What Coffee To Get For Your Place

What?s Good To Brew At Home

As much as I love coffee, going to Starbucks or one of the many local coffee shops (like Groundworks) for an Americano everyday would cost about $80 per month and that tests the bounds of my love. Since coffee is easy to make at home, after a couple of capital expenditures, you can still have all of the flavor of your favorite coffee for less than the cost of sponsoring a child for a month.

Beans vs. Ground

And it gives you a chance to stay in bed longer!

The first thing you?re going to need to buy is your favorite coffee (like Intelligentsia.) However, since buying ground coffee means that your coffee will go stale in about nine days (per PoundofCoffee) it?s better to buy whole beans and a grinder. (Like this one.) Per this sidebar on a nice NPR article on coffee, the coarser the grind, the more caffeine that you?ll get. Also, on the subject of caffeine from the same sidebar, if you buy Arabica beans, you?ll get less caffeine than if you buy robusto beans and darker roasts have less caffeine that lighter roasts. To summarize, for the most efficient caffeine delivery to wake you up in the morning, go for a coarse grind of lightly roasted robusto beans. Then be sure to store your whole beans in a cool, dry place so they stay fresh.

French Press vs. Drip vs. Espresso

Since home espresso machines seem to be pretty expensive (and per the same NPR sidebar, offer less caffeine than brewed coffee) making your coffee at home should come down to a drip machine or a French press. The French press can give you more caffeine than a drip cup, and I prefer the flavor of pressed coffee as well. However, the drip machine is much easier and you can set a timer to have the coffee ready first thing in the morning (and even have it grind your beans for you in this one.) Pressed coffee might give you a little more flexibility in figuring out how much caffeine you want by letting the coffee steep for more or less time, but both are good ways to enjoy morning coffee.

Coffee Brand

I prefer Tully?s Coffee for when I drink at home. There?s also Starbucks, Peet?s, Dunkin? Donuts or even beans from your local coffee shop (like Stumptown.) As long as you are making it right, finding the right beans will be a great voyage for the rest of your days with all of the different beans, blends and roasts available from each coffee supplier. Just try to buy beans on sale every now and again to save a few dollars so that you can justify buying a cup of coffee out every once in a while. As much as I like making my own, some mornings it is much nicer to have someone else make me a cup.