If you love coffee as much as I do, you strive to make the perfect cup in your home. Here are some of my tips for getting a great cup of coffee every time.
This post is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Peet’s Coffee. The opinions and text are all mine.
Is coffee an important part of your day?
If you’re a serious coffee drinker like me, then you understand how important it is to have good coffee anytime you want it or need it. It took me years to understand what went into making a good coffee and to appreciate all the subtle differences you can find in coffee beans from around the world.
Good beans paired with the right roasting method can equal an amazing cup of coffee. And while it seems like a simple task, just like a fine wine needs a highly trained vinter, you need a coffee master skilled at roasting and blending beans for the optimal flavor profile.
In fact, we talk about coffee beans the same way we talk about wine grapes, referring to the varieties as varietals. Different varieties have distinct flavors, body (mouthfeel), and other characteristics. The amount of acidity, bitterness (or sweetness), as well as differing amounts of caffeine all, make up the complex flavors that we have come to enjoy and expect in a good cup of coffee.
Where do you find good coffee?
I have traveled the world enjoying different types of coffee everywhere I go. Just as I sample local craft beers during my travels I also look for local coffee roasters. But to be able to taste and understand the differences in coffee, you need to start with a good baseline. A quality cup of coffee on which to judge all others by. And this is why I drink Peet’s coffee in my home.
Peet’s Coffee is obsessed with freshness. Fresher coffee makes a more flavorful cup. That’s why they roast to order and deliver directly to your grocery shelves, ensuring their coffee gets to you faster and fresher than anyone else. You’ll never have to worry about old flavorless coffee when you buy Peet’s brand.
Peet’s has been roasting coffee for more than 50 years and understands good coffee and its importance. It all started on Vine and Walnut Streets in Berkeley, CA where Alfred Peet opened his first shop in 1966 with one goal, to make coffee, unlike anything America had tasted before. Today, they abide by his exacting standards to deliver the richest, most flavorful cup, using only the world’s finest beans, hand roasting in small batches, and never compromising on freshness.
How to make the perfect cup of coffee.
Making the perfect cup of coffee can be as complicated or as easy as you like. What you have to remember is it’s going to be perfect for your taste and your lifestyle.
That can mean elaborate equipment, grinders, and temperature controls. But tech junkie or coffee connoisseur, you can still make an amazing cup of coffee with a cone and filter if you just follow some simple guidelines.
- Use cold filtered water (if you don’t like drinking your home water, don’t make coffee with it)
- Measure your coffee- use 2 tablespoons of ground coffee for every 6 ounces of water (usually one cup on your brewer)
- Water temperature needs to be between 195 degrees – 205 degrees. If you boil water let it sit for 30 seconds before using it (water boils at 212 degrees which is a little too hot to brew coffee)
- Rinse your filter with hot water before brewing. Use a good quality oxygen bleached filter.
- Pour just enough water over the grounds (wet not saturated) to let them bloom (they get puffy). After 30-45 seconds continue the pour over. This will get the most flavor from your coffee.
- Drink your freshly brewed coffee within 30 minutes of brewing. Don’t let coffee sit in a brewer all day long. Make it as you need it.
You do have lots of options these days for making coffee just how you like it. Whether you grind your own beans or have a particular style of coffee maker Peet’s Coffee has got you covered and will help you make the perfect cup of coffee in your home, starting with the most important ingredient, the coffee.
How do you brew the perfect cup of Peet’s coffee in your home? I’d love to hear from you.
If you’ve tried my method for making the perfect cup of coffee or any other recipe on askchefdennis.com please don’t forget to rate the recipe and let me know where you found it in the comments below, I love hearing from you! You can also FOLLOW ME on Instagram @chefdenniseats and @chefdennistravels, Twitter and Facebook
If you love coffee as much as I do, you strive to make the perfect cup in your home. Here are some of my tips for getting a great cup of coffee every time.
- 2.25 ounces ground coffee (12 tablespoons)
- 36 ounces filtered water
Rinse the coffee filter with hot water
Place the coffee grinds in filter
Heat water to boiling and allow to sit for 30 seconds. Water used for brewing should be 195 degrees to 205 degrees.
Using a circular motion starting from the outside wall and working your way inward, pour 40-80 grams (3 to 5 tablespoons) of very hot (not boiling) water over the coffee grounds,
The grounds end up uniformly soaked but not dripping wet. Let the grounds sit for about a minute as they bloom.
Continue pouring the rest of the water
Place the filter in the coffeemaker’s basket
Add your fresh roasted and ground coffee beans and then pour in your hot water. Use just enough to soak the grounds without pouring through.
Wait 45-90 seconds, permitting the grinds to settle, and then simply operate the automatic coffeemaker as you normally would.
Gently pour a small quantity of hot water onto the coffee grounds. You should immediately notice a bloom start to form as foam on top of the water in the press-pot.
Let the bloom remain for 15-20 seconds, then stir it with your spoon. This is to ensure that all grinds in the bloom have complete contact with the water
Complete your normal French press brew regime, which normally involves 3-4 minutes of steeping time.
Tim says
Hello Dennis,
I am trying to find the perfect coffee. (Aren’t we all!) At the moment I use a Aeropress with a metal filter. I am learning to roast my own beans … using Costa Rican or Columbian beans (not together!). I roast in a covered pan. Presently, my preference is to roast until the beans are turning dark brown and beginning to sweat (I cannot work out the first and second cracks so I go by sight, I suppose). So far, both coffees taste far better than any bought roasted beans, or even a cafe coffee! Looking at your recipe, would you recommend any slight alterations for an aeropress coffee? … Or, do you think I would do just as well if I used a simple cup filter and pouring the water onto the grounds in it? I haven’t marked your recipe yet because I want to try it out first as you have instructed. But thanks for this blog.
Chef Dennis Littley says
it sounds like you really take your coffee seriously. A pour-over is supposed to make the best coffee. I’ve never used an aeropress so I don’t have any advice about that type of process. I think half the fun of finding the perfect cup of coffee is the different attempts along the way.
Robert Hawkins says
I love Peet’s! I prefer lattes, but Peet’s is a great company!
Eric says
There’s something to be said about a properly brewed cup of coffee. Sadly, I’m a lazy coffee brewer and set my automatic coffee maker the night before but this would be fun to play around with.