Does organic coffee taste better or are we just happier believing we have found another fair-trade product that is healthier for us? I love the concept: coffee and good health. Yes, I am a proponent of every last bit of coffee research that defines how I am becoming healthier by just having my regular dose of coffee. or, is that doses? Check out my coffee and health archive and see what a believer I am.
It’s not just organic coffee that does the trick; it’s the way it gets into the cup. Not every machine can turn a great bean into a magic cup. Believe me, I’ve had plenty of mediocre cups from supposedly great coffee beans.
No doubt that there is a relationship between the bean, the brewing process, and the end result. You can buy all the great beans, spend some serious money, help the growers, and go home and use bad-tasting water and a sub-par machine and wonder how you wasted $20. The coffee was great at the store, you mutter, but here…not so much.
What is one to do. A few simple facts to follow and you’ll be smiling. First, the beans are important. When and how they got to the store and how they were taken care of are all integral components of that dream cup. The water always plays a role. Ask the Brita or Pur folks to share their research that demonstrates how people turn ordinary tap water into a much better tasting water, one without the requisite taste-hider slice of lemon or lime! Then watch the coffee sommelier, the coffee bar person, or as some would affectionately say, the barista, use the machinery to take the bean from its container into your cup.
No, I am not saying we all need to get in line and buy a Jura, a Saeco, or a Clover machine or even extol the virtues of single-cup brewing where we ask questions about the strength of the brew and how much space we need to leave in the cup for milk and sugar. BTW, fill the cup with the espresso, no additives necessary. I am saying a great bean may need some help.
Yet, serious coffee drinkers need something more than the $10 filter machine. Count your number of cups, your gas mileage to the local spot, add in the cost of your multiple espressos, and you can easily justify a machine of some substance. I’m always fascinated how excited basic coffee drinkers become when they taste a cup from a home version of the best of push technology. They have had their first cup of great, home-cured coffee.
It can be done. Simple mathematics: A good bean, great water, and a machine to match.
Sip and enjoy.
. Another positive besides price, storage, and variety, they were smaller apples: Perfect lunch box or brown bag size. Hey, someone has figured this out.
