The Perfect Cup of Coffee

The Perfect Cup of Coffee helps me start my day. I need a good bold cup of coffee in my day; it just makes me happy.

So, I thought I’d share several of my tips for the perfect cup of coffee.

How to take your coffee black. Brew the perfect cup of coffee. How I make cold coffee. And, what do those coffee roast levels mean?

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a good start to the day

I know I need an ally to the hustle; coffee totally helps me get my day started. There’s so much to do in a day, and coffee helps me get going and stay going.

I always start my day with a great cup of black coffee.

But, I didn’t always drink my coffee black. I used to drink my coffee with sugar and cream, or those blended high calorie coffees you can pay way too much for.

Now, I totally prefer my coffee black.

Check out my Tips on Updating your Home for some tips on building a little coffee nook in your home.

How do I take the cream and sugar out of my daily coffee?

A few years ago I switched to black coffee.

I like the flavor of black coffee better than when I have the cream and sugar in my coffee.

And, if you have a great coffee you’ll love black coffee even more. Also, you’ll want to make sure you brew your coffee well (see below for how to brew a perfect cup of coffee).

If you take sugar and cream, maybe you’d like to save the calories and not have the added sugar and fat.

I’m not a big fan of going cold turkey; I don’t think it works well for most people. So, I gradually like to switch.

Of course, that doesn’t mean I don’t love a good flavored latte like a latte made with Cardamom Syrup, or a Lavender Latte, or a Mint Mojito.

Switch to black coffee

If you want to switch to black coffee, here’s how I did it:

Eliminating the cream or milk wasn’t too hard for me.

Simply pour a little less in the cup each day. After ditching the milk, I took my coffee with two sugar cubes for a long time.

But, eliminating the sugar from my morning coffee was a bit more of a struggle.So, I went from two sugar cubes to one sugar cube.

And I drank that until I became used to that. Then, I actually switched to a bigger cup and kept the one cube of sugar (less sugar to coffee ratio).

Then after I got used to that, I took the sugar out entirely!

Now, no more sugar!

• Gradually cut back on the cream or milk that you add
• Switch from 2 cubes or spoonfuls of sugar to one
• Switch to a larger mug if you need to
• Gradually cut the cream and sugar altogether

The other trick to taking your daily coffee black is to brew the perfect cup of coffee. That’s easy! And delicious!

How to brew the perfect cup of coffee

Personally, I’m a fan of the coffee pot – the automatic drip coffee machine.

I love coming along, and pouring myself a big cup of coffee from the pitcher first thing in the morning.

Also, my husband and I both prefer our coffee cold. I’ll share with you how we make cold coffee a little later in the post, and how we keep it from being bitter.

• Rinse the coffee pot and filter basket after each use, making sure there are no leftover coffee grounds
• Use unbleached filter liners
• Use a medium grind for automatic drip coffee machines
  • If your coffee tastes bitter, it may be that the grind is too fine. If your coffee tastes flat, your grind may be too coarse (meaning not enough flavor comes out in the brewing).
• Use cold, filtered water
  • Warm water can pick up “off” flavors
  • Warm or hot water is much more likely to leach the heavy metal from your plumbing pipes
  • Avoid distilled or softened water
• Use 2 tablespoons of ground coffee per 6 ounces of fresh cold water (this can be adjusted to suit individual taste preferences, because ultimately coffee should be exactly how you like it)

What do those coffee roast levels mean?

As coffee roasts, the color becomes darker, oils appear on the surface of the beans, and the flavor of the coffee deepens.

• Light roast coffee is lighter in flavor and color, with more acidity, and it retains more of the caffeine, which is why light roasts are often labeled as breakfast blends – they help wake you up in the morning. There’s also no oil on the surface of light roast beans.
• Medium roast coffees are medium brown color with more balanced flavor and body. Like the lighter roasts, they have no oil on the bean surface. Medium roasts are often my blend of choice.
• Dark roasts have a richer, darker color with a deeper flavor and heavy body, and some oil on the surface of the beans. The oil is also in the cup of coffee when it’s brewed. Dark blends have more of a bitter or smoky taste than the lighter blends. I love the 1850 Brand Coffee Black Gold Dark Roast because it’s bold & smooth, never bitter with a coffee shop strength, but not exclusively dark roasted. Dark roasts are lovely as an after dinner cup of coffee.

How to make Cold Coffee

So, we’ve talked about how I started taking my coffee black, and we’ve talked about how to brew the perfect cup of coffee, and about what those level of roast are. Now let’s talk about cold coffee.

You may have seen posts on cold brew coffee. Those recipes where you take the coffee grounds and soak them in cold water in the fridge overnight, and strain the grounds out in the morning. That’s not my favorite way to make cold coffee. I have found that way to make bitter coffee, it’s a bit of a mess, and it uses lots of grounds to make a small amount of coffee.

My favorite way to make cold coffee

I use my coffee machine!

That’s right, I brew my coffee the same way for hot and cold. The only difference is that as soon as the coffee is done brewing, I take it off the heating element. Turn the machine off. Unplug the machine, and let the coffee come to room temperature.

After it sits on the counter and comes to room temperature, it goes in the fridge. That’s my simple method for making the perfect cup of cold coffee.

• Use a great coffee bean
• Use a medium grind
• Brew it using the golden ratio of coffee to water (as outlined above)
• Take it off of the heating element as soon as it’s done brewing
• Place it in the fridge once it has cooled

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Enjoy your bold coffee

Enjoy your bold day. Make sure to be bold in your enjoyment too – don’t let the days slip away too fast.

Take in the aroma. Notice the flavors. Enjoy the time. That goes for your coffee as well as the moments in your life.