Automatic Drip Brewing: The Ultimate Cup of Coffee

For many of us, a cup of coffee is much more than just a needed stimulant. It is an indulgence, one of life's simpler pleasures and the preferred way to start the day. The best coffee is made with good water, high-quality beans well roasted, and some careful brewing. We need to keep in mind that coffee beans begin losing their rich flavor after a week of being roasted, an hour of being ground, and mere minutes after being brewed. The ideal method of making excellent coffee, then, would be to roast, grind, brew and drink it all in the same sitting. This is hardly feasible for most of us, though, so I'll outline some basic steps to preserving as much of your coffee's flavor as possible.

1. Buy whole beans and store them, in an airtight container, in a cool, dry place. Avoid refrigerators, which will taint your beans with moisture and adverse odors. Whole beans do preserve well in a freezer, though.

2. Grind your coffee just before you brew it. For really outstanding flavor, it's worth investing in hand burr, electric burr, or electric blade grinder. Coffee goes stale much quicker if the bean is broken (i.e., ground) because its delicate and protective oils then begin evaporating. So grinding at the last minute will release its flavor just when you're ready to savor it.

3. Grind as finely as you can, so long as you don't risk losing any through your filter. The finer the grind, the more contact there will be between the coffee and hot water - and greater the flavor that results.

4. Use two or maybe even three level tablespoons of coffee grounds for each mug of water you're going to brew (especially if you'll be adding milk or cream). If possible, use filtered or spring water.

Don't brew more than you and whoever you might be sharing it with will drink in one sitting. That robust flavor doesn't keep for very long, so enjoy it while it's fresh.