<p>I am so insecure about making coffee. Can anyone tell me how to make a really good strong-but-not-too-strong cup? I have a drip coffee maker.</p>
<p>Buy coffee beans, French Roast, Espresso, or a combination of same.</p>
<p>Grind them (at the store, or buy a grinder to do it at home).</p>
<p>Keep the coffee in the freezer.</p>
<p>Then experiment to see what ratio of water to coffee you like best. (I just checked and found out I use 3/4 cup of water to one tablespoon of finely ground coffee.)</p>
<p>I use 3/4 cup water to 1/4 cup (a coffee measure thingy) coffee! It really is personal taste, you need to experiment.</p>
<p>I use 3 rounded tablespoons of coffee with 8 cups of water. It makes my coffee a little on the strong side but not terribly so.</p>
<p>Grind the beans fresh yourself just before you make the coffee. Since I am the only coffee drinker in my home, I use one of the single cup filter holders placed over a large mug( no dainty little cups, please)About a quarter cup of finely ground coffee is good. Pour the boiling water on the grounds just til they are fully wet and STOP. You need to “open up” the grounds. Put the kettle down for a minute, go get the newspaper, put your bread in the toaster, whatever. This step ensures you get all the flavor from your coffee. Come back and pour water on the grounds again and slowly fill the filter holder. You may have to experiment, but it is easy to add water to strong coffee. Weak coffee is harder to fix. Do I sound crazy? Somebody enlightened me to this trick years ago and I always get compliments on the coffee I serve.</p>
<p>If I make 6 cups, I measure 6 generous scoops of ground coffee (I grind it at home as I use it). I add one extra scoop of coffee. If I make more than 6 cups, I add more than an extra scoop (maybe 1.5 extra scoops). My favorite coffee is not a bitter coffee to begin with (I like Green Mountain and Dunkin Donuts). My husband tends to like what I consider to be more bitter coffee (ie:Starbucks). He has his own coffee maker (the type that makes one cup at a time, and is premeasured: Keurig k-cup). I think it is expensive, and I don’t care for that coffee even though you can buy Green Mountain K cups. My younger son loves using it to make hot chocolate before school. That said, it is too expensive (perhaps .40/cup for coffee, which is still less expensive than purchasing a cup at Starbucks).</p>
<p>French roast, ground at home on as needed basis</p>
<p>1 tablespoon beans/1 coffee maker cup of cold water – which is probably about 5 oz.</p>
<p>Currently I have a Bunn coffee maker, but when I had a Krups, it had a cone shaped filter. Folks at Starbucks told me that coffee for cone filters should be ground fairly fine (or is that finely?)</p>
<p>Have heard differing opinions about keeping beans in the freezer.</p>
<p>PS H & I like our coffee strong & black.</p>
<p>The only time that I make coffee is at work. They have a dual-grinder (house blend, French Roast) and it has adjustments on the back to control the amount of beans ground. I put in the filter, put in the filter holder, push a button and get grounds. Put them in the machine with the coffee thermos underneath and push a button and come back ten minutes later.</p>
<p>If I want coffee outside of work, I go to Dunkin Donuts. We don’t drink enough coffee to justify home equipment.</p>
<p>wharfrat</p>
<p>Do you mean 8 oz. of water? Otherwise, you might be describing the coffee some people make in MN that tastes like dishwater. I’m a MN native so I can say that (I think).</p>
<p>Oh, and thanks for all this input. I know it’s lame for a 56 year old person to still be insecure about coffee. I’m very secure about pies and muffins though.</p>
<p>I don’t know if you travel, but my parents always bought lots of coffee in other countries (Belize, Costa Rica, Guatemala, etc.). They would rave about it until it ran out and then talk about how much they missed it. So, if you find yourself in a coffee making country anytime soon, pick some up!</p>
<p>Thank you for this great thread! Would it be ok to mention favorite coffee shops near campus-like Summit by Davidson? Seventh Street cafe at Bucknell.
The coffee shop in town by Colgate.</p>
<p>BethieVT, we all have our little insecurities. If this is your most significant one, you’re doing fine.</p>
<p>glass or ceramic mug. dechlorinated water. Not deionized. Definitely not softened or hard water. Heat water very close to boiling. Use a preheated cup. Let coffee steep in cup. A generous teaspoon of coffee for each cup. Use a nonmetalic scoop for coffee measuring. Use cheapest instant coffee if you can’t make a ground coffee. Always use cheaper instant coffee if you nurse the coffee or use coffee that sits on a warmer.</p>
<p>I decided to make a cup of green tea.</p>
<p>At my house, discussions about the “best coffee” have been elevated to science. My father had restaurant-sized Italian espresso makers at his office and at home and used to collect coffee makers from all over the world. He finally got rid of the entire collection and is only using his favorite and most simple “machine.” </p>
<p>The beauty of it is that it is the cheapest and most forgiving tool. It allows someone to experiment with small quantities and types of coffees. The device is called a French Press coffee maker and is also known as a “plunger” or a “press pot”. </p>
<p>To see an illustration, check the “tutorial” at [Perfect</a> Your French Press (INeedCoffee.com)](<a href=“http://www.ineedcoffee.com/99/frenchpress/]Perfect”>French Press Coffee Tutorial - I Need Coffee)</p>
<p>It could not get any simpler than that. However, it’s a good idea to use the almost boiling water to warm up the coffee pot and the cups before brewing the coffee. An additional technique is to pour a little bit of water on the coffee and swirl it to let build volume, let stand for a 30 seconds, and then fill the pot with the water when it gets really hot. </p>
<p>By the way, despite having a few schmancy-fancy coffees, the main coffee at our home is a *very *common Marques de Paiva that is sold at Wal-Mart, Sam’s Club, and other retailers. The coffee is made by Caf</p>
<p>oops x-posted
If you really want great coffee though, you should use a french press. No coffee machine on earth can beat it. I promise. Also, those are easy to clean. Most starbucks will teach you how to do a french press properly for free. Here’s the cliff’s notes version: Use the best water you can find. 2 TB of coffee/6oz of brewed coffee. Fresh coffee (I grind my own every morning, but sbux will grind for free). 4-5 minutes brewing time. Only make a full press, never a partial press.</p>
<p>xiggi, We have one of those presses, and my DH enjoys it. I don’t bc I find that the coffee tastes too strong for my liking.</p>
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<p>Taste is extremely subjective. However, I think that you might find a way to adjust the taste of the coffee by using a milder one and reducing the infusion time (and the quantity of coffee also.) Lastly, the french press requires coffee that is not as finely ground as for espresso.</p>
<p>Playing around a bit might deliver something you like.</p>
<p>Oh, I just brought home a French Press from my Mom’s because she said she never used it. Thanks for the directions–I’ll try it!</p>
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Soooo – I’ll bring the coffee, you bring the baked goods, and we’ll meet half way between VT and CT!</p>