If you love coffee, you need to read this article. You may think that you know everything possible about this wonderful bean, but it’s doubtful. The article ahead contains the best collection of coffee tips and tricks available anywhere. Pour yourself a cup of coffee, and settle down to read the information below.
If you are a heavy coffee drinker make lunch you last cup. Drinking caffeine in the afternoon and evening can seriously effect your ability to sleep soundly. As long as you don’t load your coffee up with too many calories it is just fine to have several cups during the morning hours.
Here is a great trick to try if you use softened or distilled water to brew your coffee. Just add a small pinch of salt to the pot after brewing. This may sound crazy, but the salt will add a lot of extra flavor to the coffee! Believe it or not!
Keep your automatic coffee maker clean with white vinegar. Run a brewing cycle with one part water to one part white vinegar. After allowing the carafe to soak in the vinegar for a while, run a cycle with plain water to rinse the machine. Clean your coffee maker once every week or two to remove rancid coffee oils, mold and other contaminants.
When purchasing coffee beans, don’t keep them inside the same bag you bought them in after opening them. It should keep out light and air. This helps maintain their freshness.
Always store your coffee beans or grinds in a dark, cool, airtight container. Even better, use a vacuum container. Storing your coffee in such a container helps keep your coffee smelling and tasting fresh for a long time. Store the container in the fridge or freezer to maximize freshness.
If you drink your coffee cold, think past just traditional cream and sugar. Mix entire fruits into your coffee. You can add foods like oranges, cherries and strawberries for interesting additions to the flavor. Even think about spicing things up with cinnamon or cardamom. The possibilities for you are nearly endless!
Do you need to exercise? You should drink a cup of strong coffee an hour before you go for your run or head to the gym. The caffeine will give you the energy you need to work out efficiently. However, it is very important that you drink plenty of water before, during and after your workout session.
If you like your coffee sweet but want to use less sugar, there are many healthier alternatives. One thing to try is the nectar of agave, which does have sugar but does not affect you in the same way. Low calories sweeteners like Splenda or Stevia are great in hot drinks and can be used safely in coffee.
Iced coffee doesn’t taste so great when the ice cubes begin to melt, watering down the flavor. An excellent tip is to make ice cubes out of coffee or milk, and keeping them in the freezer in zippered bags. They will be handy anytime you want a cold drink on a hot day!
Freshly roasted beans create the best coffee. Make sure you look at the expiration date when buying whole beans. Specialty stores are superior to grocery stores when buying coffee beans.
Clean your coffee grinder regularly. Coffee grinds go stale quickly. As a result, it is necessary to clean your grinder often. If the grinder is not cleaned on a regular basis, old stale grinds will be mixed with your freshly ground coffee. It is best to clean the grinder thoroughly every few days.
If you do go to a coffeehouse for a cup of joe and work away from home, be careful how you place your laptop. You do not want to spill your drink on it, nor do you want anyone reading your screen over your shoulder. Also be mindful of what you say on the phone. Your competition could be in there too.
If you are having a hard time making the jump over to decaffeinated coffee you are in luck. It’s possible to make a reduced caffeine version of coffee. This can be done by grinding an equal amount of regular beans along with de-caf beans. If you use pre-ground coffee, just use equal parts of each in your coffee maker.
When brewing your coffee, use water that has been filtered. Just buy a charcoal water filtering attachment and put this in your sink at home. Alternatively, you can buy a coffee maker with a built-in filter. You may even be able to buy charcoal filtered water from your local supermarket.
Drink coffee only during the early hours of the day. Coffee has a great deal of caffeine, which can keep you awake when it is time to go to Ned. Even if you have your last cup hours before bed it can remain in your system so be sure that you stop drinking it before noon.
If you have a bit of leftover coffee, you can always freeze it in cube trays. Using iced coffee cubes will stop your drink from becoming too watered down and losing flavor. You can be creative with these coffee cubes and use them to enhance coffee-based cocktails or chill a scalding cup of coffee.
Even though avid coffee drinkers prefer fresh brewed coffee, some people use instant coffee granules to make a quick cup rather than a whole pot. The flavor of the instant coffee is different than brewed coffee, and most people think it is inferior. It is quite convenient though, and some consider that convenience worthwhile.
Why settle for a boring cup of coffee when there are so many different options available? Coffee flavors in French vanilla; Hazelnut and A tickle your taste buds. If you do not care for flavored coffee beans, you can always opt from a wide assortment of fun flavored creamers to liven up your cup of coffee.
As you can now see, coffee isn’t just a simple bean. There are many different varieties and many different ways to prepare it. The only thing you really need to do is figure out how you like it. Then, you can make it to suit yourself, and never go out for coffee again.
