Summary:
If you have decided that you enjoy coffee enough to start calling yourself a coffee gourmet, good for you. This is a fascinating world where the standards are very high, and if you really enjoy a good cup of coffee, this is where you belong. Gourmet coffee is made from the beans that are the top beans from the best producers and rushed to the consumer for the freshest taste possible. If you start to engage in buying gourmet coffee, you will be shopping from different dealers,...
If you have decided that you enjoy coffee enough to start calling yourself a coffee gourmet, good for you. This is a fascinating world where the standards are very high, and if you really enjoy a good cup of coffee, this is where you belong. Gourmet coffee is made from the beans that are the top beans from the best producers and rushed to the consumer for the freshest taste possible. If you start to engage in buying gourmet coffee, you will be shopping from different dealers, obtaining coffee from different parts of the world. Just like in the world of wine, the flavor change from region to region. Coffee beans from Africa, for example, have more of a red wine flavor than beans from Central American, which tend to have a smooth acidity to them. Once the best beans for your taste are culled from the best areas of the world, the process of roasting will add even more flavor and aroma to these different coffee types.
Picking, roasting and grinding the coffee brings it to one of the most important final steps: brewing the coffee. Here the machine you use will be very important. Whether you are using a Bunn commercial maker, or a small Mr. Coffee, you want to pick the right one for your needs. Drip machines are still in use, and even though they may be the choice of a novice because they are so easy to use, many expert coffee brewers still prefer them. A real gourmet may insist on a press or hand brew machine so make sure he is controlling the brewing process. Then, of course the modern world steps in with pod brewers that work like a European coffee machine, where water is infused through a pad of premeasured coffee. And of course, if you love espresso, you will want to have an espresso machine.
One of the other important points to remember, whatever type of machine you use, is that you use the right filter for that machine. Most of the best filters are made of a permanent filter material such as nylon or metal. A permanent filter will allow all of the flavor of the coffee grind to go through, rather than be soaked up by paper.
A good gourmet coffee store will also supply you with a coffee grinder for really fresh coffee. If you want the true experience of coffee house coffee every time you brew a pot, there is nothing like grinding your own fresh blend from beans.
Whether you have decided that you just want to have the best cup of coffee each morning, or you want to impress guests and visitors with a great cup of gourmet coffee, you can get everything you need to do it right: grinders, roasters, and coffee machines. Get the best of these products and you will be a coffee gourmet.