​WHAT MAKES GREAT COFFEE?
When we think of great coffee, we think of a rich tasting brew with a deep color, fragrant aroma and full flavor rich in aromatics and some sweetness, with little bitterness or sourness.  We generally think of coffee which tastes as good as it smells out of the bag.
Specific qualities of great coffee are generally:

• Aroma – The coffee smells very fragrant when we are holding the cup.
• Flavor – The coffee tastes as good as it smells when we take a sip.
• Body – The coffee feels smooth when it is our mouth and not astringent (does not make your mouth feel squeaky).
• Sweetness – The coffee does not taste very bitter.
• Clean taste - The coffee does not leave a bad aftertaste in your mouth after you drink it (such as cardboard, paper, wood, plastic, smoke or chemical flavor).

​SO WHERE DO WE START?
THE BASICS, #1 INGREDIENTS
​The first things to look at are the raw ingredients used to make coffee.   Coffee is a natural product and it contains many delicate compounds which make up its aroma, taste, flavors and mouth feel.  Some of these compounds are volatile (they can evaporate out of the coffee as it stands exposed to the air) and some will break down when they are exposed to heat, light (especially sunlight) or moisture (water, humidity in the air, or condensation).  Coffee will also pick up flavors and tastes from its surroundings.
To get the best most flavorful knock-your-socks-off cup of coffee that tastes as good as it smells, you must start with quality coffee beans and you must store them appropriately so as to maximize the delicious life of the coffee and prevent it from going stale for as long as possible.
So here are the basics for managing your coffee supply:

• Pick coffee that you really like – smell it and evaluate all the aromas.  Imagine drinking a cup of this heavenly brew.  There are two types of coffee you should be aware of. 
• Arabica coffee is the more flavorful, fragrant and aromatic type of coffee.  Coffee made from Arabica beans tastes smoother, more delicate and more complex without being bitter.  Arabica beans have a higher acid content than Robusta beans.  Most major brands of coffee are Arabica coffee.  Arabica coffee is more expensive than Robusta coffee.
• Robusta coffee has a harsher flavor and tends to be more bitter than Arabica coffee.  Robusta coffee tends to have a nutty, grainy after taste and has more caffeine content.   It is easier to grow than Arabica coffee and therefore it is less expensive than Arabica coffee.   Robusta coffee is found more in packaged mass produced supermarket coffee or institutional coffee.  It is either used alone or blended with Arabica due to its lower cost.
• Pick a roast that you like.  There are different ways to roast coffee; light, medium, dark, bold, French roast, etc.  This is a matter of taste which you prefer.  Generally, a medium roast has less bitterness than a dark roast, but has more acidity.  The flavor of a dark roast is more intense.  Dark roasts do not necessarily have more caffeine than light or medium roasts.
• Be aware of blended versus single source coffee. Coffee can be a single source or a blend, much like wine.  There is no right or wrong choice to picking one over the other.  This is another matter of taste.  Coffee producers use blends to create unique flavor balances and ensure consistency of this natural product.  The bottom line is to purchase coffee from a reputable roaster who uses fresh quality beans to produce their blends.  You do not want to and up with a blend where stale beans are blended with good ones to reduce the cost.
• Buy fresh coffee.  Ideally this should be from a local roaster so you know that it was roasted recently.  Coffee is in its prime for up to 7 days after it was roasted.  Whole bean coffee can be kept up to 20 days after it was roasted if you store it appropriately.  Ground coffee should be consumed within 7 days of roasting.
• Coffee is best fresh roasted, but you can also buy it prepackaged at a store or online.  The packaged coffee should be in a sealed foil bag with all the air removed or in a sealed can.  Typically the foil bag has a plastic valve on the side.  This is where the air was sucked out of the bag.  The cans are typically purged with Nitrogen to remove the air from the headspace in the can.  This is important as paper bags and containers with air will allow the coffee to lose its flavor and degrade as it stands.  The container should also be marked with a freshness date indicating by what date you should consume the coffee.
• It’s best to buy fresh coffee in small amounts that you can consume within a week.
• Whole bean coffee is preferable to ground coffee because coffee starts to lose its aromas and flavors immediately after it is ground.  So it’s best to keep whole bean coffee on hand and grind the beans just before brewing.
• Not all coffee is available as whole beans and not everyone has access to a grinder and some of us are not allowed to make loud noises grinding coffee at 5AM when they are planning to brew a morning cup before rushing out the door.  So if whole bean coffee is not a practical option for you, you can either:
• Have your coffee ground at the roaster.
• Buy ground coffee in sealed airtight packs (the foil ones with the air removed and the plastic valve in the side (paper bags do not preserve the coffee as they let in air and moisture).
• Store coffee appropriately.  This means keep it in a sealed air-tight container away from heat and sunlight.  Coffee needs to be protected from moisture, contact with air, light, heat and other aromas that it can absorb.  A sealed glass jar in a dark cabinet or a coffee can with a secure lid work best.  Do not store coffee in the freezer or refrigerator.  This exposes the coffee to moisture from condensation and the coffee may pick up aromas from the freezer or refrigerator.​

THE BASICS #2, EQUIPMENT
The next thing to look at is the equipment used to make your coffee.  Everything that touches your coffee should be spotlessly clean.  Think about if you were ordering coffee at a restaurant or coffee house.  You would not want to see old stained coffee pots and coffeemakers full of scale and residue…yuck!

• Make sure your coffee maker, coffee grinder, coffee pot, press, etc. are cleaned with soapy water every day.  Clean out the basket that holds the grounds with hot soapy water.  Coffee contains oils so you need soap to remove the residue.  Just rinsing alone will not remove it.  If you let old coffee sit in your equipment it will create a film that is very hard to get off.  This film will add bitter flavors to the next batches of coffee and the longer you leave it on, the more bitterness will cover up the delicate flavors you want on your coffee. 
• If have residue on your coffee making equipment or cups which will not come out with soap and water, even with scrubbing, here is a quick trick:  Fill the pot with warm water and add a scoop of oxygen cleaner (like Oxyclean). Gently stir and leave it sit overnight.  The next morning you can rinse out all the cleaner and the residue will all disappear.  No scrubbing needed!!  It’s really like magic.  I’ve tried scrubbing and scrubbing with many different abrasives and cleaners and was about to give up before I discovered this trick – it made my coffee pot like brand new again and no work!
• Depending on how hard your water is (how much mineral content it has) and how much coffee you make, you will need to descale your coffee maker and coffee pot on a regular basis.  If you notice a hard white or brown crusty film developing on the surface that is rough and you cannot scrub it off, this is scale.  It is a deposit of minerals like calcium salts and/or magnesium salts which have precipitated out of the water when the water was boiled.  You will need an acidic chemical to dissolve this, but this doesn’t mean you need a harmful chemical.  Vinegar works just fine.  Make sure you use distilled (white) vinegar, as other types of vinegar will leave a residue behind.  Every two or every three weeks, it is recommended that you do the following to descale your coffee maker and coffee pot:
• Combine equal parts of water and white (distilled) vinegar.  Make enough for at least half the volume of your coffee maker.
• Pour it into your coffee maker (where you normally add the water).
• Let it stand for 10-20 minutes.
• Run the coffee maker and let it go through into the pot until half of the water/vinegar solution is through and into the pot.
• Turn off the coffee maker and let it sit for 1-2 hours with the water/vinegar solution in the pot.
• Turn on the coffee maker and let the rest go through.
• Discard the water/vinegar solution.
• Refill the coffee maker with just water and let it run through.
• If you use a glass jar or other reusable container for storing coffee beans or ground coffee, remember to clean this too.

Another critical piece of your brewing system which makes contact with the coffee and greatly influences its quality is the filter.  A good filter will produce a clean tasting flavorful cup of delicious coffee, while a bad filter can produce a bland cup of coffee with a cardboard like flavor.  So always use good quality filters. This means:

• Look for paper filters which say “oxygen-bleached” or “dioxin-free”.  These are white filters which have been bleached without using harmful chemicals which you should not be drinking.
• Even better, use unbleached filters.  These are more natural and are brown in color.  They do not have any bleaching chemicals (bleaching chemicals can add flavors to the coffee).  The unbleached filters will not add flavors to the coffee but they are brown.  Paper is naturally brown since it is made from wood pulp from trees.   Some people prefer white filters, although I could never understand why as the filter will become brown very quickly anyway once you fill it with coffee.
• To reduce the possibility of any flavors imparted on the coffee by the filter, first wet the empty filter with hot water to saturate the filter and let the hot water drip through.  This washes out any substances that would have been released by the paper.  Then add the coffee to the filter and proceed with brewing.
• Another option is to use a reusable filter.  These are typically gold plated metal filters, like fine screens or sieves.  These will produce brewed coffee with richer flavors, as they do not filter out any of the oils from the coffee, but they will let through sediment of finely ground coffee into the brewed coffee which some people may find objectionable.  They also need to be cleaned after each use.  But you are benefitting the environment by saving trees and using fewer chemicals.

THE BREWING PROCESS – HOW COFFEE GETS FROM THE BEANS TO YOUR CUP
Have you heard this statement before? “I like how coffee smells, but I don’t like how it tastes”

So why is it that coffee which starts out smelling heavenly out of the bag ends up not tasting so great when it’s in your cup?  What happened to all those great flavors and aromas?

The answer to this has to do with the chemistry of the coffee brewing process.  Roasted coffee beans contain many compounds (chemicals) which make up the characteristics of the qualities of the coffee.  Some of these compounds have great aromas and flavors.  Some are sweet.  Some make the coffee feel smooth when you drink it.  But others are bitter, or sour.  Some taste like cardboard and some make your teeth feel squeaky when you drink them.  And then there is caffeine which is also a compound extracted from coffee.  Caffeine tastes bitter at high concentrations, but in coffee there is not enough caffeine to add any flavor.

The balance of flavors in the cup of coffee you drink is determined by the brewing process used to extract out or dissolve out the compounds from the coffee beans and get them into your cup.  Brewing is a chemical process known as “extraction” which removes compounds from one substance (coffee beans) by using a solvent (water).  The purpose of the brewing process is to extract out the greatest amount of the good compounds (flavors, aromas, sweetness, smoothness) and leave behind as many of the bad compounds (sourness, bitterness, off flavors) as possible. 

Hot water works much faster than cold water in extracting out compounds from solid materials, especially compounds which contain oil.  Cold water will work too, but it will take a long time, just like making ice tea using a pitcher of cold water and tea bags. 
​
For brewing coffee, the typical brewing process is to grind the beans and then pass hot water over them to extract out the desired compounds.  The coffee is ground to increase its surface area.  More surface area means more contact with the hot water and that means more compounds are extracted.   The coffee/water mixture is then filtered to separate out the solid parts (the coffee grounds), and the result is the delicious cup of coffee you can drink.

It might sound like more extraction is better because it means more flavor, but this is not the case since the extraction is taking out the good and bad compounds from the coffee and dissolving them into the coffee you will drink.  More extraction means more bad compounds which can overpower the good compounds and result in a very bitter flavorless cup of coffee.  The trick is to extract out the right balance of compounds mostly good ones and a minimum of bad ones.  There is a point in the extraction process where the quality of the brewed coffee is optimized (the best you will get).  Too little or too much extraction will make less than great coffee.

In general coffee that is under extracted (too little extraction of compounds out of the coffee) has a weak flavor and tastes sour.  And coffee that is over extracted (too much extraction of compounds out of the coffee) has a strong but bitter flavor and may cause your teeth to feel squeaky.
The extraction is determined by the following factors:

• The type of brewing method used (drip, percolator, pour-over, French press, espresso, Turkish coffee, etc.)
• The grind of the coffee (how coarse or fine)
• The quality of the water (tap water, filtered, bottled, etc.)
• The temperature of the water
• The amount of time the coffee is in contact with the water
• The ratio of coffee to water (how much of each)

There is an optimal point for all these factors where the best coffee is produced.  All of these factors need to be considered to get to this point.  Let’s look at each one.
THE TYPE OF BREWING METHOD USED
Making coffee is a type of chemical process known as extraction where compounds in one material (ground coffee beans) are dissolved out into a liquid solvent (water).  There are different methods for doing this extraction.  Some use electronic systems to control the extraction and others are manual which allow the process to be varied but also requires someone to perform and closely monitor the process.
The most common electric coffee making systems are drip coffee makers and percolator systems.  There also espresso making systems which use a different process where hot water under pressure is forced through the coffee beans in a very short time.
​
DRIP BREWING
Drip coffee makers are the most common type of coffee making systems.  In this system, water is heated to a set temperature and then the hot water is showered over the ground coffee which is in a basket lined with either a paper filter or metal screen.  The water passes over and through the ground coffee and drips out the bottom of the basket into a coffee pot.  The coffee pot is either glass or it can be stainless steel. Coffee makers with glass coffee pots typically have a hot plate under the pot to keep the brewed coffee warm.  Stainless steel coffee pots are typically thermal type carafes which keep the brewed coffee warm through their insulating properties, much like a Thermos bottle where there are 2 walls of the bottle with air space in between to reduce the conduction of heat out of the pot.  Of the two types of coffee pots, stainless steel thermal carafes are more expensive but they are able to maintain coffee for a longer time without losing any flavor.  The heated glass pots will tend to drive off the flavors and aromas of the coffee as more heat is added after brewing.  Many restaurants use drip coffee making systems, as do coffee shops since they are reliable, consistent, economical, and easy to clean.

PERCOLATOR BREWING
Percolators used to be the standard coffee making systems before drip became more popular but they are still used.  Usually at large gatherings you see coffee urns which are large percolating systems.  In a percolator, the coarse ground coffee is placed into a basket at the top of the coffee pot.  Water is added to the bottom.  The percolator heats water to boiling and then uses the pressure created by the steam to force the hot water up through a tube and sprays it over the basket where it comes into contact with the ground coffee.  The water is recycled many times until the desired strength of the coffee is reached.  For electric systems, the percolator will automatically turn off at a preset time.  For stove top systems, the person making the coffee must keep track of the time and turn off the stove when the coffee is done.  This method is different from drip coffee where the water passes through the coffee only one time.  Percolator systems are used for large gatherings like conventions, weddings, church events etc. because you can make a large amount of coffee quickly without needing to watch over it and the pot keeps it hot.

ESPRESSO BREWING
Espresso requires a specialized coffee making system where hot water under pressure is forced through finely ground coffee to extract out the maximum amount of flavor in a very short time.
There are also the pod type coffee makers.  These systems are fully automatic and do not allow for any variation on the brewing process beyond the settings on the user panel (i.e. some allow for “Strong” vs. “Regular”).   The coffee is contained in a sealed plastic cup with a filter at the bottom.  Therefore the amount of coffee used is set by the supplier and cannot be varied.  The water temperature and brew time are automatically controlled by the machine.  So the only part of the brewing process that the person making the coffee can control is the type of water used to make the coffee.

FRENCH PRESS
Popular manual methods for making coffee include French press and pour-over.  The French press is a cylindrical glass coffee pot with a stainless steel plunger with a screen at the bottom.  The ground coffee and hot water are added to the pot and then the plunger/screen are placed at the top of the pot.  After a set amount of time, the person making the coffee presses the plunger down and the screen slides down the pot and strains out and compresses the ground coffee at the bottom of the pot.  The brewed coffee above the screen is then poured out into a cup to drink.  People like this method because it results in a more full flavored and full bodied coffee than drip coffee.  Paper filters used in drip coffee tend to remove some of oils in coffee which contain the flavors and aromas of the coffee beans.

POUR-OVER
The Pour-over is much like a manual version of drip coffee.  The ground coffee is placed in a screen or paper or cloth filter in a funnel which is placed over the coffee pot.  The person making the coffee boils the water in a kettle and then lets it sit for a minute before pouring the hot water slowly over the ground coffee in a circular motion so as to wet all the ground coffee evenly.  The water passes over and through the ground coffee and then drips out the bottom of the funnel into the coffee pot. This method requires that the person carefully pours the hot water at a controlled rate so all of the ground coffee is in contact with the hot water for a set amount of time.  Specialty coffee shops use this method to produce very flavorful coffees.

MOKA POT
Moka pot is a two-chamber pot used on the stovetop, typically used in Europe and Latin America, for making espresso-like coffee. The Moka pot uses stem to brew the coffee by boiling water in the lower chamber and then passing the steam pressurized hot water through the coffee basket and then into the top collection chamber. 
​
This pot uses steam to pressurize the hot brewing water, which allows for higher brewing and extracting temperatures. This is similar to the espresso brewing process, however the pressure is lower than pressures used during espresso brewing. The result is a bolder more intense flavorful coffee than drip brewed coffee, somewhere between drip and espresso brew.

TURKISH & GREEK COFFEE
Turkish coffee is made by taking very finely ground coffee beans and boiling them in a special pot (with a narrow neck and a long handle) on top of the stove.  After a set amount of time, the heat is removed and the ground coffee sinks to the bottom of the pot.  The brewed coffee is poured off the top of the pot.  It still contains suspended solids after it is poured into the cup. This sinks to the bottom and laves a layer of sediment in the cup.

Each of these methods noted above requires the coffee beans to be ground to a specific size range to achieve the best results.
GRIND OF THE COFFEE
Each brewing method works best with a specific grind size.  The rule is:

• Coarse - good for French press and percolated coffee where no filter is used
• Medium - good for Drip or Pour-Over coffee where the coffee is filtered using a paper, screen or cloth filter
• Fine - good for espresso where the coffee is compressed and extracted under pressure
• Extra Fine - good for Turkish coffee where the coffee is boiled and the bold flavor and sediment are desired in the brewed coffee

Using the wrong grind for the brewing method will give you coffee that is either over extracted (grind is too fine for the brewing method) or coffee that is under extracted (coffee is too coarse for the brewing method).  This is because each brewing method results in a different contact time (time hot water is in contact with the coffee) and if the surface area is too great, the result will be too much extraction and if the surface area is too small the water will not have time to extract enough compounds from the coffee.

The finer the grind of the coffee, the greater the extraction of compounds.  If the coffee is ground too fine for the brewing method, the brewed coffee will be too strong and bitter and might make your mouth squeaky.  You will end up with ground coffee that smells great before you brew it but does not taste great after you brew it.

If the ground coffee is too coarse, the coffee will be too weak and have too little flavor, aroma and body.  Once again you will end up with ground coffee that smells great before you brew it but does not taste great after you brew it.

The method of grinding is important as it is important for all the ground coffee to be uniform in size.  If there is variation in the size of the ground coffee (some pieces are big and some are very small) then the quality of the brewed coffee will not be consistent as some of the ground coffee is over extracted, some is perfectly extracted and some is under extracted. 

BURR GRINDERS
The best way to get a grind which is uniform is size is to use what is known as a burr grinder.  This is the type of coffee grinder used in coffee shops and supermarkets.  It works by crushing the coffee beans between two disks called burrs.  The distance between the burrs is adjustable and this allows you to select the size of the grind you want.  The ground coffee that comes out of this type of coffee grinder is very uniform in size.  The problem with these types of coffee grinders is that they tend to be more expensive than the lower cost blade grinders. 

BLADE GRINDERS
Blade grinders work by breaking up the coffee beans using a spinning blade (like a food processor or blender).  These types of grinders are inexpensive but they produce ground coffee which is not uniform in size (some pieces are big and some are small).  Also, the high speed action of a blade grinder can heat up the coffee and cause it to lose some of its aroma and flavor oils.  These are less expensive but they are not perfect. 

Another problem is that you cannot select the size of the ground coffee.  You must judge this by eye as you grind it.  If you do use a blade type grinder, it is recommended that you pulse it on for a few seconds and then let the ground coffee rest for a few seconds, then tap the grinder to redistribute the coffee and then pulse again.  This increases the uniformity of the final grind and reduces the amount of heating of the ground coffee.  For drip or pour-over coffee, grind the coffee beans for a total of 15-20 seconds. For French press or percolated coffee, grind the beans for 10-12 seconds
QUALITY OF WATER
Since water is the solvent used to extract the compounds from the coffee and water is 98% of the coffee you are drinking, the quality of the water used for making coffee is very important to the quality of the coffee you make.

Not all water is the same. There are many different sources of water and each source contains different chemicals which change the flavors and qualities of the water. 
Distilled water is produced by boiling water and condensing the steam back to liquid.  Distilled water is ultra-pure and contains no dissolved chemicals. 

Tap water is what comes out of the faucet.  This water contains different minerals like calcium and magnesium, depending on where the water comes from.  It also contains added chemicals like fluoride (for the health of your teeth) and chlorine (for killing germs and bacteria). 

There is bottled water which contains minerals similar to tap water but without the chlorine and fluoride. 
And then there is treated water such as tap water you filter in your home or city water which is processed through a reverse osmosis (RO) system in a restaurant.  The filter or RO system removes sediment, bacteria, chlorine and other chemicals which give the water a bad taste.

For the purpose of making coffee, distilled water is not acceptable.  Some mineral content is needed in the water or else the coffee will taste flat and lacking in flavor. 

Tap water is generally not the best choice because the chlorine will add undesirable flavors to the coffee.  Some tap water may also contain minerals such as gypsum (calcium sulfate) which add an undesirable flavor (like sulfur – rotten eggs) to the water and to the coffee.

The best choice for water to use for making great coffee is water that tastes great to drink.  The ideal type of water to use for brewing coffee contains some mineral content but does not contain any compounds which produce bad flavors (like chlorine or rotten eggs). 

Good choices include bottled drinking water (spring water or purified drinking water, not distilled water) or tap water which has been filtered or conditioned using a purification system designed for drinking water. 

Softened water is not good for making coffee as most of the beneficial minerals such as calcium have been replaced with sodium, which will result in a duller flavor and add to your intake of sodium which many people are trying to limit.

Most coffee shops use treated tap water.  This enables them to have control of the quality and consistency of the water they use.  Bottled drinking water is fine as well.  Or if you live in an area where the quality of the local water supply is very good (such as ground water from deep wells or aquifers) and does not need treatment with chemicals, then feel free to try this out for brewing coffee. 
​
The bottom line is that if the water does not taste good to drink by itself, then it will not make good coffee.

​Just one thing to keep in mind with ground water (such as well water) is that it tends to contain higher levels of minerals such as calcium and magnesium which will leave deposits (scale) behind in your coffee making equipment at a faster rate than water with lower mineral content.  This means that you will need to clean and descale your equipment more frequently.  Soaking your equipment in a vinegar/water solution for an hour or so will generally remove the scale from the surfaces.
TEMPERATURE OF THE WATER
The temperature of the water when it comes in contact with the coffee has a big effect on the extraction.  Different compounds in coffee (and there are tons of them) are soluble at different rates depending on the temperature of the water.  As the water gets hotter, the rate at which compounds can dissolve out of the coffee and into the water gets faster (think about dissolving sugar in hot water vs. cold water).  Also as the water gets hotter, it is easier to remove more of the water resistant (oily) chemicals from the coffee.  This is why it is much faster to make coffee and tea using hot water than using cold.

The problem is that hotter is not always better.  Some of the compounds taste bitter or taste “off” (i.e. taste bad, such as tasting like cardboard) and you want to limit the dissolution of these into the water but you still want to maximize the dissolution of the good chemicals (the flavors and aromas and sweetness).  If the water is too hot, you will end up with coffee with a lot of extra flavors and bitterness which may cover up the good flavors and qualities.  You will get coffee that smells great but does not taste too good.
If the water is colder, the rate of dissolution will be slower.  This means there will be less bitterness, but there will also be less flavor as some of the important compounds may not be dissolved into the water in sufficient quantities to give the coffee the qualities you want.  Once again you will get coffee that smells great but does not taste too good.

The trick is that you need to have water that is sufficiently hot but not too hot so that you will extract out the exact balance of compounds needed to give you the qualities of coffee you want; smooth, full of flavor and rich aromas with some sweetness and little bitterness.  To achieve this when brewing hot coffee, the ideal water temperature is just slightly below boiling.  This is 200-205 degrees F (93.3-96.1 degrees C).
If you are using an electric coffee maker (drip, pod or percolator), the temperature is automatically controlled for you, so you do not need to worry about this.

If you are using a manual brewing method like French press or pour-over, the best way to get the correct water temperature is to bring the water to a boil in the kettle, then turn off the heat and let it sit for 1 minute before pouring it over the coffee.
AMOUNT OF TIME THE COFFEE IS IN CONTACT WITH THE WATER
The next big factor which determines the amount of extraction of compounds from the coffee is the amount of time the water is in contact with the coffee.  Since each of the compounds can dissolve out of the coffee at different rates, some will be completely dissolved quickly and other will take longer. 
The amount of time that the water stays in contact with the coffee will determine how much of each compound is dissolved out or extracted out into the coffee.  Ideally you want the good compounds (flavors, aromas, sweetness, smoothness) to be completely dissolved out and the bad ones (sourness, bitterness, astringent quality – makes your mouth squeaky) to be left behind as much as possible.

If the coffee is in contact with the hot water for a time that is too short, not enough of the good compounds will be dissolved out and the coffee will be bland and not have the full flavor and aroma it should have.  You will get coffee that smells great but does not taste too good.
If the coffee is in contact with the water for a time that is too long, too many of the bad compounds will be dissolved out and the coffee will be too bitter and may have off flavors (stale, cardboard, etc.).  Once again you will get coffee that smells great but does not taste too good.

The ideal time for the hot water to be in contact with the coffee is 4 – 5 minutes.  If you are using an electric brewing system (drip, pod or percolator) and you have the correct grind size, the brewing system will pass the water through the coffee for the correct amount of time.  If you are using a manual brewing system like French press or pour-over, you will need to manually control the amount of time the water is in contact with the coffee. For French press this means setting a timer and then removing the coffee from the pot (otherwise the extraction will continue for too long).  And for pour-over this means having a timer and controlling the rate at which you pour the water over the coffee.
THE RATIO OF COFFEE TO WATER (HOW MUCH OF EACH)
The amount of ground coffee compared to the amount of water used to brew coffee is critical for getting the right extraction.  If the amount of ground coffee is too little for the amount of water, there will be too little of the good compounds dissolved out into the brewed coffee.  The bad compounds (bitterness, off flavors and astringency – makes your mouth feel squeaky) will be more apparent in the brewed coffee.  You will get coffee that smells great but does not taste too good.

If the amount of ground coffee is too much for the amount of water, the brewed coffee will not achieve the full flavor, but the coffee may be very bitter, as the water will not be able to completely dissolve or extract out all of the good compounds from the ground coffee in the right proportion to the bad compounds.  Once again you will get coffee that smells great but does not taste too good.

You need to have the right ratio of ground coffee to water in order to provide right balance of compounds extracted or dissolved out into the brewed coffee.  This perfect ratio is generally 2 Tablespoons of ground coffee to 6 ounces of water.  This can be varied slightly but not too much. Always read the directions on the coffee package or start with this ratio of 2 Tablespoons ground coffee to 6 ounces water when first brewing a new type of coffee and then try experimenting by changing the amounts in small quantities up and down and see what the results are.
QUICK CHECKLIST – DO’S AND DON’TS OF MAKING GREAT COFFEE
Do Make Sure You:

• Buy fresh coffee that you plan to use within 7 days of opening.
• Use whole bean coffee if you possibly can and grind it immediately before brewing.
• If you buy packaged coffee make sure it is in a sealed airtight container and it has a freshness date.
• Keep all your coffee making equipment very clean (free of residue and scaling).
• Use filtered or bottled drinking water.
• Use the correct ratio of coffee to water (general rule is 2 Tablespoons coffee per 6 ounces of water).
• Make sure your water temperature is correct (200 – 205 Degrees F), if not using an automatic coffee maker.
• Make sure you control the brewing time to be 3-4 minutes if using a manual brewing method (French press or pour over, etc.).

Don’t Make These Common Mistakes:

• Use Dirty equipment.
• Use Old coffee.
• Store coffee incorrectly.
• Use the wrong size grounds for the type of brewing method you are using.
• Use the wrong ratio of water to coffee.
• Use the wrong water temperature for manual brewing methods.
• Use the wrong brewing time for manual methods
• Use the wrong type of water.
• Reheat coffee or keep coffee hot in a heated pot.
• Leave French press coffee in the press after brewing is complete.

 
That’s it!  If you follow these logical steps you too can brew incredibly rich flavorful coffee without spending a lot of money on fancy equipment or taking lots of time experimenting with different recipes.
 
More information at: https://www.ibrewthebestcoffee.com/
 
© 2022 Diogenes Publishing LLC
 

While other diet plans and weight loss eating plans have experienced ups and downs in popularity over the years, the Mediterranean diet has consistently been ranked in the top tier since it became publicized in the 1990’s. For the last 5 years, the Mediterranean diet has been named the best eating plan by US News & World Report.

What makes the Mediterranean diet more long-lasting in its popularity and its results is that it is not a “diet” as people have come to think of diets where you need to strictly avoid many of the foods you enjoy and you feel deprived, and as a result look to move onto another perceived less restrictive diet. The Mediterranean diet is more of a style of eating coupled with a healthy life style that real people have followed for centuries with positive results.  People who live in Mediterranean regions of the world follow this style of eating because that is their lifestyle. They are lucky to have access to many sources of fresh unprocessed food, including many flavorful and nutritious vegetables and fruits and they truly enjoy what they eat. They do not see themselves as being on a “diet”.  And if you enjoy what you are doing, it becomes effortless and you will continue to do it and enjoy it.

The benefits of the Mediterranean diet include better health as defined by Everyday Health. This includes having a more healthy body weight, without having to eat “diet products” like artificial sweeteners or synthetic fats. It also means you do not have to eliminate vital food groups from what you eat, like carbohydrates (carbs) or natural sweeteners and fats.  Beyond maintaining a healthy weight, the Mediterranean diet ensures you are getting balanced nutrition from the variety of foods you are eating, rather than having to take processed supplements and synthetic vitamins.  It is the combination of the nutrients in the proper balance which is thought to provide one of the key health benefits of the Mediterranean diet. 

The foods and meals considered to be under the umbrella of the “Mediterranean Diet” include many common, normal good-tasting choices such as olive oil, fresh fish, lean meat, bread, fresh vegetables and fruits and even some wine and don’t forget dessert! You do not need to eat any weird or nasty stuff to consume healthier food under the Mediterranean diet. Thy key is to switch to healthier alternatives, such as healthier carbohydrates, fays, sweeteners, rather than avoiding them altogether.  This is what makes the Mediterranean Diet so attractive and long-lasting. You do not need in the Mediterranean region to follow the Mediterranean Diet, you can do this too!

For more quick and easy tips on how to adopt a healthier eating style without feeling deprived, check out Mediterranean Diet Cheat Sheets

References:
Harvard School of Public Health, Diet Review: Mediterranean Diet
Everyday Health, 8 Scientific Health Benefits of the Mediterranean Diet
Scripps Wellness & Prevention, Mediterranean Diet Is Best Diet – Once Again

​If you ever wanted to find an opportunity to work remotely, there is no time like right now to explore your options both outside your current organization and also for where you are at now. In the past working remotely was viewed as less productive and not for those who were serious about whir jobs and careers. Since most employers in the past were not very flexible in providing opportunities for folks to try out remote work and demonstrate that this does work well, there was no real evidence to point to for justifying remote work as legitimate value-added service to the organization. And for many of us, we might not have been sure this would work since were never given the opportunity to work remotely. But all that changed since the global pandemic. For many of us, we now have over one year plus of real-world experience to justify our performance working remotely and provide hard data to show the many benefits of working remotely, either part time in a hybrid mode or full time.
And it turns out that there are just many benefits to the employers as there are to employees for working remotely.  Specifically, these relate to the bottom-line profits, which is welcome news for those who wish to justify continuing to work remotely. This really ids a win:win situation and now we can prove it.
Benefits to the Employer
So here are some data points which provide justification of the benefits to employers and organizations for supporting remote work:

• Cost Savings: Companies are saving over $10,000 per employee per year working remotely due to reduced real estate, utilities and maintenance costs. Office space is expensive, so are utility costs for heating, cooling and costs for cleaning and maintenance services.
• Additional Work Hours: By saving on commuting time and now being available during this time, employees have an average of two or more additional hours per day to be productive at work activities and/or actively participating in meetings. Even if the total work day is limited to 8 hours, this means employees have a larger window of availability to engage in activities outside of normal hours, such as meetings with colleagues in other time zones.

• Attracting Workers: Recruiting is easier when remote work is an option. This is seen as a valuable benefit to job seekers. It may convince some to switch employers if they currently do not have this option.
• Low-Cost Benefit: Working remotely, even part of the time (1 or 2 days a week and/or having a flexible schedule) is valued as a real benefit. This costs a lot less than signing bonuses, increased pay or club memberships.

• Resource Savings: People are more likely to accept jobs with lower pay rates than they currently earn in order to enable them to be able to work remotely.  
• Limitless Geography: Employers can attract and recruit people from diverse geographical areas without having to pay relocation costs. More job applicants will be willing to apply for jobs in other areas if they can live where they want.
• Retaining Talent: Turnover rates are lower by more than 20% when employees have flexible work options, including remote work.
• More Efficient Meetings: Remote meetings can be arranged to include people from different locations, there is no need to allow for travel time nor have to find an available conference room. Presentations can be shared and viewed equally by all participants (there is no one closer or farther from the projector or screen).
• Lower Absenteeism: Employees can continue to work remotely if school is closed or children are sick or roads are unsafe to travel on due to bad weather.
• Business Continuity Planning (BCP): Remote work provides for business continuity in the event of bad weather, local outages or limited access to the office such as fire, flood or road closures.
• Lower Carbon Footprint: With less employees needing to travel by car or bus, this reduces fuel consumption and reduces exhaust and carbon emissions. More companies are looking to address environmental concerns and remote work is a quick, effective and less expensive alternative to purchasing carbon offsets and credits.

Benefits to the Employee
For employees working remotely, here are some of the key benefits:

• Resolves Work-Life Issues: Having flexibility allows for managing family commitments and appointments and other life issues in tandem with meeting objectives at work ,versus having the two in conflict. This is a win:win situation rather than choosing one at the expense of the other.
• Reduced Stress: Working in comfortable surroundings and not having to deal with traffic, crowded and delayed transportation and rushing to get out the door is more conducive to taking a calmer more logical proactive approach to work situations versus being stressed out and over reactive.
• Greater Productivity: With a flexible schedule, some work can be done during peak productivity times, i.e., some folks do their best work in the early hours of the morning while others work well late at night.
• More Energy Spent on Working: Less energy spent on getting ready, beating the traffic and commuting. This energy can then be focused on mor valuable endeavors such as problem solving, writing proposals, analyzing data, publishing presentations or completing budgets.
• More Time Available for Self-Care: When time exists for exercise, meditation, medical appointments, connection with family and friends, etc., this results in greater happiness and contentment which leads to improved performance at work.

Hesitations To Overcome / Perceived Obstacles (Not Necessarily Real Ones)
In the past, remote work was seen as play-working, hanging out at home all day in pajamas and having a vacation while getting paid. Remote workers were generally viewed as less productive and less serious about their jobs than workers who came in to the office. A lot of that perception has changed since the great pandemic-induced remote working experiment of 2020, however there are still some lingering doubts and hesitations to address an overcome to change this mindset. Here are some common perceived obstacles to working remotely.

• Lack of Focus: It is perceived that remote workers will be less productive due to the distractions of being at home, like children, household chores, personal errands, etc. Yes, this is possible however this situation also exists in an office setting as folks are on their phones or chit-chatting by the break room or taking long lunches or coming in late and leaving early. The fact is, there some people who will take advantage of the work environment no matter what or where it is located so working remotely is not really the root cause of this problem. The solution to this is good oversight and management of peoples work and holding them accountable for producing the deliverables needed at the time needed. Managers need to judge by results, not by whether someone is sitting at their desk from 8 to 5 every day. If the work is getting done well and on time, then that is what is really important regardless of where the person is.
• Lack of Trust: Some employers just do not trust that their employees will be working unless they are physically watching them. And typically, if you expect the worst from people, they won’t disappoint you. Employees who are treated like irresponsible kids will not feel valued nor motivated to prove themselves as it will not matter to management anyway. Likewise, if you expect the best out of folks and trust them to do the right things more often than not, they will live up to your expectations. Yes, again there are always people who find ways to take advantage and once again the answer to this is good management and holding everyone accountable for their responsibilities. If work is being done well and on time, then this is what really matters. If not, then this is a performance issue to be dealt with and will likely be the same person and same issue even if they are in the office full time.  
• Lack of Collaboration: Remote workers are viewed as working in isolation and lacking in interactions with coworkers. Interaction is key to collaborative problem solving and good teamwork.  The fact is, that when remote employees or teams need to communicate or collaborate, there are more options ad tools available for collaborating than ever before. We now have instant messaging, collaborative document editing, screen sharing, whiteboard exercises, online training, and mobile devices which enable us to be in touch any time from anywhere. Yes, there are some times when it is preferable to be at a live in-person meeting, such as for demonstrating new devices and training new employees, and these are situations where a hybrid approach, such as working at the office part of the day or week as needed.  This hybrid approach results in more focused and value-added time at the office where the important tasks requiring in person attendance get done efficiently and very little time is spent on routine tasks like reading emails or writing documents or data analysis as these can be accomplished remotely.
• Information Security Risk: Remote workers are viewed as a security risk to the information systems and IT infrastructure as it is more challenging to enforce IT security protocols, software patches and information protection plans when people are remotely connected to company networks. This is more challenging but far from impossible. Many organizations have faced these challenges and have developed and implemented workable security solutions. Think about the banking and financial industries. Not too long ago, if you wanted to manage money (something very important to the functioning of our society) you had to physically visit a bank during “banking hours” and meet with a person and sign paper documents to ensure “security”. But now we can log into our accounts remotely online, even on our phones, and perform many banking functions even depositing checks online 24 hours a day. This was considered “insecure” until recently. Now online banking is a workable solution. When there is a will there is a way.

In conclusion, for those employees who want to work remotely, there is real business driven data which supports remote and/or hybrid flexible work arrangements as viable solutions moving forward to support business objectives and improve employee morale, without incurring significant costs. People are the most valuable assets to an organization, a win:win solution on the working environment which satisfies everyone’s needs will separate the top tier organizations attracting the best talent from the rest of the pack looking to go back to the old times. 

How many times have you struggled with trying to come up with a good idea? An idea for a business, for the perfect gift for someone, what to make for dinner, or what craft projects will keep the kids entertained. It often feels like the more effort and focus on coming up with the idea, the more out of reach it becomes. “Wracking your brain” is what my grade school teacher used to call this process, and it never really yielded great results then or now.   

Information overload from reading through ad-laden internet posts does not usually provide ideas which inspire any confidence, as the resulting answers are random and impersonal, or may simply reflect the opinions of a few superusers of the site.

A new startup has taken ideation to the tech-age by utilizing Artificial Intelligence (AI) to analyze prompted information supplied by the requester to generate ideas specifically tailored to each request, thereby instilling a level of confidence not possible with random searches. Artificial intelligence has been on the horizon for many years but is now reaching a level of maturity making it a valuable and legitimate tool to solve real world issues and support human decision-making endeavors.

Give it a try for FREE at https://thought-ideas.com/home

Find the perfect gift idea, what to make for dinner, what books are recommended for you to read, business ideas and now You Tube Video ideas.

Feedback is always appreciated as the site is being perfected. 

In these days of remote working and online interactions it is more important than ever to keep your mind active and engaged in something which will drive you forward. Many studies have confirmed that as we get older, it is vital to exercise our minds as well as our bodies in order to sustain our health and well-being. Continuous learning is the ley to maintain an active positive mind and continual growth of skills and confidence, even as we reach what most consider to be the tail end of our careers. The truth is that it’s not too late and yes you can teach an old dog new tricks. Keeping you mind challenged by learning something new has many immediate benefits, including: reduced stress, a more positive outlook, more confidence, a sharper mind, and even better performance at your job or possibly a new job or career altogether. 
Now is an ideal time to explore the many options of online learning and developing new skills for the new economy or just for your personal satisfaction. Isn’t there something you always wanted to learn but never had the opportunity or the time? With the shift to virtual learning and remote work, there are many more options available to you that you never had before. You now have a world where you have some extra time by not commuting and you have more courses and certification programs online that ever before.
For me what I always wished learned when I was younger is coding and programming. This is a very dynamic filed which is constantly evolving and impacts all areas of our current society and economy. I always wanted to learn how things work and become a contributor to developing better technologies, not just a user of technology. I ended up in an engineering field and while this has bene good over the years, I will have a keen interest in learning the new and latest technology skills. This stuff makes me feel like a kid again and it also helps me contribute valuable ideas in my current engineering role. Lately I have stumbled upon a series of online programs designed to be engaging, fun, challenging and efficient in developing new coding and programming skills. All at a reasonable cost, and some it free! https://stude.co/1031503/coding-and-programming  (disclosure: affiliate link). And now that I have just a bit more time…I am taking the plunge.  There are so may compelling reasons to keep on learning and developing your mind and skills. You never know where this will take you.

Until next time...

There are many options for side income streams that can  supplement your current income or provide a platform for a part-time side business that you cold eventually grow into a full-time venture (i.e. quit your day job).  You must have seen many ads and webinars for “Affiliate Marketing”, “Taking Surveys”, “Franchising”, “Freelancing”, “Day Trading”, and the list goes on… All of these have the potential to make you some money but they do require an investment and commitment of time and/or money.  If you are currently holding a fulltime job, and need it to pay for things like housing, health insurance, college, groceries, utilities etc., you likely do not have much of either of these to spare on a business venture that might or might not work. So what do you do?

First, you must decide on your life’s priorities. For me, yes I could spend all my non-working hours working on a side business, and I started out this way years ago, but soon realized that this would lead to giving up on things that were more important to me, like getting married and stating a family.

So the second step is to define just how much time you have available for a side business, and when you actually write it all down, it is more than you might think. You need to think of time outside the box of large dedicated hours and hours. For busy working adults, this time is more spread out; think about how I am writing this post now while waiting for the dentist. If someone asked me “you should think about starting a blog”, I would probably reply “I don’t have the time needed for that”. But somehow I do. Last weekend I reworked the website while waiting for 6 hours at DMV to get my license renewed. I have also gotten up just 20 minutes early to follow up on orders of my online products and hired writers to help with book manuscripts. Maybe free time is available during the commercials, or skipping a TV show now and then, it’s different for everyone but its within your control to identify and focus on the time you do have.

The third step is to define how much money you are willing to invest. If you are going for a franchise, you might need $200,000+. If you need specialized training or a certification you might need $5,000+. If you are starting a freelance writing business or blog you might need $50. It’s all up to you, but be clear up front so you don’t end up pouring more and more money into one idea when it might be better to reevaluate and change direction. For me, the time limitation dictated the money limitation. There was no way I would invest over $5000 in a business that I could only afford to spend a few hours a month on. I would surely end up losing this investment.

Last, you need to define a business that you will enjoy doing or one that gives you a purpose, something that drives you forward. If you start a side business that is pure drudgery, you will reach a point where it’s just not worth it to continue, even if you are making some money it will just not be worth the pain to push harder to grow it. More likely you will drop it or let is tail off.

​So given all those considerations what types of side business will work? It will be different for each person and situation, but for me it became clear that producing a product which I had control over and selling it on an established marketplace was the right place to start. My product of choice was information products, namely eBooks, Print Books, Manuals and Business Templates. I took a few online courses to learn about this business and then hit the ground running. I create these products myself and I sell them on the following marketplaces, check these out:

• Amazon
  
• ETSY 
• Fiverr 
• Smashwords 

It is definitely possible to startup and run a side business, even when “responsibilities” limit your time, funding and flexibility. It only become impossible when you give up or when you believe it impossible. Never give ever ever up!

Until next time.
All the best,

​Erik

​We are starting a forum for folks thinking about or running a side business. Check out our LinkedIn survey here: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:6729871963050921984
There are endless programs and courses out there which claim to make you tons of money. You’ve seen headlines like this right? “In fact, I earned over $20k in royalties in a single day”, “…pushing a button, and watching earnings simply pour into your account…”, or “no experience, no selling, no website, no investment needed…”. 
​I have tried some of these myself (more than I care to admit) and while they do contain some valuable insights, none have lived up to the claims presented in the marketing ads. Has that discouraged me from continuing down the path of part-time entrepreneurship? Not at all. In fact what I have learned from this journey is that the reasons for having a side business are more than just making tons of money, and the reasons that most of these programs fall short is that they do not address the key requirements needed to be successful, and these are different for each of us and every situation is different, so there is no “one size fits all” program that works for anyone. But that should not stop nor discourage you from exploring and burning desire you have to make a side business work, which you just can’t shake. There are many good reasons for having a side business, besides getting rich, which are of different relative importance for each of us. Here are a few:

• Diversification of income, not putting all your eggs in one basket.
• Builds self confidence to be able to create and manage a business without having the safety network of an employer.  
• Control of your time and efforts, not being directed by a boss or dealing with organizational politics.
• Learning new skills that motivate you and keep your mind active (very important as you get older).
• Provides options to stay active and engaged after retirement, or when between jobs.
• Possibility of making this a full-time occupation, when you are ready.
• Gives you an opportunity to solve a problem that is meaningful to you and help people overcome this.
• Provides work for others, can hire employees or enlist the service of others.
• Creates a value-added entity that you can pass along to your children / heirs etc. or sell.

Now, as for reasons for being hesitant and/or not moving ahead with starting and/or growing a side business, be aware of these but DO NOT feel like having these concerns = failure, absolutely not! Use these concerns to help guide you in making more informed decisions. Keep forging ahead, you have more expertise, insights and good sense that you likely give yourself credit for. Don’t get discouraged by the disappointing get-rich plans that have not worked out in the past.
More to come on this topic – until next time.
All the best,
Erik

In the ever-rapidly evolving world of online ework, technology has emerged to answer one of the age-old concerns about letting people work remotely “Are they really working?”  Software is now available to track remote workers’ time and productivity. In addition, this software can also provide productivity benefits to organizations including automation of: time sheets, project milestone tracking, invoices, and performance against objectives. This data can be used to objectively evaluate the effectiveness of remote work and efficiently manage remote teams, making employees more accountable and freeing supervisors from micromanaging. For organizations still wading into the waters of ework, this software can provide the data needed to move towards a more efficient future with confidence. 
An excellent application for ework tracking is Time Doctor.
This application is simple to use and easily lets managers track:
​

• Time spent on work sites vs. outside sites
• Time logged in/out of work systems
• Attendance
• Progress and time spent on specific tasks
• Inactive time (logging in and walking away)

The system documents all this so you don’t have to spend your time doing it.  Check it out:
 https://www.timedoctor.com/features.html