Why You Should Drink Coffee For Flavor

Coffee is one of the greatest drinks in the world. So many cultures drink coffee, they have different brewing methods, but they appreciate the flavor you can get in the glass.

V60 Brewer

In America, coffee is also very popular. But I will make the statement that most Americans drink it wrong. They drink it for effect, not for flavor. If they tell you they drink it for flavor it’s because they add milk and sugar to coverup the coffee. I was this person a few years back. Then a friend of mine exposed me to specialty coffee. He also introduced me to making great coffee at home. This is episode 58 of my podcast, and if your interested in getting into coffee this episode is a great listen.

Most people don’t know that the coffee bean is actually the seed of a cherry. So coffee is a fruit based drink. This means you don’t need milk and sugar to have a tasty cup of coffee. What you need are the knowledge and the tools to make this fruity, sweet or chocolate acidic cup of coffee at home. Once you get the knowledge and the tools your coffee world will change, for the better.

My Coffee Bar

If you’re into getting the best flavors out of your food, wine, whiskeys and you’re a coffee drinker and you’re not drinking specialty coffee, you need to start. You can thank me later!

I’m not going to go down the rabbit hole on this blog, but I will share a few reasons why making great coffee at home is something you should consider.

COST - The cost to have great coffee at home is more than Folgers, but the results are worth the minimal cost increase. The cost for a bag of specialty roasted coffee is between $17-22. So lets say you spend $20 on a bag, you can get 15-20 cups of coffee from that 12 oz bag. That means your cost per cup is $1 - $1.30. That’s not a lot, especially if you’re stopping daily to get a cup from a specialty shop. That can cost you $8 per cup.

COFFEE - You can control the flavor profile of your coffee. When you buy coffee at a grocery store, it’s already ground. This is not good for a couple of reasons. One - once ground the coffee will go bad faster. Two - you can not control the extraction of flavors of the coffee. You always want to buy your beans whole. This will allow you to play with the grind size with allows you to play with the extraction and the flavors you will get in the cup.

Coffee

Get your coffee from a Specialty Roaster, buy multiple bags. This allows you to have a different flavor profile each day.

BREW METHOD - Having options for your brewing method is a great way to have some versatility with your beans. This can get really nerdy and scientific, so I won’t go there. Simply put, the type of brewer (drip / pour over, emersion) the water temp and time will allow you to play with the flavors you get from your coffee. BTW - A scale will be needed as well.

My Brew and Grinder Bar

Next to my coffee bar is my brew and grinder bar. Different brewers and different hand grinders.

EQUIPMENT - You do need a few pieces of equipment to get started. The ROI on the investment is less than a month, once you start making coffee at home. What you will need to make great coffee at home - Coffee, Brewer, Grinder, and Hot Water. The grinder is the biggest investment here. You can get a good hand grinder for about $80, you can get a good machine grinder for about $200. The brewer will cost you $12 and everyone has hot water. At some point you will want a kettle if you are doing a pour over, but a lot of people have a kettle for tea.

Where to buy your coffee - DO NOT buy your coffee from a grocery store, even if they sell whole beans. You need to buy your coffee from a specialty roaster. Depending on where you live you should have a local coffee roaster providing some great beans. If you don’t have a local roaster, there’s the internet. So many roasters have a website and ship their beans. My point is, getting great beans is pretty easy.