Ever since I started working as a professional programmer, I’ve been a pretty big coffee drinker. Part of the appeal was always the ritual of walking to the coffee maker in the break room with my teammates, and certainly, the caffeine has always played a big role. But even from when I first started drinking coffee, I always took it black, and always thought that it tasted “just fine”, no matter what kind it was, or where it came from. I’d say I enjoyed all of the routine and ceremony and side-effects (i.e., the warmth and energy) more than the taste of the drink itself.
A few months ago I was reminded of an experiment that I conducted in the office we used to rent, where they had coffee from two different providers, and some of my teammates expressed a real preference for one over the other. I used to maintain the position that I couldn’t tell a difference between them, and they were all good to me – that any coffee was good enough for me. But one day I decided to do a side-by-side taste test of these two options. Much to my surprise, I really could tell a difference between the two, and from that day on, I always was insistent on having the one I liked better.
I think that this experiment showed the potential for me to appreciate better coffees. Yet, once the COVID-19 lockdown came, and I switched to drinking all of my coffee at home, I settled for some very “okay” K-cups.
Gratefully, I had 3 sources of inspiration to experience something more:
- First is my best friend James Maes, who has always had a taste for finer things in life. He has spent years working searching for a great cup of homemade coffee, and he is not shy to share with all the rest of us when he’s enjoying an amazing cup. James is also a fanatic researcher, and he sent me a great YouTube channel focused on making good coffee: James Hoffman.
- Second, was a podcast episode I heard (a special members-only episode) of the show Under the Radar, where two somewhat well-known programmers in the Apple/iOS community, Marco Arment and David Smith, shared their experiences finding better ways to brew at home.
- Finally, I re-read a blog that I wrote from the time I did that side-by-side taste test, and finally I decided that it was time to try to take my home coffee game to the next level.
My Setup
Once I decided to step into the world of making good homemade coffee, naturally, I went to James for his experience (he doesn’t give advice – only shares experiences). He told me that 3 things matter, and they are in this order of importance: Beans, Grind, and Delivery. Each of these elements can be a world in and of itself, and I spent a week or two researching them lightly. So now I’ll share what I ended up using, and I’ll tell the story backwards, starting with the end of the process, the delivery mechanism.
Part 3 (or 1?): Delivery
When we talk about delivery, we mean the thing you do to add water to your ground beans, to actually make your coffee. My understanding is that this may be the least important part of the process, but my goodness there seems to be a huge variety of options for how to do it. In this case, I followed the tip from that podcast I mentioned before, and went with an AeroPress. It seemed like a cost-effective, and easy-to-use device, yet at the same time, it is well reviewed both by those podcasters, as well as by James Hoffman the YouTube coffee guru.
It took me about a week of repetitions with the AeroPress before I felt confident with what I was doing, but now it’s become second nature. The basic process is:
- Grind one scoop of beans, while heating up 8oz of water (I actually still use my Keurig for this!).
- Insert a filter paper into the bottom of the AeroPress outer cylinder.
- Pour your ground beans on top of the filter and shake to level the grinds.
- Place the cylinder onto your drinking cup, and add hot water into the cylinder up to the (1) mark.
- Stir the water and beans for about 10 seconds.
- Insert the inner cylinder (with a rubber plunger on the bottom) into the outer cylinder and slowly press down. Pause when you feel pressure. Eventually press all the way down until it hits the grinds.
- Clean up by ejecting the “puck” into the trash, and wiping the plunger from the inner cylinder.
- Add the rest of the hot water into your drinking cup, and immediately start enjoying!!
That sounds like a lot, but it only takes me about 3 minutes, and it’s actually kinda fun to do 🙂
Part 2: The Grind
Since I decided early on to use the inexpensive AeroPress for my delivery mechanism, I felt like I could spend a little bit of money on my grinder. Having no idea where to start this search, and only with the basic info of knowing that I should have a “burr grinder” (as opposed to a blade grinder), I ended up taking a recommendation from James Hoffman on YouTube, and going with the Encore Baratza.
I’m not sure what else there is to say about my grinder. It seems to work very well. It is kinda loud, but only for the less-than-a-minute that it takes to grind enough beans for one cup. It does make a great smell – but, all of this, maybe any grinder would do just as well? So, it seems like a win, I’m just not sure what better or worse options are out there.
Part 3 (or 1): The Beans
The last thing I needed to be ready to start brewing good coffee at home was a source of beans. Now I guess maybe the very best experience comes from roasting them yourself at home – but I haven’t decided to go that far just yet. From what I hear, you can get pretty similar quality, and avoid a somewhat difficult step of roasting at home, as long as you buy and use freshly roasted beans. If you use them within a few weeks of their roasting date, your results should be pretty good.
I spent a little bit of time trying, unsuccessfully to find a local rooster or to find freshly roasted beans at my local grocery stores, but I had no luck. Then I chanced upon https://www.drinktrade.com, which offers a subscription service where they’ll ship you a bag of freshly roasted beans on a schedule of your choosing (like every week or 10 days or two weeks). They even have a program for beginners like me, where you can tell them a little info about your tastes, and they’ll recommend specific beans for you. Then as you rate the beans they send you, they adjust your subscription.
The Results
I have to say, I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect. Remember, before I did that side by side taste test, I thought I wasn’t picky about coffee. So, was all of this a waste of time?
But: Boy oh boy, from the first cup of freshly roasted beans that I ground at home and immediately brewed in my AeroPress, I knew that I had made a very good decision to get into this world.
The best way I can try to describe the flavor difference between good coffee and my old K-cups is that the good coffee is so much more subtle, more smooth, more delicate. My old coffee was like music that was turned up too loud and was clipping. My new coffee is intriguing, inviting, and making me want to know more about it. It makes me want to drink every cup down to the bottom. My old coffee was like being yelled at – my new coffee is like having a compelling conversation.
Some evidence that I really do like it better (and that I’m not just telling myself that it’s better):
- I used to, every morning when I came to my office, have a half an inch of coffee left in my cup from the day before that I had to dump down the drain. Now, every cup I make, I drink it completely empty.
- I ran out of beans a few weeks ago, and had to make an old K-cup. I could barely drink it. It was just so strong and rough – not elegant and complex.
- Now, I make coffees on the weekend. I used to be content to take Saturday and Sunday off from coffee, in the before times.
- In a similar vein, I find myself making cups of coffee and bringing them in a travel mug in the car, which is something that I never used to do.
My new brewing process is slower than making a K-cup. It takes me about 3 minutes to grind and brew a cup. But I even get enjoyment out of those 3 minutes. The smell of the freshly ground beans fills my office. I’m so happy I’ve made this change!
