If you want your coffee to be truly great, then you need to treat your kitchen like a laboratory—or so says Katie Carguilo, winner of the 2012 U.S. Barista champion. But regular joes (pun intended) shouldn't be put off by the sound of that; it's not that complicated! If you're ready to take your coffee brewing to the next level, read on for her expert tips:
As Carguilo told Slate in this recent article, the key elements to a great cup of coffee are: use a ceramic dripper (the Hario is one example), use the freshest beans you can possibly get your hands on, and grind them with a burr grinder right before brewing.
If you've got all those things, then follow Carguilo's step-by-step instructions for how to brew the best cup of coffee you'll likely ever have. (Note: I've been making coffee this way for about two years. It's no joke.)
→ Slideshow: How To Make an Awesome Cup of Coffee at Slate
Related: How To Brew Great Coffee: The Pour Over Method
(Image: Juliana Jiménez Jaramillo for Slate)
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This is exactly how I make my coffee, but I just use a plastic dripper. Can you explain the need for a ceramic one?
Ditto to both comment & request.
As a coffee professional (and a colleague of Katie's, actually!), maybe I can explain: The ceramic cones are better than plastic for a few reasons: Heat retention, durability, and, you know, they're not plastic. (Not to be all fear-mongery and anti-plastic, but come on.)
The heat retention and durability are key: Plastic won't hold on to heat very efficiently, which means you'll likely underextract your coffee as it cools down during the brew. Also, the lack of heat retention often means your coffee will be a very different temperature at the beginning than at the end of the process.
As far as durability, plastic will get brittle and crack over time basically no matter what you do, while ceramic will stay strong unless you drop and chip or break it.
That said, it's just great that you're manually brewing your coffee: If you prefer to use the cone you're using, there's absolutely nothing wrong with that! Just stay caffeinated. :)
I agree that you have to find your coffee ritual, and stick to it. No coffee ever tastes as good when people don't make it your way! Here's my own tried and tested - http://homefluffyhome.blog.com/2012/11/07/a-latte-look-forward-to/
just an fyi, counter culture is the best.
just an fyi, counter culture is ridiculously overrated. Have gone to plenty of local operations with fresher, more carefully tended to coffee. And kind of work in one. Not to say it isn't inherently good...but even before becoming a coffee professional, I would've rather gone to the local spot roasting their beans.
Nonsense #1. Ceramic is a better conductor of heat than plastic. Instead of retaining heat, you are transferring it into the ceramic, thus loosing heat in the water, and then the air surrounding it REMOVES this heat.
Nonsense #2. Plastic is far more durable than ceramic unless we are talking space shuttle ceramic.
Nonsense #3. "You know, they are not plastic"??? No, I don't know except to say you must find some fault with plastic. Perhaps it is not an earth friendly product?
My reply above was to The Nervous Cook.
Using a burr grinder and the freshest coffee beans you can get your hands on is great advice. I'm assuming "fresh" also refers to how recently the beans were roasted. Knowing where to buy coffee that is freshly roasted and promptly shipped to your front door can make a big difference in the coffee drinking experience, too.
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