# How to make a cup of coffee



## Andy1164 (Sep 7, 2011)

Hi all, I'm new to the forum.

Obviously I'm a coffee drinker but compared to some, probably classed as heathen (sp?)

I make my coffee in a cafetiere using supermarket ground coffee. I also take it white with sugar.

If I'm going to fulfil my dream I need to learn what good, well made coffee tastes like and need to start somewhere so I'm here, cup in hand (see what I did there?) for advice.

I'm guessing a good start would be to start grinding my own beans and to cut down on the sugar and milk.

So, considering what I've told you, what advice would you give me to start with, bean and grinder wize?

Let's not get into expresso makers yet, I'm on a budget and this is a journey of discovery.


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## MikeHag (Mar 13, 2011)

I wasn't a coffee drinker at all until this year and now I'm drinking several cups a day, often two at once to compare. Comparing two different coffees is a great way to get beyond the "it just tastes like coffee" stage.

In my view (others may disagree) you can't beat the simple French Press as a starting point, so you've already got a head start there. But just check that you're using it in a way that will get the best from the beans. This vid is good... just scale up/down the measures for beans and water to match the size of your press pot.






Get a manual grinder. http://www.coffeehit.co.uk/porlex-mini-grinder/p651

Get two bags of beans... ones with different flavour characteristics. Try these, from Has Bean:

1. Malawi. This one is very bright, lemony, acidic (a good thing). http://www.hasbean.co.uk/products/Malawi-Maxwell-Munthali-Geisha-2011.html

2. El Salvador. Bold, full of body. http://www.hasbean.co.uk/products/El-Salvador-Finca-Argentina-Natural-2011%252d2012-Crop.html

When you're drinking you could just enjoy them or you could start actively thinking about what's going on. Here is a blog post I made on tasting coffee, including my own naff diagram showing a process you could choose to follow or avoid like he plague









http://haggieslab.blogspot.com/2011/08/how-to-taste-coffee.html

Take a look at the Coffee Flavour Wheel as you're drinking.










At first this might seem like hard work just to drink coffee... it takes practise... but have some fun with it


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## RolandG (Jul 25, 2010)

Great advice from Mike.

I'm also a big advocate of the cafertier/french press. Even with a huge range of options at home, it's still a method I use on a regular basis.

The biggest differences in taste come from grinding freshly, and from freshly roasted good quality beans. If you do that, you should find you don't need the milk & sugar (or at minimum, less than currently) because the coffee will taste sweeter to start with.

In terms of fresh beans; I'm biased - so instead, I'll suggest a thread of UK roasters who sell online here

In terms of grinding, either a hand-grinder or a basic electric burr grinder are good options - it's just a question of money vs effort









That's a great kicking off point - from there you're free to explore different brewing methods, different coffee types, technique, etc.


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## sicknote (Sep 5, 2011)

Getting away from the ground supermarket coffee and grinding your own will give a big difference to your drink even with milk and sugar.

I'm not crazy on the french press but think the bodum filter belgique could be worth a look. It produces a very smooth coffee and is currently available for £5.25 (half price). It is also excellent for taking on holiday.

http://www.sainsburys.co.uk/sol/shop/home_and_garden/tableware/117391877_bodum_filter_belgique.html?hnav=4294966799


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## garydyke1 (Mar 9, 2011)

sicknote said:


> Getting away from the ground supermarket coffee and grinding your own will give a big difference to your drink even with milk and sugar.
> 
> I'm not crazy on the french press but think the bodum filter belgique could be worth a look. It produces a very smooth coffee and is currently available for £5.25 (half price). It is also excellent for taking on holiday.
> 
> http://www.sainsburys.co.uk/sol/shop/home_and_garden/tableware/117391877_bodum_filter_belgique.html?hnav=4294966799


I might get one of those , what a great price! Always good to experiment with different methods


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## sicknote (Sep 5, 2011)

Will definitely be the best £5.25 you have ever spent on coffee equipment.......great little device.


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## marbeaux (Oct 2, 2010)

Personally, to make a nice cup of coffee easily I would recommend a 2 cup filter plus hand grinder and decent beans. I use Mellita filters which are the best I believe. Also have a small very cheap battery operated frothing machine which produces a rather nice cappucino.

From the Forum i learned that grind size and temperatures are all important, hence you have to experiment to get it right. Be aware that milk near to it's expiry date may be too risky; I have been caught out twice!

I started with a French press which produces a fuller body but now prefer using the filter method.

The biggest cost is for the hand grinder and only pennies for the rest!


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## PaulN (Mar 10, 2011)

I mainly use this at work. Its soooo easy to use and no mess.

Swissgold KF300 Permanent Coffee Filter - One Cup










For the basics preground coffee and this will get you good coffee.


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## Matt74 (Sep 15, 2011)

Hello,

I'm just beginner to this forum, like others I love coffee too. That's why I want to get a piece of advice on how to prepare a cup of coffee basically but it tastes good and richer, if possible an affordable one..Hoping for your response..


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## homecoffee (Sep 13, 2011)

WOW! Nice to know all these wonderful tips.....cheers!


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## Andy1164 (Sep 7, 2011)

I've just got round to ordering the Porlex hand grinder recommended by Mikehag.

To save me getting into ordering online to start with I wonder if any one could recommend some supermarket stocked roast beans?

Or am I beinf stupid?


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## seeq (Jul 9, 2011)

You won't get anything close to what you can get online from a supermarket, but in answer to your question, the top of the range waitrose beans are not terrible at £3.50 a bag, with your new grinder you would still notice a huge improvement over pre ground.


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## MikeHag (Mar 13, 2011)

No coffee roasters in your area?


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## chimpsinties (Jun 13, 2011)

If you want to experience proper fresh coffee then I can't praise coffeebeanshop.co.uk highly enough. For about £19 delivered you get 4 different coffee's roasted and shipped on the day of order. That's less than a fiver a bag.

Once you've tasted fresh coffee, you'll never want to go back to horrible stale supermarket muck. Trust me


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## Andy1164 (Sep 7, 2011)

Message recieved and understood


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