As far as I can tell, water makes the big difference in brewing coffee. Brewing temperature would be second.
We have wonderful well water at our house. This is a gift from Mother Nature and I appreciate it! Before we moved here, I used bottled water -- but just for coffee.
I have preferred Colombian coffee ever since a Consumer Reports test years ago rated Hills Bros. Colombian as the best. I would still buy Hills Bros. Colombian if I ever saw it in the store. But since it became scarce, I just buy whatever Colombian is the cheapest.
This year Consumer Reports put Eight O'Clock Colombian in its top spot, so I started buying that. It's excellent and I like the small pouches. Last night I made a pot of Eight O'Clock decaf and moistened the grounds with a little brandy before turning on the machine. Earlier in the week I'd read that you should "bloom" coffee before brewing. Looking at the website again (and isn't that a great photo?) I see that I should have given the coffee five minutes of blooming time, which I did not do.
Bob Gragson has a plain-vanilla list of tips for brewing. So far my list is short:
1. Use bottled water unless you are blessed with really fine tap water.
2. If you leave the carafe on the heating element, the coffee will get hotter and, thus, bitter.
3. Buy Colombian.
We have wonderful well water at our house. This is a gift from Mother Nature and I appreciate it! Before we moved here, I used bottled water -- but just for coffee.
I have preferred Colombian coffee ever since a Consumer Reports test years ago rated Hills Bros. Colombian as the best. I would still buy Hills Bros. Colombian if I ever saw it in the store. But since it became scarce, I just buy whatever Colombian is the cheapest.
This year Consumer Reports put Eight O'Clock Colombian in its top spot, so I started buying that. It's excellent and I like the small pouches. Last night I made a pot of Eight O'Clock decaf and moistened the grounds with a little brandy before turning on the machine. Earlier in the week I'd read that you should "bloom" coffee before brewing. Looking at the website again (and isn't that a great photo?) I see that I should have given the coffee five minutes of blooming time, which I did not do.
Bob Gragson has a plain-vanilla list of tips for brewing. So far my list is short:
1. Use bottled water unless you are blessed with really fine tap water.
2. If you leave the carafe on the heating element, the coffee will get hotter and, thus, bitter.
3. Buy Colombian.