how to brew a great pot of coffee???

This is pretty lame, cause at my age I should know better. But I just don't get it. I cannot brew a decent cup of coffee for the life of me.
Even working at a very busy, upscale coffee house for 8 years didn't teach me. Now I can make a cappucino foam that will withstand a Michigan snow storm, but I can't brew a pot of coffee at home. I've tried the suggestions from Alton Brown, Ina Garten and nothing tastes right. Use bottled water, have bought the finest coffee in my opinion, Intellegentsia from Chicago, but I suck at it. Please anyone help me so I can stay away from the local gas station coffee on my morning run!!!

What are you using to brew your coffee?

I have tried every method of brewing coffee I can think of and the only advice I can think of other then the obvious is to drink your coffee with people you love to be with, it will always taste best this way.

I have a new Mr. Coffee. My issues which I should have made clear is the amount of coffee(scoops) to water. For a 12 cups pot, Ina Garten suggests 1/2 cup coffee. Ugh...MUD! I know that there are better brewers out there and the French Press is wonderful. I just want to wake up to a good cup of coffee and if anyone has suggestions as to how many scoops, tablespoons, cups, whatever to a 12 cup measure of water....I will be forever grateful!!!

experiment.

Yeah well, Ina Garten seems to be fond of broccoli too, but that ain't going to make it taste any better to my broccoli hating self.

Exactly, experiment. That's how I came up with the perfect amount of coffee to add to my Bunn. Taste is personal, so how can we tell you what's good for you? Plus the amount you use will vary with what kind of coffee you have on hand.

We use Gevalia coffee's and with their blends, I use 3 round scoops of coffee for a 12 cup pot...on the weekends I may do 4 scoops cause I'm going to put some booze in the coffee.
But Like Capt. said, experiment...try the 3 rounded scoops, if it to weak, add another spoonful the next time....and so on.
I follwed Gevalia's directions the first time...when the coffee finished brewing, it grabbed a butcher knife off the counter...came into the living room and drug us back into the kitchen..

Try putting a pinch or 2 of of salt in the grind, seriously.

I don't think the Mr. Coffee gets hot enough to brew properly. The water needs to be just over 200 degrees when it hits the coffee, and there are very few automatic brewers that can achieve this.

I assume that you're also not grinding the coffee the night before and setting the machine to start automatically; that would also take a toll.

As to the amount of coffee, you might start out at two rounded tablespoons of coffee for every six ounces of water, and go from there. If your coffee is really muddy and bitter, you might try grinding it a little coarser. You might want to add more coffee than that, but much less will guarantee you a weak cup.

Otherwise, you might try a Chemex, which is a manual pour-over brewer that uses really good filters for a very clean cup. And since you have control over the temperature of the water, you know that you're always brewing hot enough. It's the same with a French Press, and if you don't like the sediment you can get a fine-mesh nylon filter that takes care of a lot of the problem.

I use one full cup of ground coffee for 32 ounces of water in a vacuum brewer, and I like that. So, everyone's mileage varies.

Good luck!

I have a 12-cup also. I use tap water that's cold. For the coffe, it's one slightly heaping grinder full of beans. It's the standard issue Braun grinder. I've never measured it but I use Starbuck's French Roast and it makes a pretty kick-ass pot of coffee.

Hey ChiTownDiner, are you from Chicago?

I would humbly submit that your water might be bad. I use filtered water that I get at the local supermarket dispenser for $.30/gal for all household needs. I use the city water for washing clothes and bathing and watering the garden. Beyond that, any tea, coffee, boiling or cooking comes from the water cooler. I believe there is a pronounced difference in the flavor of food and drinks. I brew coffee strong, by the way. I drink it every day and buy regular national-brand grinds. My coffee is good, although I am not a connoissuer.

quote:

Originally posted by enginecapt

Yeah well, Ina Garten seems to be fond of broccoli too, but that ain't going to make it taste any better to my broccoli hating self.

Exactly, experiment. That's how I came up with the perfect amount of coffee to add to my Bunn. Taste is personal, so how can we tell you what's good for you? Plus the amount you use will vary with what kind of coffee you have on hand.

LOL! (on item 1)
Agreed (on item 2)

I would suggest that you make sure you get good beans (I would mail order Peet's, but I'm a coffee snob), grind them yourself just before brewing, and I would personally use a French press because you can experiment a lot more.

With the press you can adjust the amount of coffee, amount of water AND time brewing, which you can't do with an automatic that's not ridiculously expensive (AFAIK).

Good luck! (And a belated Welcome to RF!)