If you've been paying attention, you have great water and fresh coffee. Now the question is how to put the two together for a great cup of coffee. This is where we've seen things go off the rails, so we're here to help.
We're going to focus on simple drip coffee for now. It's the most common, easiest, economical way to make coffee at home (we'll come around to discussing the infamous "k-cup" revolution in a later tip).
Your best friend here is going to be a scale. You'll need this because no matter what anyone tells you about "x number of rounded spoonfuls" you'll never get it either accurate or consistent from one brew to another. And everyone's "spoon" is a different size. So get yourself a scale. Any food scale will do - just be sure it can weigh in grams.
The best place to start is by using the "golden ratio" developed by the Speciality Coffee Association (yes, that's a real thing). The "golden ratio" for coffee brewing dictates a coffee-to-water ratio of 1:16 to 1:18, depending on preference. Ok, what does that equate to in cups of water and grams of coffee?
In the United States, coffee brewers refer to a "cup" as 6 oz (yes, it's different in other parts of the world). So a 10 cup brewer uses 60 oz of water. Then use 80-85g of coffee, based on your preference.
Remember, coffee is personal, so this is just a guide. Create your own proportions to match your own taste buds and you'll be well on your way to enjoying a consistently great cup of coffee.
Next week, we've been asked by some of you to talk about cold brewing. So stay tuned for some tips for making it at home. Until then, we hope you're having great moments with locally roasted, fresh coffee. Cheers!