do research with cockroaches?

~~~
tinus_hn
Don’t use ground coffee or you’ll become allergic to cockroaches?

~~~
0db532a0
I’ve always wondered what the black bits in my steel cut porridge oats are.

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o_nate
These are good tips but I find it incomplete without at least a few words
about the freshness of the beans at the time you buy them. If you're using
stale beans the other steps aren't really going to help.

~~~
jtrtoo
Fair enough. It does mention using them promptly after acquisition. I suppose
I overlooked some folks might not realize beans have a shelf life. And not all
beans on the shelf are sealed.

Fortunately, most beans in my experience are sealed such that prior to the
consumer purchasing them they'll at least be in a reasonable state. Not
roasted within the past few days fresh, but good enough for many folks.

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hanging
A striking omission is the importance of grinder type (Burr vs. blade).

~~~
jtrtoo
For espresso, absolutely. For brewed coffee, debatable.

The post was about the _least_ so some corners were cut, albeit quite
deliberately.

