Perfect Brew

My wife has been giving me a hard time about my 'coffee knowledge' saying, and I quote, "What do you know about coffee?" "Plenty," I respond, "what do you know about teaching?" So we go back a forth, it's fun. But that is not what I'm here to talk about this morning. I want to talk about brewing the perfect cup of coffee.

There are two main ingredients to making the perfect coffee. The first is obvious coffee, the second may be less obvious water. We will start with the first.

Coffee - many today make a big deal about making sure it is whole bean and that you only grind enough for the amount you're making. That is ok advice but it starts before that. You have to find the coffee that you like best. Yes there are different types of coffee out there, crazy I know. There are Latin American beans, Arabian beans, African beans, Asian beans, basically any place that starts with an 'A' has a coffee bean. You have to figure out which is you favorite. This will take time and money but keep at it and enjoy the process. My personal favorite is called Sumatra. I prefer it light roasted but even dark it is better than any other coffee I have tasted. So make sure you have the type of bean you like!

Water - coffee is 99% water. Hot water is what you are drinking when you drink coffee, so why people use the water straight from their tap is a mystery to me. Tap water is full of chlorine and other 'stuff' that needs to be filtered out before making coffee. I suggest either filtering the water or using bottled water. I know what some of you are going to say, 'that is so expensive'. No offense but a flat of water at Costco is $4.49 so I think you can swing it, even if you bought one a week.

So there you have it. Beans and water, that is all you need for the perfect cup of joe. Good luck with finding your favorite beans and remember to keep on brewin'.

First Top 10

I'm not sure if this will become a regular on RJ Coffee House but I was thinking of randomly having a top 10. So for this week's list the subject is why coffee is better than tea. Here we go!

10) We're not British!

9) Coffee tastes better black.

8) Coffee is black - if you can see the bottom of the cup it is not worth drinking.

7) Coffee tastes better with cream.

6) Caffeine - I know what you're going to say 'tea has more caffeine than coffee' yeah I know dummy but that's per pound not per cup!

5) Scones - what the crap is a scone anyway? No real coffee drinker ever eats a scone.

4) Coffee has better nicknames, joe, java, oil, mud...etc what does tea have...that's right - nothin'.

3) Coffee doesn't have a 'time'. It is good any time unlike tea which must be consumed at 'tea time'.

2) Smooth. Coffee is much smoother on the pallet than tea. Tea leaves a bitter aftertaste.

1) And the number one reason - Bitter. Coffee has the perfect bitterness for a hot drink without a nasty bitter aftertaste (unlike tea see #2 above).

I hope you enjoy the first top ten. Remember as you drink your steaming hot cup of joe that you are part of an elite group of hot beverage imbibers and with every sip of that delicious brew you're saying 'down with tea!'

New One

I've started a new blog devoted to the joy of coffee. This site will will give advice on the following, how to brew the perfect cup of coffee, why coffee is better than tea, and even how to do some home roasting. Links and ads will be on the site shortly, but in the mean time it will be simple. So, link me up on your site and visit often, I'll leave the pot on for you.