by Leonard Keigher

Created on: July 26, 2007   Last Updated: September 14, 2008

If you want to make a great pot of coffee, I'll tell you my secrets. I receive compliments all the time for my coffee, and a few years ago I began to wonder why? What was different about the coffee I was serving? This is what I figured out.

1. Poor quality coffee tastes awful. It looks thin. It can't carry a decent aroma. The "mouth" registers more to temperature than to taste.

2. Brew coffee as dark as you can with the coffee that you have. Sometimes a certain coffee just won't satisfy you though. In that situation just get rid of that coffee and start over.

3. The darker the brew the greater the flavor.

4. Stay away from fancy flavored coffee.

5. Always look for the darkest French roast available. You can always modify this with the milder coffees but without a GOOD dark roast base all is lost. The body of your coffee must be dense so that the rich "mouth" will be there. Float your other coffee tastes on top of this and all will be well.

6. Never, ever serve your coffee too hot! This is very important! If you scald your mouth, you won't be able to enjoy the rich flavor you crave.

7. Always buy a good quality coffee but, don't over pay because a cup of good coffee is much simpler than marketing would have you believe. Just learn to brew it correctly. Either grind your own or grind at the store. Remember to use up this ground coffee quickly, as the best part of your coffee the aroma, immediately begins to degrade after grinding.

8. Always, grind your coffee a little finer than recommended. Don't go overboard though because your filter won't be able to hold the particles if they're too fine.

10. Always make certain that your machine is clean and never allow coffee to dry up in your pot.

11. Get a machine with a built in mesh filter if possible because that way it becomes easy to add in fresh grounds on the top of the old when you brew a fresh pot. See recommendation # 13

12. Once you make a fresh pot of coffee, consider the first pot a test of sorts. The second pot will usually be better. Especially, if you follow recommendation # 13.

13. Always leave your grounds in the basket from pot to pot. Once the basket is filled with grounds then you empty the basket. If you don't do this your coffee will only be ordinary, if that. This is a very real difference between my coffee and that which others brew.

14. Think a lot about your water. If using tap water, as I do, then allow the water to run for some time before filling your machines reservoir. The idea is to avoid at all costs

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