Making great coffee at home isn’t rocket science. At its most basic, the ingredients for a delicious cup of coffee are simply: ground roasted coffee beans + water. The magic of coffee happens as the coffee flavour is extracted from the grinds into the water.
We’ve got a few QUICK TIPS to help make every cup you make great!
Use Fresh Roasted Beans
Fresh tastes best! (we can’t say that enough!)
TIP: Don’t buy too much coffee at a time. Buy just enough so that you can drink it up within 2 to 3 months. At Sparkplug Coffee, we always tell you the exact date your order was blended and packaged!
Here’s a link to a fun way to figure out if you’re looking at beans that are questionable!
Grind matters
Pick the right grind that works best for the coffee maker you’re using. The longer the coffee grinds are in contact with the water, the coarser they should be.
Longer time = coarser grind
Too fine a grind can make bitter coffee.
For high temperatures and short brew times, a finer grind is needed to make sure the water can extract every bit of coffee goodness.
A coarse grind works best for immersion methods like a french press or percolator where the water and beans are sitting together for a few minutes before being filtered apart.
A medium to fine grind for filter coffees (Pour Over or Chemex) where the water is slowly filtering through into a carafe or cup below. (have you seen OUR filters!?)
A fine grind for espresso where very hot water or steam is forced through the grinds very quickly.
Here’s a link to the Sparkplug Coffee grind chart so you can look up the exact grind for your exact coffeemaker, and here’s a link to our suggestions for GOOD GRINDERS UNDER $100.
TIP: Ideally, you grind beans just before you make each cup or pot of coffee.
How much coffee do I use?
It is easy to underestimate the amount of coffee needed! For most coffeemakers, we recommend 2 Tbsp / 30 ml of ground coffee for 8 oz / 235 ml of water (a standard coffee cup).
If you want to get very precise, weigh 12-13 grams for standard North American mug (8 oz / 225 ml) or 55-60 grams per litre of water.
We recommend making your mornings as easy as possible, which is why we use THE PERFECT SCOOP to figure this out!
HOT STUFF!
Temperature makes a difference. Use HOT WATER, but not quite boiling.
If the water isn’t hot enough, the coffee can taste sour (ick!) and weak. If it is too hot, it can be bitter. Coffee nerds say 91-96oC or 195-205oF is the perfect temperature. If you are boiling coffee for your brewer - whether for an AeroPress, French press or pour-over of any sort, wait 30-45 seconds after your kettle comes to a full boil before you start brewing.
The cooler the water, the more time is needed to extract all the flavour. Which is why cold brew, made with room temperature water, takes up to 24 hours. And espresso, made with steam, takes just a few seconds.
Questioning re-boiling your kettle? We say - go for it! HERE’S WHY.
TIP: Warm your mug or carafe before brewing into it. Pour some hot water in, swirl it around and pour it out again. This is a good practice for anything made of glass, ceramic or metal.
Coffee is mostly water so…
Of course, the water quality you use affects the taste in your cup. If your tap water tastes of chlorine or minerals, run it through a filter before adding it to your kettle or coffeemaker. This is an especially good idea if you have a “hard” water supply that is high in bicarbonates as these will make your coffee taste extra bitter. Side note: Cool fact - high magnesium levels make your coffee taste better! Read about that HERE.
Brew Time
Like grind size, and temperature, the amount of time the water and beans are in contact has a big effect on the taste. Too much time gives you a bitter, over-extracted brew. Not enough time makes your coffee weak and boring.
What kind of coffee maker should I use?
There’s no one right answer here! We truly love them all!
Different types of coffee makers offer different advantages. Some fancy automatic drip makers can be set up with a timer to brew your coffee for you at a set time of day, some folks find they enjoy the coffee ritual and precision of CHEMEX and Pour Over coffee, while simple makers like FRENCH PRESS and Vietnamese PHINS are super eco-friendly + easy to clean. AEROPRESS has it’s fans, and we love the AEROPRESS GO for any road trip! There’s a LOT of options + we have a BREW GUIDE for everyone!
Storage
ALWAYS, in an airtight container & a cool, dark spot. The bag that your Sparkplug Coffee comes in works well to push out any air that got in. A mason jar also works great. If it is clear glass, make sure to put it somewhere dark - not out on the counter in the sunlight.
We get asked this all the time - no, the fridge or freezer are not recommended. No. Just don’t.
Keep it clean
When was the last time you cleaned your grinder? Or gave a deep clean to your coffeemaker? Clean equipment is key. Coffee oils and dust will build up and affect the taste.
We recommend you give your equipment a quick clean every time you brew and a deep clean regularly. This means every month if you’re using your equipment multiple times a day and every season / quarter if you’re mainly a weekend or occasional coffee maker.
HERE is a link for tips on CLEANING YOUR GRINDER + HERE is a link to help you CLEAN YOUR COFFEE MAKER.
If you’ve got coffee questions, we can help! FOLLOW US on social media for ideas, tips, recipes, and other coffee fun related stuff we do!