A cup of coffee is what you make it to be…. Saying, “coffee is coffee, is like saying wine is wine, or steak is steak”.
If we are over the age of 18 we know those statements aren’t true.
There are so many variations to wine, steak or even fish, and coffee is no different. It all depends on where it came from, who made it, and what that entire making process was. I will never call myself an expert on coffee, but I will say that I am an expert on how I like to make my coffee (which gets rave reviews, by the way).
Too many people live in the age where everything must be quick and easy – fast food, drive through, convenience frozen meals and such, but we all know how that relates to quality.
Coffee is alive and like any food it needs to be treated as such. If you are putting large amounts of milk, creamer, sugar, syrups into a cup of coffee to make it drinkable, it might just be a bad quality product that needs it to mask its’ bitterness. Quality coffee beans like good glass of wine or a steak, stand out on their own and certainly don’t need to be masked. If you went out and got a great filet mignon at your favorite steak house, would you dump ketchup and mayo all over it to make it taste better? My guess is probably not.
Putting milk or cream into coffee, is not a bad thing, don’t get me wrong. As a matter of fact, one of my favorite was to enjoy coffee is a latte. But if you do it because the coffee is not good or bitter, you need to change the coffee you use.
A good quality coffee that is roasted properly, stored properly, and used at its peak freshness, won’t be bitter. It will be smooth and very flavorful depending on its’ origin. Adding a small amount of milk to create a flat white or a cappuccino doesn’t cover up bitterness because it’s not bitter to start with - it just adds an element of making the coffee how you like it.
If you want to improve the quality of your coffee, buy your coffee beans from a roaster that uses specialty coffee and coffee that is rated by the Specialty Coffee Association (SCA) at a score of 85 or higher. Also, make sure that the roasting date is on the package and it’s not older than 1 to 2 weeks. Make sure you grind your beans properly for the brewing method you are using, i.e. poor over, drip French press or espresso machine. Alternatively, have your roaster grind it for you. It is also very important to use good quality water.
When you find the roast, grind and extraction method you love, make notes so you can repeat the process over and over again.
Some excellent books to read:
01: The world Atlas of COFFEE by: James Hoffmann 2nd Edition
02: Coffee Obsession by: Annette Moldvaer
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