Introduction: Making Coffee

About: I'm a social impact designer based in Baltimore, Md. I have a background in media and computer science. I run a design firm called boomco, and am serving as an Open Society Institute-Baltimore Community Fellow…
Gather your supplies. Some people like to measure out specific weights of water and coffee, but after a while you begin to have a feel for your daily routine drink. Some online research will show you exact temperatures and amounts of beans and water (the coffee:water ratio). Here's how I do it

Step 1: Gather Supplies.

You'll need:

Coffee beans (freshly roasted in the past few weeks)
A grinder (burr preferred)
Water and a water kettle
Mug
Pour over cone
Filter
Any cream you like (I prefer whole milk) - or drink it black!

Step 2: Fold Filter Into Cone

Fold your coffee filter to fit into the pour over a cone that you will be using. It helps decrease the edges along the seam of the paper for it to sit in better.

Step 3: Start Heating Your Water

Start heating up your water. When you heat the water you do not want to brew coffee with boiling water as this will cause a bad taste in your coffee. However it takes a while to start so we will do the stamp while we are grinding our coffee beans. Start with fresh clear clean water.

Make sure to heat up enough to fill your mug. In this instance I am using a 400 to 500 mL mason jar. We will regulate the amount of water when we are pouring so don't worry about that just yet

Step 4: Grind Coffee!

Load up your grinder with a proper amount of fresh coffee beans. If you do some research online you will see that there is a certain amount of beans you should use for a specific amount of water.

In my case, I am familiar with the amount of beans to make coffee the way I like, so feel free to alter the amount to your tastes. Practice makes perfect. For my coffee I use about 1 1/2 handfuls of beans.

Check with your grinder manufacture for the proper settings for pour over coffee and make sure that it is adjusted properly I recommend the Hario Skerton because it is an excellent grinder.

Grind!

When you're finished grinding, do not put the grounds in the filter quite yet.

Step 5: Clear Filter and Warm Your Mug

When your water has approach the point where it is simmering but not boiling, or is boiling and you've let it sit for a couple of minutes, then it is ready to brew. You want your brewing temperature to be around 195°F which is less than boiling.

Place your cone on top of the mug without any coffee and then pour some hot water to clear some paper taste out of the filter and preheat the mug.

When all the water has drained through the filter, dump the mug out after swirling it around a bit.

Step 6: Pour Grounds Into Filter

Open up your grinder and put your coffee grinds into the filter if you did well you should have a nice consistent grind for delicious coffee.

Step 7: Brew!

Carefully pour water over the grounds making sure to soak them evenly. Do not pour more water in then will fill the mug and remember to leave room for milk or cream.

Many coffee aficionados will recommend a gooseneck kettle for the step. However with a little bit of patients any kind of water kettle will work.

A standard 8 ounce coffee mug is about 1 to 1 1/2 times the volume of the cone. It should take the coffee about two minutes to fully percolate through and then your brew is ready to drink!

Step 8: Enjoy Your Coffee

After the brewing is complete, remove the filter and enjoy your coffee. The coffee grounds and filter are compostable you do that.

Although I enjoy my coffee black sometimes, I grew up always drinking milky coffee. Add whatever you would like into your coffee before you drink it as long as it is not sugar.

Coffee is a very healthy drink and only has a few calories per cup so enjoy it daily!