Making the perfect coffee is a science. You can find the best bean or blend but sometimes you can ruin it by making it wrong.
Ben Angelo, roast master at the Water Street Coffee Joint in Kalamazoo, says the first step is finding the right grounds to water ratio.
“Most people are used to coffee that’s weak,” says Angelo, who started out at Water Street’s downtown location and has been its roast master for the past five years roasting 100,000 pound of coffee a year for the shops and local restaurants that serve it in their restaurants. “We’re members of the Specialty Coffee Association of American and we’ve done all the regular testing to find out how much is extracted, and we’ve found that a 2 Tablespoon to 6 ounce coffee ratio is ideal.”
And not only are fresh beans essential (make sure your beans are no longer than a week old), but beans that are ground right before you brew your coffee with the right coffee grinder.
“Most home grinders have a double blade that chips the beans,” Angelo says. “You don’t get a good consistency because some of it’s fine and some of it’s coarse. A burr grinder that has a set of teeth gets the right consistency.”
Water, which is 98% of your cup of joe, is often the most neglected ingredient, and tap water is the biggest offender.
“Most people have tap water that has some undesirable things in the water like chlorine in the city or heavy minerals from well water that affect the taste,” Angelo says. “We’ve always been big proponents of filtered water. It’s very inexpensive and it makes a good cup of coffee.”
While electric coffee makers are most peoples’ favorite kitchen appliance, taking a more holistic approach to brewing one cup at a time is most preferred.
“Most home coffee makers are incapable of getting water to the correct temperature to get the right extraction,” Angelo says. “Water should be about 195-205 degrees and you can get that with a stovetop or electric tea kettle. I recommend using a French press or a Melitta. You pour the water into a cone-shaped filter and it drips into your cup or pot.
Want more tips? Angelo is holding brewing classes at Water Street’s Oakwood location at 3037 Oakland Drive in Kalamazoo on Feb. 19 and March 4.
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