If you drink coffee like the majority of people do, you probably believe you are already receiving a fantastic cup. Following these eleven actions, however, increases your chances of probably still being able to raise the standard:

Use premium coffee beans.

Avoid shopping at the supermarkets! Okay, I take that remark literally, but please do not purchase coffee beans at the grocery store. Nobody knows when the coffee was roasted, which is a crucial aspect of coffee freshness. Regardless of whether they are bagged or in the gravity bins, these beans are notorious for being stale. How long the beans have been in the bins or sacks is unknown. Obtain your coffee from a local independent roaster or artisan coffee store that can confirm the date of roasting. Only by doing this can you be sure you’re purchasing freshly roasted, gourmet-grade coffee beans. Since their reputation is on the line, they work hard to provide the highest caliber freshly roasted coffee.

2. Properly Store Put your beans in an airtight container like Tupperware or Glad Ware after removing them from the original bag. The better the container’s transparency, the more light it will block. Extreme light, such as storing coffee in a glass jar next to the sink, can cause the beans to deteriorate, resulting in a cup of coffee that tastes stale or flat.

Keep away from the refrigerator and freezer. Keep them in a cool, dry, and dark location, such as a pantry or cupboard, in an airtight container. Coffee is quite porous, and refrigerators tend to hold a lot of smells. Whether it is a whole or ground bean, it will absorb scents like a sponge. Freezers can result in freezer burn, flavor oils cracking, and flavor loss. The flavor comes from these oils. Every time the coffee is removed from the freezer after storage, the surface condensation is frozen.

A cold, dry, and dark location is advised for storing because too much moisture can make your beans stale faster and reduce the life of your coffee.

3. Use the right grinder, and grind just before using

It matters how the coffee is ground. According to the kind of brewing method you’re using, your coffee should be ground. Fine for espresso, coarse for French press and single serve. The finer the grind, the closer it should feel to usual bread crumbs when you rub it between your fingers. This is important, but for the majority of auto-drip makers, the grind should be only little coarser than fine. The texture of espresso grinds should resemble a mixture of sugar and powdered sugar. Additionally, compared to a standard blade grinder, a burr grinder uses less friction, which reduces the risk of scorching the grinds as they are being ground.

Due to its high porosity, coffee quickly absorbs smells and oxygen. Your coffee will taste awful if you’re breathing oxygen! As a result, coffee has a longer shelf life and will taste worse the longer it is ground but not used.

4. Use proper measurement

Before grinding your coffee, weigh it. You should add about.75oz (22g) of coffee beans to every 8oz of cold water to make a flavorful, well-rounded cup of coffee. This is a nice place to start, but you can +/- to your liking.

5. Clean Water at a Specific Temperature

It is advised to drink pure, clean tap water or good spring water. Never use distilled water, mineral water, or water from the tap that has any sort of odor. It will ruin the flavor of your coffee. When it’s time to brew, the water should be between 195 and 205 degrees. The coffee will be properly extracted at this temperature, maximizing the taste oils and caramelized sugars within the coffee bean. With the majority of home brewers, this is challenging to do because the heating elements are neither reliable nor heat-adjustable to the right degree. Good home coffee makers run around $200, but they are well worth the money and last much longer. Try the available single cup pour over techniques if you can, or other brewing techniques like the French press or siphon. The contrast in flavor is striking. For further details, Google each approach.

6. Only brew enough to consume

You shouldn’t leave your freshly brewed coffee to sit while you wait. Furthermore, kindly avoid leaving it on the hot pan! This is a decent method for brewing coffee. It will taste harsh if you keep it in “keep warm” mode all the time. Get an airpot or other airtight hot container to store it in if you need to brew more than one cup and won’t consume it immediately. Although it will buy you more time, you should still drink it within an hour or so.

7. Permit to Cool

You can avoid tongue burn by letting your coffee cool to about 170 degrees (for black coffee), and you’ll also have a better coffee experience since you’ll taste the true flavor of coffee: the brightness, the chocolatey notes, the citrus notes, and the spices. Get a bit geeky, it’s all there! Forget about #7 and #8 if you insist on adding milk and sugar to your coffee!

8. Sip on Black

This is the purist coffee nerd in me showing itself. Before I started into the coffee industry years ago, I always drank my coffee with cream and sugar. Not because coffee tastes horrible, but because society decided cream and sugar were the standard. Traditionally, coffee was bitter, but that was in your father’s cup. Probably the grocery store’s canned goods. Ick! That is the low-grade, traditional Robusta coffee, which is prepared from old-fashioned beans. Today’s premium Arabica coffee beans are available from specialty coffee roasters and coffee shops. Black coffee is not harsh when the beans are properly blended and roasted. Although it could take some getting used to, I can promise you that by adding cream and sugar to your coffee, you are missing out on a lot of delicious coffee!

9. Discard any leftover freshly brewed coffee.

Although it is a part of item #6 above, this merits its own number. Coffee that has been brewed and is still in an airpot or other airtight container after an hour should be discarded. Even freshly brewed coffee has a shelf life, and letting it continue to cook in a container is not one of them.

10. Discard any unused coffee beans.

OK, let me explain! I’m referring to the coffee that is still in the bag after 21 days. After being roasted, coffee beans have a life expectancy of about 21 days. I like to consume my within ten days, but once more, I’m just a coffee nerd. You will receive a better-tasting and far superior cup of coffee if you can prepare your coffee for use within 21 days of the day it is roasted. How can I tell when my Seattle’s Best or Newman’s Own coffee beans were actually roasted? I know what you’re thinking. Well, the solution is in #1 above.

11. Repeat after me

That sums it up! I guarantee that if you follow these instructions, your cup of coffee will taste and be more flavorful!