Brewing the Best Coffee at Home!

Attempting to find the best way to brew your coffee at home is a daunting task. There are literally thousands of products on the market that claim to be the best, and you can make a sizeable investment only to find that it's not what you dreamed it would be. The truth is that the way your coffee is brewed is a personal preference and, if you're a serious coffee drinker, you'll want to pay careful attention and take all the time needed before you make that investment.

Coffee machines are popular and most are quick and easy to use. You can purchase them with only the bare bones or go all out for a coffee machine that does everything but drink it for you. There are also numerous accessories, coffee grinders, espresso machines and percolators. Many coffee connoisseurs consider the French press coffee maker as the crème de la crème method of producing the very best cup of coffee. Try to sample various types of coffee using a variety of coffee makers before you make a final decision on purchasing one.

No matter what type of coffee maker you choose, be sure that it's clean to avoid a bitter taste or a cloudy cup of coffee. You'll need to clean most coffee makers at least once a month following the directions that came with the product. Usually a simple vinegar and water mixture works just fine, but if you live in a hard water area you may need a special detergent to get rid of calcification.

So many types of coffee beans - so little time to try them all. Since the advent of Starbuck's many who never thought much about coffee beans are now seeking the best of the best cup of coffee. But stopping by a corner coffee café for your morning joe is relatively expensive and somewhat time-consuming, so many of us are discovering that we can brew an even better cup of coffee right in our own homes.

If you're concerned about freshness of the beans, purchase the green, unroasted variety and roast your own. You can also get a fresher tasting coffee by grinding pre-roasted coffee beans just before you brew it. Like wine, the best coffee bean for you depends on your palate, but an inferior type of coffee bean is like an inferior bottle of wine - it will probably be bitter or flat.

Arabica and robusta are the most popular type of beans used for canned coffee -- with arabica considered the higher quality bean. After coffee beans are roasted, acids and oils are released from the beans, causing possible loss of flavor, so when you purchase roasted beans be sure they're the freshest you can find. Don't expect to find the freshest coffee beans at a gourmet shop. If the beans are stored in clear, Lucite containers, they're probably not fresh since this storage method lets light and air destroy the freshness of the beans.

Enjoy the adventure of experimenting with various types of coffee beans to use for your perfect home brewed cup.

There are health benefits to drinking coffee - so, are there even more benefits if we drink organically-grown coffee? Since organic coffee is grown without using herbicides, pesticides or other chemically destructive processes, it's naturally better for you, but there are also other benefits.

Environmentally, organic coffee is produced without chemicals that destroy our valuable soil and surroundings. Coffee plants thrive in shade and organic coffee is mostly shade-grown beneath the canopies of trees found in rainforests. They're also bird-friendly, which means that pesticides don't have to be used because the birds eat the insects that might damage the coffee plants.

The health benefits of organic coffee are easy to see. Coffee beans contain natural antioxidants that the use of chemicals extracts from the beans. Chemicals also remove valuable nutrients from the soil in which coffee plants are grown. Scientific research has discovered the possibilities that drinking coffee can decrease your chance for contracting type 2 diabetes, Parkinson's disease and gallstones. It may also help alleviate headaches. And, because chemicals aren't used, you get a pure, fresh taste when you brew your coffee. There are also organically-grown flavored coffees available -- and chocolate-covered organic coffee beans are becoming a snack-sensation.

More coffee plant farmers have expressed an interest in producing organic coffee beans. You can find many companies online from which you can purchase high-quality beans, either roasted or green. Enjoy the benefits of organically grown coffee and know that you're helping the environment and that it isn't harmful to your health.