How To Make A Perfect Cup Of Coffee
And The Setup To Make It Happen
I’m a fully transparent coffee snob, and because of that, many friends/colleagues/strangers ask me: how do I brew the perfect cup of coffee at home and, more importantly, does it take me 45 minutes to do so? I am happy to say that, through trial and error, I have a pretty foolproof recipe and process which I am sharing below. Full disclosure: all links are Amazon affiliate links. It’s just the entrepreneurial way I roll.
My setup:
Hario Ceramic Coffee Mill Skerton
Ozeri Touch Professional Digital Kitchen Scale (11 lb Edition), Tempered Glass in Elegant Black (I have a silver one, but it seems to be discontinued now)
Aroma AWK-115S Hot H20 X-Press 1-1/2-Liter Cordless Water Kettle
(optional) Bonavita 1.0L Electric Kettle BV3825B (If I had to do it all over again, I would buy this electric kettle, only because its gooseneck spout provides more control of the water)
My Coffee selection:
I travel quite a bit, and I always pick up a bag of local beans (or three) when I go. My favorite beans, in no particular order:
Sightglass Coffee (SF)
De La Paz Coffee (SF)
Ritual Coffee (SF)
Four Barrel Coffee (SF)
Lighthouse Roasters (Seattle)
Cultivar Coffee (Dallas)
Oak Cliff Coffee (Dallas)
Eiland Coffee (Dallas)
Intelligentsia (Chicago)
Stumptown Roasters (Portland)
Madcap Coffee (Grand Rapids)
Lineage Roasting (Orlando)
Flat Track Coffee (Austin)
Cuvee Coffee (Austin)
Handsome Coffee (LA)
[shoot me a comment if you think I should add/try out any others]
My recipes:
The following are dependent on grind settings (to each his own), but the weight and the water temp should be constant.
Clever
330 grams water
22 grams coffee
Ratio 14.79/1
French press
500 grams water
36 grams coffee
Ratio 13.8/1
Pour over
330 grams water
30 grams coffee
Ratio 11/1
Chemex
710 grams water
48 grams coffee
14.79/1
My process:
All in all, it takes my about 8 minutes to make coffee, from the time I press start on the water kettle to the time I drink the first sip. I’m currently on a Clever kick, as it has the bold flavor of a French Press (since it steeps the grounds directly in the water) without all the sediment (since you filter it out after 4 minutes).
Step 1:
Start to heat up water in the kettle.
Step 2:
Once you start to heat up the water, put the grinder on the scale and tare it. Measure out 22 grams of beans into the grinder and grind away.
Step 3:
Put a new filter in the Clever (rinse the filter first), put the grinds in the filter, and then put the Clever + grinds onto the scale. Tare it. Like a boss.
Step 4:
Once you finish all that, the water should be boiling (or close to it). Once it comes to a boil, turn it off and wait 30 seconds. This is important, as coffee should ideally be brewed at 200 degrees Farenheit. Most drip brewers, by the way, only get up to 180F, which isn’t hot enough for proper extraction.
I just set a timer for 4:30 minutes. Once it hits the 4 minute mark, then I…
Step 5:
… pour out 330 grams of water into the Clever (which should be on the scale and tared).
Step 6:
Wait 4 minutes, and then filter out and enjoy!
All in all, I can do this whole process in 8 minutes, especially since it takes about 4 minutes just for the water to heat up, and I can grind the coffee during that time.
