Brew Better At Home: The Basics Uncategorized THE BASICS Coffee, Water, Heat & Time The taste of the coffee in your cup comes down to 4 basic things: coffee, water, heat, and time. In today’s lesson, we’ll help you understand how these simple ingredients interact and put you on your way to brewing amazing coffee at home! a. The Coffee WE RECOMMEND: Sign up for a coffee subscription to get specialty-grade, single-origin coffee roasted fresh and delivered to your door every month! The element with all the flavor in this equation is the coffee itself. But not all coffees are created equal! To brew better coffee, you have to use better coffee. The 3 largest influences on flavor are: 1. Quality of the coffee 2. Freshness of the coffee 3. Grind level (and grind consistency) of the coffee Read more about specialty-grade coffee and single-origin coffee to learn exactly why high-quality coffee tastes so much better! b. The Water WE RECOMMEND: The water you like to drink! Water is 98% of your cup of coffee—so the quality of the water you use has a huge impact on its final taste! The big rule of thumb here is that if you have very hard water and/or funky-tasting tap water, it’s going to be reflected in how your brew comes out. c. The Heat WE RECOMMEND: An electric kettle with temperature control. If you heat your water too much, your coffee will be over-extracted and likely taste bitter or acidic. Don’t heat it enough and you may be faced with a cup of coffee-flavored water! d. Time WE RECOMMEND: A scale with a timer, to keep things simple. A chef would never over- or under-cook their dishes, and you should never over- or under-cook your coffee! The time that you allow your coffee and water to interact is extremely important, and the recommended time varies from method to method. As an Amazon Affiliate, Atlas Coffee Club (at no cost to you!) earns a commission when you click through and make a qualifying purchase. We take coffee seriously and thoroughly research and/or test products before recommending them to our community of fellow coffee-lovers.