How to Make Better Tasting Coffee

 

Here are seven suggestions that can improve the taste of your coffee

1. Coffee/Water Ratio. Regardless of the brewer you are using start with 10.7 grams of ground coffee (about 2 heaping tablespoons) for every 6 fluid ounces of water. Adjust up or down to taste.
2. Water 98% of a cup of coffee is water. Coffee brewed with chlorine or other harsh chemicals will be flat and have a harsh, bitter taste. Make sure your water comes from either a high quality fiilter or quality bottled water. 
3. Water Filter  Your water filter will change the taste of your coffee. High qualiyt filters taker out chlorine, chemicals, odors and algae. Low quality filters leave chlorine and bitter chemicals in the water. Dirty filters adda moldy taste. Reverse osmosis and water softener water. create a flat tasting coffee.
4. Temperature  Great coffee is best brewed at 200 ± 5 F°. Check the temperature of the water in your brewer with a meat or other thermometer. Automatic coffee brewers have thermocouples that wear out quickly and produce thin, sour, tasting coffee. Coffee brewed below 195 degrrees tastes thin and sour. Coffee brewed above 205 degress tastes bitter and acidic. 
5. Grinder Great coffee is brewed from evenly ground beans. Uneven beans over and under extract providing sour and acidic flavors. Use a conical burr grinder. Replace the burrs if the grounds are not even.
6. Storage Fresh roasted coffee can keep its flavor if kept in air tight bags in the freezer. Grind and brew the coffee frozen. Coffee beans stored at room temperature or in the refrigerator goes stale quickly.
7. Clean Coffee grounds have oil that stays in the brewer and creates sour, fishy, tasting coffee. Clean your coffee equipment with hot soap and water. Automatic brewers build up mold and fungus in the water pipes. You should periodically clean an automatic brew by pouring white vinegar into the water reservoir and running a brew cycle.