Experience Coffee With Tips From Grosse Pointe Barista

There are coffee drinkers, then there are Coffee Drinkers. If you are the former, you brew your coffee at home, likely using the pre-ground version purchased at the grocery store. If you are the latter, you grind your own beans, or you have them ground for you on the setting that most fits your coffeemaker situation – paper or gold filter, flat bottom or cone shaped.

Regardless which camp you fall into, any coffee drinker wants the best possible java experience. So we asked our friends at in The Village on how to brew the best pot of delicious coffee. Their coffee is always smooth and excellent tasting, so they were the natural choice.

“A lot of people don’t understand how their coffeemakers work, or how much coffee they need to make a really good pot,” said Caribou barista Rachel Delmott.

Delmott recommends one tablespoon of coffee grounds for every six ounces of water. This is usually where most people go wrong. They use too few grounds or too much water, resulting in a diluted taste. Of course, at Caribou, their coffee is fresh and in bean form, which locks in the flavor. It also has not been freeze dried or put in a can and sealed for “freshness.”

“The biggest mistake people make is they put their beans in the refrigerator or the freezer,” said Caribou manager Vicky Valente. “That dries out the oils in the coffee and that’s where the flavor comes from. Never store coffee in your fridge. Store it at room temperature in a Tupperware container.”

Now that you understand the whole “bean” situation, it’s time to find out the best way to get an amazing cup of coffee at home. Two words: French press. The French press is a glass container with a metal fitting for the top that has a plunger or sorts attached to it. You place the coffee grounds in the bottom and fill the container with boiling water – at least 190 degrees. Place the top on the press and let it sit for five minutes. Then slowly lower the plunger, trapping the grounds in the bottom and allowing you to pour your perfect cup of coffee.

“It’s the way to enjoy the fullest flavor of the coffee,” Valente said. “The coffee is mixing with the water to release all of its flavors. I love the French press.”

But before you spoon those grounds into your French press, make sure they are ground for this type of brewing. The French press grind is larger, a bit coarser. This way you avoid too much sediment in the bottom of your cup. Now get the half and half, a scone and get ready to enjoy a really great cup of coffee at home.