I can't make good coffee at home!!

jcm

jcm

Cathlete
I have tried so many things to make good coffee at home. I use filtered water. I bought good beans. I bought a grinder and ground the beans myself. Does anyone know how to do good, coffee shop good, at home? It always has this weird bitter taste and smell. Do I need a certain brand of high end coffee maker? It would pay for itself if I quit buying coffee at the shop all the time!
 
Your coffee maker may have some build-up in it. Other than that, you've covered all the bases that I would have.
 
I am exactly the same as you(I know...that doesn't help you much;-) but at least you're not alone )I've tried everything too. I hope someone has a fool-proof method. I don't know what I'm doing wrong.
 
Do you ever buy just regular brands like Maxwell House or Folgers? I notice that brands like Starbucks is usually stronger and a bit more bitter which I can handle but DH hates. I LOVE Maxwell House/Folgers as they always taste smooth to me. (Also, LOVE McD's coffee!!!)


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Your-Friend-In-Fitness, DebbieH (AKA "Den Mother Debbie") http://www.clicksmilies.com/s0105/aktion/action-smiley-066.gif[/img] If You Get The Choice To Sit It Out Or Dance, I Hope You DANCE!
 
I don't drink coffee, but I make the coffee for DH. He prefers it to be made in a french press. I got one for about $15 from a local kitchen outlet and he absolutely loves the coffee made from it. I buy a bag of ground coffee beans for it. If you do this, don't get Bodum brand...the screen on the press scrapes agains the glass a little too much.
 
I have to say that I always loved the WaWa's coffee and could never get mine to taste the same. Finally I realized, it's the half and half I always put in it there. I know it's more calories but I have to have a splash. Now my home coffee tastes just as good. Good thing to since I moved away.
LD
 
Also, the amount of coffee you use, matters. We aren't real strong coffee drinkers and use 2/3 C. of coffee to 12 Cups of water.


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Your-Friend-In-Fitness, DebbieH (AKA "Den Mother Debbie") http://www.clicksmilies.com/s0105/aktion/action-smiley-066.gif[/img] If You Get The Choice To Sit It Out Or Dance, I Hope You DANCE!
 
My dad is a Certified Starbucks Coffee Master (yes, it's a real thing - he had to take a test for it and everything!)... so I've listened to him tell me all about how to make good coffee. *rolling eyes*

Get a GOOD grinder - a burr grinder, NOT a blade grinder - a good burr grinder can be had for $60, but they can run much more $$ than that.

Grind only as much as you are going to use RIGHT AWAY. Going to make 4 cups of coffee? Only grind as many beans as you need to make 4 cups. As ground coffee is exposed to air, it becomes more bitter and less flavorful. ETA - it should go without saying that you should avoid buying already ground coffee for this reason!

"Good beans" are kind of "in the mouth of the beholder", since everyone has such different tastes in coffee. Try a few different types of beans (from different geographical locations) so you can really get a feel for different types of coffees.

Your coffeemaker is very important. The BEST method for making good coffee is french press. Hands down. Make sure, if you use a french press, to grind the coffee accordingly - it should be a coarser grind than for a drip coffeemaker.

There's a lot of science behind coffeemaking... and I am not a Certified Coffee Master like my dad is, so I can't really explain it all. But these are the things he's drilled into my head over and over. ;) Hope it helps!
 
I buy Dunkin Donuts coffee, already ground, by the pound. I LOVE that stuff! And it tastes just as good at home......I have a grinder but I pretty much abandoned it after I found out you could buy DD's coffee for home brewing.

You might try cleaning your coffeemaker by running a pot of vinegar through it. I do it once every week or two & it seems to keep the coffee tasting rich & yummy.
 
Laura!

I love DD coffee too! DH does too and sometimes will stop on his way home and bring me one. (We usually only drink coffee in the morn but make an exception once in awhile!) Yummmo! :9


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RE: Laura!

I am another DD lover!! It is the ONLY coffee that has ever touched my coffee maker. I also have a really good Krups Karafe (sp?) pot. You can have them grind a bag for you at DD or you can just buy it already ground. I usually buy the bags already ground. Oh, also, I never use as much as they say. I use a heaping tablespoon of coffee for every two cups. so for 10 cups I use 5 heaping tablespoons.

Everyone raves about my coffee. Hmmm, pretty easy!!! But, my secret ( and now yours, LOL)
 
RE: Laura!

I like DD coffee too and I used to buy it for home. I love really strong cuban coffee/espresso. I make my own (decaf) latte's with the Cafe Pilon cuban espresso using a krups machine every morning. Starbucks latte's can't hold a candle to mine. Whenever I make coffee by the pot, I brew espresso just like coffee and drink it half and half with milk.
 
Well, I'm happy I'm not the only one! I have tried EVERYTHING I can think of - cleaning my coffee maker, buying a NEW one, using bottled water, filtered water, etc., different beans or grounds and it always smells and tastes funny. I know that some people make coffee at work too and it's even WORSE! I walk by the coffee maker and it just smells burned...the scent even makes my stomach hurt! BLAH!

I actually stopped drinking coffee for this reason! :)
 
THANK YOU!!

I switched to tea all last winter because of this. I have a french press - I'll try it again w/ half and half. WHY does coffee shop coffee taste "normal"???? I seriously can't drink other stuff. My mom makes coffee in a percolator at the Holidays and that is pretty good. I"m sick of spending $2 a day!! HELP!!!! The only thing I haven't tried is the gal whose dad is a certified coffee person - my grinder has a blade. Other than that ...
 
Runnergirl - I too love WaWa coffee! It is STILL the best. I used to get it at 6 a.m. at a WaWa near my boyfriend's (who is now my husband) apartment on my way to work. Irish Cream WaWa coffee, take me away!
 
What Materialsgirl said. I roast my own coffee and have become quite a coffee geek. There are two websites that will give you a lot of info on coffee. Sweet Marias and the coffee geek forum. French press is wonderful. Also most coffee makers don't get the water hot enough. The water should be at least 200 degrees. Also you might try finding a local roaster to buy some beans from. Roasted beans in the stores are old most of the time and usually roasted to dark. Coffee ground and not used within 10 minutes is considered stale by some. So even if you buy the beans and grind them in the store it is old before you ever used it all. Most coffee geeks can't stand Starbucks and call it charbucks as their coffee is so over roasted. The grinder is the most important thing. You have to have a good one if you are going to grind your own. I got a kitchen aid that is Ok but never use a whirly blade one. I am rambling to much. Just a whole lot to learn about coffee and I don't begin to know it all but am learning.
 
Yep. There is a place close to here that I've gotten beans from - they roast their own. So basically I'll try that again, with a bean grinder that doesn't have a blade (?) and doing it in a french press with really hot water and half and half. Or just $2 a day at Nadeans Coffee Place!!
 
Just bring the water to a boil and then turn if off and let it stop for a few seconds then pour it into your French press. Also grind fairly course for a french press. If you grind to fine you will over extract and get bitter. Maybe your roaster could grind them for you for french press.
 
My DH makes my coffee for me almost every morning...and he doesn't even like the stuff :eek: But it is always better than mine because we say that it is made with love;)
 
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