How to get your coffee to taste as good as in a Coffee Shop

What follows, was copied from their Facebook Page:

From: Square One Cafe
145 North Duke Street
Lancaster, PA 17602

Website is: www.squareonecoffee.com
Or to Tweet them: twitter.com/squareonecoffee

People ask us, "How do I get my coffee to taste this good at home?" 4 keys to brewing delicious coffee: Water, Freshness, Grind, Proportion. (We'll be highlighting each one of these in the coming days!)

First up is Water!
#1 Water: Don't use distilled Water (or HWater w/too few minerals) because it will extract too much, producing sharpness or exaggerated brightness. Don't use hard water either (tap water, in most cases). Water with too much "stuff" in it won't extract as much from your coffee. The ideal water for coffee/tea brewing has a PH of 7, Hardness of 70-80mg/L & Alkalinity of 50mg/L. So, it's important to test your water!


Next up is Freshness!
#2: Freshness! Whole bean coffee should be treated more like a gallon of milk or like fresh produce (& less like a bag of sugar!). Coffee fresh from the roaster should be allowed to "de-gas" for at least 48 hrs. Most coffee "peaks" between 2-8 days. Only grind the amount of coffee you need right before you brew it. (Ground coffee ages much faster & loses aroma/flavor). So let it "Peak" before you "Perk", but don't wait "too long".
Brewed coffee should be consumed within 30-45 minutes (or less!). Never re-heat coffee because the flavor oils break down & become bitter.


Next up is "The Grind"
#3: Grind! Make sure you grind your coffee for the appropriate setting for your brewing method. Experiment to see what grind works best. In general, French Press or Siphon = Coarser Grind, Auto-Drip or Pour-Over = Medium Grind to Fine Grind, Espresso = Very Fine Grind. The type of grinder is important too. Blade grinders simply chop your beans, while burr grinders (preferable) actually crush them.
You can always go a touch finer or coarser and still be within a good range. If you're doing everything right and you find your coffee is weak, try grinding a little finer (and vice versa). Experiment, and trust your taste buds.

Next up is "Proportion"
#4: Proportion: The SCAA recommends using 10 grams (about 2 tbs) for every 6 oz. of water. If you use less coffee, the brew will be over-extracted. (The H2O extracts everything good & keeps extracting undesirables.) This means that the filters in home coffee makers can't hold the full amount of coffee, so try brewing 3/4 or 1/2 pots.
If coffee brewed at the proper proportions is too strong for your taste, simply add hot water directly to your cup.



And I added this:

Next up is "Cleanliness"
#5: Cleanliness: The cleaner your equipment, the more likely you are to taste the subtle differences in the different kinds of coffee available out there. Some look for fruity, some floral, some smokey. The key, is to clean your equipment, before AND after use. In my workplace, we make hot water for tea, regular and decaf coffees. If you don't clean the machine, your tea could taste like coffee. Or you could end up with more caffeine in your decaf, than is there already. So I clean it before each use. When brewing FOUR pots for a Continental Breakfast, Hot water is first, followed by the decaf, THEN the two 'regular' coffee pots. The cleaner the equipment, the more likely the product will taste great.



Courtesy of your Coffee Reviewer. Have a nice day, and God Bless!