Four steps to good coffee

Considering investing a large amount into that new fancy semi-automatic "can-do-everything" coffeemachine? Which of course sets you back half of your monthly paycheck, but yields of great coffee for years to come? To things: you do not have to spend half your paycheck, a day's worth of income should to it. Second: that mega-super-duper machine you have on top of your wish-list just doesn't make great coffee. It even won't produce espresso, per definition. I know you won't listen to me, but just read these words and pretend to agree: You will not be able to make espresso unless spending considerable amounts of time, effort and sweat into it. Espresso is not a pre-produced luxury commodity like wine, but a liquid you have to create yourself, given the right tools and raw materials (that is, freshly roasted coffee beens).

Nevertheless, what do you need to create something that is better than a fancy and pricy "espresso machine", to just a fraction of the price? You won't be able to make espresso, but you'll get as close as possible without pursuing it as your new time-consuming hobby. Well, you need four things, also depending on how much coffee you drink or how many coffee-drinking friends you have (they will come back for more coffee after you master the easily adopted technique of handling these four pieces of equipment).



1. A coffee grinder
It is the heart of any coffee production, and you may never again drink pre-grinded coffee after having tasting what fresh grinds do to the taste of your cup. The quality of the grinder is depending on the purpose, but buy as high quality as you can afford. It's really worth it! Myself, I have the Compak K-3 grinder, a bargain at its price of 2750 kroner (350 euros). This is the most pricey piece of coffee equipment you will have, the rest costs just a fraction.


2. An Aeropress
This incredible little "makes-one-cup-at-the-time" plastic thingie simply creates awsome coffee, given that you treat it right. And the best of all, it's your for about 250 kroner including shipping from eBay (few retailers in Norway, so far). The Aeropress is great if you only want one cup of coffee. It's easy to use and clean, and it's creating that cup of coffee in less than a minute! Just what you need!


3. A Bialetti coffee maker
Also known as the mocha pot, this thing creates what's called mocha (no, not chocolate flavoured coffee), which is closely related to espresso. The main difference is that the coffee is created at considerably lower pressure, and with steam water rather than just hot water. Just like the Aeropress, it is easy to use, but you may need a couple of tips to avoid bitterness. When mastering this piece, you create coffee that is greater than almost all expensive "espresso machines" out there. It's a bargain at its cheap 250 kroners. Oh, and, do not by a large one "just in case". Go for the three-cup size, and repeat the process if you need to make six cups.


4. A french press
Sometimes you have friends on visit, or you are having a hand-in you started on way to late. So, you need enough coffee to serve all at once. A french press is what you need. It produces better coffee than any drip-coffe machine, and is really a swift to use. This thing also have some secrets that may increase the taste of the coffee significantly, but the most important is to NEVER leave the coffee in the french press, but pour the coffee into another container. If it is left in the french press, the coffee grounds will emit a bitter taste to your coffee.


5. And of course, the fifth element...
Freshly roasted coffee. I cannot underline this enough. Your coffee supplier need to know when the coffee was roasted (the date), and it should not be older than two weeks from purchase. Then you will have about a week to drink it, if you are to enjoy the best taste characteristics of the coffee. Quality coffee is costly, but it is absolutely worth it. Cheapest bag of quality is about 60 kroner per 250 grams. See Temperato, Java, Stockfleths, Tim Wendelboe, and in emergeny cases Kaffebrenneriet, to acquire high quality coffee.

Need more information, just leave me a comment and I can elaborate on this topic all the way into the next century.