Coffee Brewing Tips

If you love coffee like we do, then you deserve the best coffee you can get without having to pay $5.00 a cup, and you can do this right at home.
The Coffee Itself
Great coffee flavor begins with freshly ground beans, regardless of where they're from. When using whole coffee beans, grind them immediately before brewing, and only grind that which you'll use right now. As ground coffee sits, it begins to loose it's freshness and flavor at an alarming rate, so don't over do it unless you have to, like if you're borrowing someone else's grinder. When done with the your beans (or your store bought ground coffee) for the session, be sure to protect the freshness of the beans or ground coffee by storing in an airtight, light protected container, (not clear glass) in a cool place, but do not refrigerate! Heat, cold, air, light and moisture are the enemy!
Water
Always start with fresh, clean, cool water. Since brewed coffee is mostly water, if the water isn't delightful, odds are really poor that the coffee will be delightful. We use distilled and sometimes purified water, and every now and again we use filtered water from a Pur water filter attached to our water tap, or from a Brita pitcher.
Amount of Coffee, and Fine or Course Grind
A subjective as taste is, the amount of coffee you use per pot or per cup really depends on taste. The same applies to the coarseness of the grind. As a starting point, two rounded tablespoons of ground coffee for every six ounces of water is good, more coffee making it stronger, less weaker. However, you might prefer a fine grind, in which case you'll probably want to reduce the amount of coffee itself, and the reverse for a course grind. However, using too little coffee can result in bitterness in the cup. Using a coffee scoop will ensure your accuracy. Experimentation is the key, and once you have your recipe down you'll be able to enjoy cup after delightful cup.
Coffee Machines
Once upon a time we signed up for Gevalia coffee because the idea of a coffee subscription to a well known brand sounded great, and we got a free coffee brewer. As nice as the brewer was, it died in about 6 months, and during that time we'd discovered many methods of brewing and coffees themselves that were just as good, if not better, so we cancelled the subscription.
We use mostly drip machines, some really good, some not so much, but even so we've found it is truly hard to make a bad cup of coffee with most of them. You'll want to be aware of the water temperature of your brewing equipment. A good brew temperature is 195-200 degrees Fahrenheit. If you use a French press or a plunge pot, water should be heated in a separate container and poured just  before the water boils. Don't use boiling water! It'll turn your grounds to mush!
How Long is Too Long?
I'm a coffee junkie rather than a purist, so it doesn't really bother me much to drink 3 or 4 hour old coffee that was made right (versus 30 minutes old disgusting coffee) even if it's been on a burner the whole time. However, just made coffee right from the brewer is always the tastiest. Most coffee tastes best when consumed immediately after brewing, and it will stay tasty for 30 minutes or so on a warmer. A good thermal carafe will keep your coffee delightful for much longer, and many coffee brewer makers have models that have unheated thermal carafes rather than glass carafes on heater plates. This keeps constant heat from evaporating water out of the coffee and making the coffee bitter.
Roasts and Beans
This is so very subjective, so we recommend that you try several different beans or blend of beans at several different roast levels to find your perfect tastes. You can even get a home raster to roast your own green (raw) beans to your own perfect level.

Be sure to clean your equipment regularly. A clean coffee brewer is important to great tasting coffee. Periodically, use a mild detergent or baking soda to remove build-up, film and oil in the carafe, and run either vinegar or coffee maker cleaner through your brewer to remove calcium and lime build up, as well as dirt.