If you want to do the Best possible cup of coffee Every morning, there are some things you should remember. It's not the brand of coffee you use, or how you prepare it. There are actually different aspects of your morning brew that you should consider before serving it warm for the day. And that includes, believe it or not, doing things like giving it a sniff.
I recently spoke with Sarina Prabasi, who founded the Buunni Roastery and a trio of coffeehouses in northern Manhattan. The assignment is to root out simple mistakes that people overlook when brewing coffee at home.
Buunni specializes in ethically sourced beans from growing regions across Ethiopia, where the coffee leans fruity, floral and sometimes aromatic, like tea. Prabasi moved with his wife and business partner from Ethiopia, bringing the country's ethos of hospitality and quality coffee with them. The team also creates a custom Buunni blend of select beans from around the world.
As a micro-roaster who serves on the board of the Specialty Coffee Association, Prabasi offered some insight on how to make simple adjustments for a better cup of coffee. He doesn't sweat the small stuff either. “You know, we take coffee seriously, but we don't want to take it personally too Seriously,” said Prabasi.” So it has to be something he enjoys, otherwise why would you do it? “
1. Washing your coffee maker often with detergent
Even the tiniest film of soap residue can mar your next cup.
Ditching the soap for your coffee pot and Pour-over Immersion Brewer It may sound like unsolicited advice. In reality, your coffee maker doesn't need a scrub down every time you use it. Even small layers of residue from scented dish soap or washing detergent will leave you with a sudsy and subpar coffee pot.
“It's really going to stay there; it can mess with the flavor, and so, usually, a good rinse with super hot water is enough for black coffee,” Prabasi said. Oils from beans can build up over time, so a non-scented dish soap comes in handy for the occasional deep clean. A simple rinse with warm water is more than enough for everyday use, however. Save yourself time and avoid any unwanted essence of “soap scum” disturbing your single-origin notes Sidama naturally roasted.
2. Buying more coffee than you can brew fresh
Coffee beans are a pantry staple that you shouldn't buy in bulk.
Buying in bulk can save time and money at the grocery store but can have disappointing results for coffee drinkers. Buying smaller quantities of beans will help avoid drinking stale, flat coffee, especially for the average drinker and household of two or one person. Probasi tells us you'll know the coffee is gone because it “can taste like a shadow of itself.”
Roaster recommends finding a roasted date on the coffee label Within a month or ideally within two weeks. .
All that said, you don't need to panic about taste rejection like a ticking time bomb in your cupboard. “Every day post-roast doesn't necessarily lose freshness, but after two weeks, I'd say it starts to go down,” Prabasi says. Store coffee In an airtight container, but avoid a humid refrigerator with a plethora of odors that can stick to the beans.
3. Fixing more than one thing at a time
You can find tutorials online that recommend brewers, scales, tampers, water filters, grinders and various methods to make the perfect cup. Experimentation is key to brewing your favorite brews but only if you start with the basics. “So, just fix the water in the beginning,” says Prabasi.
If you don't have a kitchen scalethe roaster told us that the rule of thumb is to start with two tablespoons of ground coffee per cup of water. The finer the grind, the stronger your coffee will taste, so you'll need to adjust the grounds-to-water ratio accordingly. If that seems too weak or too strong, then adjust by adding more or less coffee at the same grind level.
Beyond the basics, you can get creative. “If your coffee is too sour, maybe you prefer a dark roast,” says Prabasi. Coffee too bitter? You can adjust the type of roast by purchasing a level down, such as a dark to medium or medium to light. “If you've got a coffee from East Africa, maybe try one from South America, you know, like a switch [it] Around,” he said. Changing one element at a time ensures that you know which step affects the result for better or worse.
4. Get water straight from the tap
Filtered water makes better coffee.
Filling your coffee pot with tap water will produce a less than ideal taste. Filtered water, for most of us, will make a big difference in the final taste of your coffee. Tap water is often full of byproducts that can easily be filtered in a home Water filtration system.
Almost all the water you get from the tap in the US is disinfected with low levels of chlorine. EPA reports that One in five people consumes chloraminesa backup disinfectant made of chlorine and ammonia, to kill harmful viruses and bacteria such as Salmonella. These chemicals ensure that we don't get sick, but can change the taste and smell of tap water. Chloramines are also known to strip lead and copper from pipes, byproducts that can contaminate even carefully prepared coffee.
5. Forgetting to stop and smell the coffee
The smell can be a dead giveaway that your coffee is gone. Prabasi explains that you should immediately open a bag of beans or ground coffee and smell the roasted aroma of the coffee. Aroma is a key indicator of taste. No aroma means a serious lack of taste.
Prabasi says stale coffee can taste muddy or flat and lack any complex tasting notes that a bag might list on its label. “That's why I think in the coffee profession, so much of what we do is tasting coffee,” he said. “From the farm to the coffee shop, every step of the coffee process is tasted or -cupped, in our vernacular.”
Old coffee is unlikely to make you sick, so there's no need to throw it away. You may want, however, to switch from taking your coffee black. Making iced coffee is a simple way to mask the lack of tasting notes. Using an immersion brewer allows you to steep the grounds longer to add a little more flavor after the coffee is dull.
6. Ignoring the organic label
Don't sleep on organic coffee even if it costs a few bucks.
The many brands of coffee at the grocery store can feel overwhelming. To help organize the masses, Prabasi explained that the organic coffee label is a sign of quality that is important for coffee.
“If you can, then I think for coffee and tea, organic is really important because coffee and tea crops, especially from large farms, tend to get overspray,” Prabasi said. . Pesticides are sprayed right onto the coffee cherries, and coffee isn't like an apple you can wash or a banana you peel before eating. The tea leaves go through a similar process where whatever is left on the leaves is then steeped in your mug.
The coffeehouse owner made it clear that he doesn't believe that coffee needs to be expensive to be considered “good.” Great coffee is made for different budgets. “I think the care that goes into it and some reflection on the care that goes into sourcing it, roasting it, or just delivering it, I'm going to look for those things,” Prabasi said. The organic label is a useful place to start.
7. Always take your coffee 'to go'
Coffee isn't just fuel for your morning, it's the perfect excuse to engage and relax.
Even if you don't think of coffee as purely a means to an end, many of us treat coffee simply as fuel. Acquisition Coffee in a travel mug Drinking as part of a commute is not inherently problematic. Instead Prabasi invites coffee drinkers to take advantage of any time and ability to smell a cup of coffee. In contrast to the grab-and-go culture in the US, drinking coffee in Ethiopia is an opportunity to slow down and connect with the people you care about. “And I want to say — like, I've lived in Ethiopia for eight years — I've never heard anybody say, 'I got coffee,'” Prabasi said. “It's always, 'Let's have coffee. Shall we have coffee?'”
Even taking an extra 10 minutes to drink your beer at a cafe instead of asking for a to-go cup can shift the energy of a frenetic morning. “I think there's a lot of ritual around coffee and how it's enjoyed,” Prabasi says. Taking the time to create your own ritual, whether at home or at a local store, will help you enjoy all that coffee has to offer beyond the caffeine content.
For more coffee Intel, here How to read coffee labels And the Best travel mugs of 2025, tested by CNET.
