To make the perfect cup the brewer doesn’t have to be an alchemist. To achieve a rich aroma and a silky smoothness follow some simple rules and steps on grains, water, measurements, and cleanliness.

It makes sense that to produce a tasty cup the proper key ingredient must be used. For a novice this can seem a mammoth task as there are so many variations of bean on the market. Ethiopian beans produce a delicate aroma where as Kenya beans are known for their robustness. Either way the flavor is down to personal palette. The main concern when buying beans is to make sure they are fresh.

The best way to produce the freshest grind is to purchase a small grinder and prepare the roasted beans for each brew. Sometimes even if the beans are freshly ground they still produce a bitter tasting cup as the beans are stale, therefore only buy whole beans from a reputable source. Ground beans should be purchased in air-tight packs and after opening kept in a cool dry place in an air tight container.

Once the beans have been purchased consider the grind required. If the coffee maker has a short brew time buy fine blends, for brewers which take longer a courser blend is recommended. Or purchase a medium blend to cover all option.

With out water a bean will not become a brew. Often little consideration is given to this important element. Water taken directly from the tap often has components added like chlorine, which can under heat react and produce a chemical taste. An easy way to avoid this is to filter the water beforehand.

Once the bean and water are sorted it is then time to infuse them which comes down to the question of measurement. One rule of thumb is to take the water capacity of the maker divide by six and add that number of scoops. However with so many factors like freshness, variation in coffee bean, and the grind is never an exact science.

The final step is to make sure the machine is clean. Always wash, rinse, and wipe the vessel the blend is collected in on each and every brew. Make sure that clean water is added each time and that there is no old water left. Then the perfect cup is quite achievable.

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