7 Coffee Tricks and One T-Booster
Few rituals in my life are as consistent or as enjoyable as slowly and meticulously brewing my wife and I fresh coffee every morning. While most people roll out of bed, throw some grounds in a filter, and hit a button on a machine, I’ve found that a few simple tricks can transform your bitter, flavorless cup into a mug of rich, flavorful, nearly-life-changing java.
If you want to enhance your morning coffee game, follow the 7 tips below.
1. Use a Meaningful Vessel
My collection of hefty coffee mugs, each containing the strands of a powerful experience or meaningful reminder.
While chintzy screen-printed mugs are cheaply available on almost every street corner, level up your morning coffee experience not just with the beverage itself, but starting with the very vessel that holds your dark elixir. Doing soAoM has previously featured how to make coffee with a French press, even calling it “the perfect cup of coffee.” That article was published before I was on the team, but I couldn’t agree more. It’s my favorite way to brew coffee in the morning, and that piece does a great job of walking you through the process.
Every once in a while, though, I like to break from the norm and brew with a different method. “Pour over” coffee makes a cleaner and lighter beverage, and doesn’t carry quite the punch that French press often does. Pour overs are incredibly easy; this is the one I use, and it has directions right on the box. The only downside is that you’re doing just one cup at a time.
I also occasionally use the AeroPress. This device was developed in 2005, and I’ve seen it popping up in more and more coffee shops as a luxury brewing option. It’s more complex than other methods and requires more precision, but it tastes great and truly feels like you’ve crafted a beverage from your own two hands rather than from just hitting one button on a machine. Using forced air to push the coffee through a small filter, it produces an espresso-like drink, and I often mix it with hot water to make an Americano. If you get yourself an AeroPress, it comes with a handy-dandy brewing guide, or you can try the inverted method that some coffee shops use (the linked guide gets a bit nerdy — I never measure out grams of coffee or specific water temps).
Beyond those methods, there are a number of others like the vacuum/syphon, Chemex, heck even percolators are still out there. Try your hand at different methods and see what you like best.
Leave a Reply