How to Make Restaurant Quality Coffee At Home

Have you ever wondered how restaurants get their coffee to taste so good?

First of all, restaurants are in the business of pampering you so they devote much more time to the perfection of a good cup of coffee. Sometimes I'll remember a restaurant just because of their excellent coffee.

So what are their secrets and how can you duplicate this recipe at home? It may surprise you to find out that the French Press brewing method could be the secret in achieving that restaurant quality taste.

Most fine restaurants use a press pot, also known as the French Press, which produces an extremely rich cup of coffee.

Press pot coffee is coffee steeped for 3-4 minutes between 195 to 205 degrees F. It produces a thicker and much richer taste than an auto-drip machine can produce.

A disadvantage of the French Press is it may leave trace amounts of coffee sediment. But the rich taste more than makes up for the small amount of sediment at the bottom of your cup.

So first, start off with a quality medium roast coffee, which is what most restaurants use. I can give you a couple of good recommendations.

Seattle's Best Breakfast Blend, Starbucks Breakfast Blend or Starbucks Sulawesi Coffee is 3 excellent choices. These are full-bodied coffees yet very smooth tasting. They are some of our best sellers at PerfectCoffees.com and work well for French Press brewing.

You want to grind the coffee slightly larger than you would for drip coffee. Too fine of a grind will produce a bitter cup of coffee. If your grind is too coarse, the coffee will taste weak. A quality grinder is the best thing you can do to improve the taste of French press coffee.

Remove the plunger from the press pot and put 1 rounded tablespoon of coarse ground coffee per each 6oz. of water into the pot. You can adjust this to your own taste.

Coffee is 99% water so use clean filtered or bottled water free from chlorine and other minerals that affect the taste of coffee.

Boil the water and remove it from the heat for five minutes before you pour it. This will give you the 195 to 205 degree water that is ideal to brew with. Now pour the 195 to 205 degree water over the ground coffee.

Stir the coffee to get total saturation of the grounds then place the plunger on top of the pot and let the coffee steep for 3 to 4 minutes.

Depress the plunger slowly to push the grounds to the bottom of the pot.

Serve all the coffee in the pot after the 3 to 4 minutes of steeping. Otherwise the coffee will keep getting stronger.

If you have any left, you can always transfer it to a clean, preheated air pot or a stainless steel Thermos. This will keep the coffee hot about an hour without hurting the flavor.

The French press brewing method definitely takes more time but gives us the result we are looking for. Restaurant quality coffee in the comfort of your own home.

Copyright © 2004 PerfectCoffees.com. All Rights Reserved.

This article may be re-published "as is" (unedited) as long as the author's bio paragraph (resource box) and copyright information is included. The URLs in the resource box should be set as hyperlinks if used on a web page.

About The Author

Gary Gresham is the webmaster for www.perfectcoffees.com where you can purchase quality coffee, tea, cups & mugs, coffee gifts and delicious desserts online. He offers a free monthly coffee newsletter at www.perfectcoffees.com/newsletter.html.

Gary@perfectcoffees.com

---

What Makes Hawaiian Coffee So Special?

Coffee was first introduced to the Islands by Chief Boki,... Read More

Iced Coffee Recipes for Enjoying Chilled Espresso, Thai Iced Coffee And Many More Variations

There are many refreshing iced coffee recipes available, and we... Read More

11 Effects of Caffeine on The Body

Caffeine is big business. There are new coffee shops popping... Read More

Gourmet Coffee Stops Decrease Gas Mileage;Home Brewed Premium Coffee Reduce Traffic Congestion

A researcher has stirred up the commuter coffee mug with... Read More

Coffee and Health

From the year dot, my mother taught all her children... Read More

La Minita Coffee ? It?s in the Green Beans

La Minita; Spanish for "The Little Gold Mine" says it... Read More

Getting Fat These Days; Is it Starbucks

Starbucks has seen tremendous growth in our cities and the... Read More

The History Of Coffee

Coffee - THE Drink of ChoiceDid you know coffee is... Read More

How to Make a Great Tasting Cup of Coffee - Its Not Rocket Science

There is good coffee and absolutely abysmal coffee. Both may... Read More

Your Kitchen Wants to be Sexy - Top 5 Snazzy, Sexy Coffee Makers that are Sensational

When it comes to coffee makers there are thousands to... Read More

Coffee Breaks - Do They Create Stress?

The American custom of taking break during the working hours.... Read More

Live the Life of a Civil War Soldier When you Drink your Mornin Coffee

Civil War soldiers, Confederate and Union, used to... Read More

Flavored Coffee Syrup Adds A New Dimension To Beans

Flavored coffee syrup is a popular addition to any coffee... Read More

English Coffee

With English Tea being a very familiar term, English coffee... Read More

10 Timeless Tips to a Perfect Cup of Coffee

Few quests in human history have so captivated men and... Read More

Coffee Roasting De-mystified

How many different names have you run across for different... Read More

Cappuccino Secrets: Creating the Perfect Foam

Here is an article that tells the secret of creating... Read More

Gano Coffee - Can Coffee Be Good For You?

Coffee, in all sorts, could be a "pick me up... Read More

Coffee Commodities and Starbucks

If we look at commodity trading from a purely conceptual... Read More

Coffee Roasting: Learning the Fundamental Art of Making Coffee Can be Fun

Coffee roasting from light to very dark, is an art... Read More

Make Money In Your Own Coffee Business

A 2001 survey by the National Coffee Association indicated that... Read More

Those Elusive Coffee Beans!

With the spread of various coffee beans into our lives,... Read More

Creating the Perfect Foam

Most places that serve cappuccinos in the United States have... Read More

Buy Only Fresh Gourmet Coffee Beans if You are Looking to Brew Flavorful Gourmet Coffee

Most coffee beans are grown in sub-tropical climates all over... Read More

Coffee Drink Basics

When you enter a coffee house, you have a multitude... Read More

Does Your Morning Coffee Cause You Pain or Discomfort?

Does your morning coffee cause you pain? Are you frustrated... Read More

Coffee Cupping For The Fun Of It

Coffee cupping is a method to compare the different characteristics... Read More

Factors to Consider When Choosing an Espresso Machine

Buying an espresso machine is an important decision ? choose... Read More

Ethiopian Coffee

Ethiopia is the birthplace of coffee, yet it is not... Read More

Does Coffee Make You Fat or Help with Diabetes?

Who the heck knows?According to two studies published in the... Read More

Starbucks Coffee History

To summarize something as phenomenonally successful as Starbucks coffee history... Read More

Italian Coffee - Something For Everyone

Espresso, caffè latte, cappuccino; there would seem to be as... Read More

Coffee Is A Historic Beverage, And It Makes For A Great Gift

Ahhhhh, coffee... a fantastic dark beverage that wakes us up... Read More