There are three basic, vital coffee brewing tips I’ll impart.
Find good, fresh beans: Great coffee starts with high-quality beans. Quality beans can make even cheap brewing equipment shine. And high quality means fresh. Find a local coffee roaster in your area.
For testing, I used beans from Jittery Joe’s Roasting Company in Athens, Georgia, specifically the Wake-n-Bake blend. (Disclosure: I worked for Jittery Joe’s for many years, it’s a favorite of mine.) I also have been enjoying Grounds and Hounds’ Snow Day Blend.
If you don’t have a coffee roaster nearby, you can order beans online from reputable sellers like Blue Bottle Coffee or try a wide variety through a coffee subscription service like Atlas Coffee Club, or Grounds and Hounds.
Get a quality grinder: Once you have good, freshly roasted beans you need to grind them. You’ll want a burr grinder, which grinds your beans evenly rather than chopping them like a blade grinder. I use a well-loved Hario Mini that I’ve had for years, but if I were buying a new one I’d get a larger burr grinder like the 1Zpresso JX series grinder.
Experiment: Pick one of these coffee makers and start experimenting with it at home. If you want to have reproducible results, make sure you weigh out your beans and water using a good scale like the Apexstone scale with timer so you can track your pour-over pace, and take notes. It may sound nerdy, and it is, but after experimenting for a few days you’ll likely find something you love, and if you have notes then you’ll know how to make your perfect cup of coffee—no matter where you are.
