How to make a great cup of coffee?

Fresh Water, Fresh Coffee, Fresh Brewed.

The methods of making a great cup of coffee varies from country to city to personal taste.

  But the number one common denominator is freshness.

Here we are going to address this issue from a coffee service view.

Lets look at the basics.

Fresh Water

Because your favorite brew is 98% water, fresh cold water is the first item to consider.  A water filter in a office coffee setting is very important especially in high rise office buildings.  Urban water can contain pesticides, pollutants, chlorine and fluoride.  As for Bottled Water aside from the cost there is also the issue of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) which can leach into the water from the plastic bottles themselves.  A good simple carbon filter prevents the excess build up of minerals inside the coffee maker and removes chlorine as well as tastes and odors which are critical issues to good coffee especially here in the Dallas/Fort Worth area.  Over filtering can remove to many minerals which help to carry the flavors you love to your taste pallet and will result in a flat tasting brew.  Reverse osmosis filtering can over filter your water and actually damage the coffee maker.  Hot water as your source or hard water adds an unbalanced concentration of minerals and will not allow your water to extract the full flavor of your coffee. Your office coffee provider should offer a filter which is especially designed for automatic coffee equipment. For more information on our Dallas water conditions see the local water quality report.

Fresh Coffee

Today's advances in packing and shipping have greatly improved the commercial roasted and ground coffees through one way gas valves, vacuumed and nitrogen packing have also raised the level of quality of commercially packed coffees.  Air is the number one enemy of fresh coffee.  Here is where pre weighed and packed coffee has an advantage but single serve coffee equipment still has the advantage here.  Your coffee service provider should rotate your stock with each delivery.  The date, either a "use by" or "manufactured at" date and pack size should be clearly marked on each case.  

Fresh Brewed

As important as the first two are this one is a little harder to control unless you brew a fresh pot each time you want a cup of coffee. First lets discuss cleanliness, old oils and residue in general from previous brews will destroy the true flavor of your favorite coffee. Second is temperature, for good extraction your brewer should be delivering coffee at about 180 degrees to the pot or cup.  This is a good sign the brewer temperature is also correct. Burner Time is the next thing to consider, if you are using a traditional glass pot system you are basically cooking your coffee.  Any coffee sitting in a glass pot on a metal burner will lose its flavor and qualities after less than 20 minutes, the stronger the coffee the less your Flavor window of opportunity "Burner time" is open and each cup will continue to vary until someone brews a fresh pot.  Thermal brewers are a little more economical by using air pots or thermal dispensers they can reduce your throw-a-ways by up to 10% and can greatly improve the taste of each cup because, they provide a fresher tasting coffee for hours verses minutes so it is more likely you'll consume all the coffee made.

Single cup brewers like the Suprema, Javanation or the Keurig have done a great job of addressing the issue of "Fresh Brewed" the last variable in our quest for a great cup of coffee by providing a consistent, hot and freshly brewed cup through a cartridge system making sure each cup is a fresh as the first.  Some of the highest quality roasters provide products for the Keurig which can rival any corner coffee shop and a much more affordable price.  Keurig also make models for the home or small office.

For Fresh brewed REAL Espresso, Cappuccinos and Lattes  please see our Espresso Cafe.

If you are interested in a single cup program ask me about our selection of single cup brewers.  

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