TRYING TO SAVE IT: Below Par Coffee Made More Drinkable

Ernest Illy is a legend in Coffee circles, and he recently gave out some golden advice for how to make your drip filter coffee tase better....

A cup of joy without the torture

By J.M. HIRSCH ASAP • OCTOBER 17, 2006

Every few months I give up coffee. None of this wussy, ease-into-it-by-blending-decaf-with-the-high-octane-stuff. I just stop. And endure about three days of concentration-numbing headaches.

(Associated Press)

It's just as bad for the people around me.

Giving up coffee doesn't bring out my better attributes. A few years ago, for example, I reviewed a recent cookbook by a New York Times food writer. I wrote the review while on coffee and said nice things about the book.

When the writer e-mailed a few days later to say thanks, I'd quit coffee. Through the pain, I managed to tell him the book looked boring and ugly. His response was appropriate. He later forgave me and called me a fool for giving up coffee.

While the experience hasn't prevented me from still waking up now and then and craving a good multi-day headache, it has given me an appreciation for the power of a good cup. And so I work hard to perfect my brewing technique.

That's why I recently spoke with Ernesto Illy, a chemist and longtime head of Italian coffee giant illycaffè S.p.A. in Trieste. These days Illy spends his time traveling the world and teaching people how to use the science of coffee to make the perfect cup.

My request was simple. Anyone can make great coffee under great conditions. But most people deal with reality – lousy coffee makers, questionable water, inconsistent grind of the beans. I wanted to know tricks for making good coffee despite these things.

Brewing the best

First, the dream team. Illy says the following conditions make the best cup of auto-drip coffee. So if you want to be really anal, call the manufacturer of the coffee maker you are considering buying and ask whether it meets these standards.

• The water used to brew the coffee should be between 195 and 205 degrees.

• A good coffee maker wets the bed, so to speak. It should uniformly spray hot water over the entire basket of ground coffee. And to extract the most flavor, it must do so within the initial 10 percent of the brewing cycle.

• The water spray should be strong enough to create "turbulence" – enough force to lightly lift and surround each coffee particle.

• Brew time depends on the grind of the coffee. For fine grind, 1 to 4 minutes is plenty. Medium gets 4 to 6 minutes. Coarsely ground coffee? Doesn't belong in a drip coffee maker.

• Filter? Doesn't matter. Illy says paper and metal work equally well.

• The carafe should be insulated. Glass carafes that sit on a heated pad (the design used by many drip coffee makers) can leave coffee tasting burnt.

Making do

But what about those of us who already own a coffee maker (or four, in my case)?

Much as I enjoy coffee, I'm not likely to invest in a new machine until my current batch dies. How can I get the most out of what I've got?

First, the grind. Always go medium. Fine is used mostly for espresso. And coarse grinds make weak coffee.

If you have an insulated carafe, warm it before making the coffee by filling it with hot water for a few minutes. If you don't have a carafe, consider transferring the brewed coffee to an insulated thermos, rather than letting it sit on the burner.

Coffee strength is a matter of taste, but Illy suggests starting with one heaping tablespoon of coffee for every 4 to 5 ounces of water. Try that, then adjust to taste.

And perhaps the most overlooked tip? Clean your coffee maker (the machine, not just the pot) about once a week. This removes residue and mineral buildup that can make coffee taste stale and bitter.

The easiest way to clean it is to run a brew cycle (with no coffee) with a pot of water mixed with 1/2 cup white vinegar. Then run two more pots of water through the machine to remove any residual vinegar taste.

These tips may not result in the perfect cup, but your coffee with be better. And when you're craving caffeine, that might be good enough.