I love coffee. My favorite part of the day is walking with Roy, at 7am, to the coffee shop around the corner- Konditori. It pains me to give up this daily routine, but the cost adds up, and I need to start brewin’ at home. To make this transition as easy as possible, I bought beans from Konditori and plan on drinking my coffee out of the to-go cups that we’ve accumulated from them.
Check out the comments. Readers are a wealth of information about coffee. =)
.jpg "How To Make A Perfect Cup of Coffee, Vkrees Photography, Food Photography")
I did some research and here’s what I’ve decided works best:
Hardware:
- French Press
- Coffee Bean Grinder
Ingredients (for 2 cups of coffee)
- About 6 Tbs of good coffee beans (store your beans in an air-tight, away from light)
- 12-18oz filtered water
- 1 small pinch of salt
- Milk, optional (non-dairy for me please!)
- Sugar, optional
Directions
- Heat up 12oz of clean, filtered, water.
- Meanwhile, put 6 Tbs of coffee beans into the grinder and grind for 12 seconds.
- Put 4 Tbs of ground coffee and a pinch of salt into the french press.
- Pour 12oz of hot water into the french press.
- Put the lid on the french press but do not press down. Let it sit for 3 minutes.
- After 3 minutes push the french press down.
- Pour the coffee into two cups. I find this to be a bit too strong so I dilute each cup with 3oz of hot water. This just depends on your preference.
- Add milk and sugar, if you’d like.
Perfection. How do you make your coffee?
Oh, and a special thanks to my dear friend Ms. Danielle Corsetto for being the hand in these photos. <3
.jpg "Marshall Cat Food Photography vkrees vanessa rees photography")
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vkrees - Nads – Apparently salt can temper bitterness coffee can sometimes have
Nads - Wow… Love your pics, and transition.. soon i will have to follow suit..
I wonder, what does the pinch of salt do? Does it heighten the coffee experience? Pls explain… Thanks… Happy walking/ coffee-ing :D
Laura - Use a Burr grinder to make the coffee even more delicious!
Monisia - Oh! I love it!;)Photographs wonderful, giving the climate back;)
agnese - I found this blog few hours ago and I’m already in love with it. Love your photos!!! I’m italian and I’m sorry for my orrible english. I’m your new follower. Bye ;)
Smith & Ratliff - Once again, awesome photos! (And a great cat.) Just curious: why do you add a pinch of salt? We make our coffee in a French press too, but I’d never heard of adding salt.
Andrew - If you’re feeling daring and since you obviously don’t mind the French press, you might want to pick up a Vietnamese coffee filter (I got mine off of Amazon for about four bucks). This was easily the best coffee I’ve had; I’m almost afraid to say that I prefer it over what comes out of our espresso maker (and what comes out of that isn’t bad by any means).
That’s not to knock the French press by any means, though! My wife and I grew very close huddling over our little French press during many a cold and rainy early Monterey morning. They’re hardy and drip makers have nothing on them!
Best of luck to you with your home coffee adventures!
Laura (Blogging Over Thyme) - Your photographs are gorgeous. So is your blog! Just hopped over from Food Gawker. Always looking to discover the perfect way to make coffee–isn’t everybody?! Thanks for the tips!
PS. Your cat is adorable.
Whitney - So glad someone else mentioned the aero press!My boyfriend got my hooked on it a few months back. I had been a die-hard french press(er) until the aero press was introduced into my life. It really does make the best cup of coffee- no bitterness whatsoever! I like to add steamed milk to mine to make a great latte. The aero press (although it looks freakishly like a breast pump with all it’s parts) is definitely worth checking out.
Joanne - I try not to buy so much coffee as well and making it at home really can be equally delicious! Fresh-ground beans are the way to go!
Your pictures make coffee brewing look like an art!
vkrees - Anna- Thnx for the tips!
Anna - It is best to use glass jars with rubber tight seals when storing your coffe beans. Amber-colored bottles are better than transparent ones. If you are to keep them in transparent containers, keep them in dark parts of the room since light is not good for coffe beans’ shelf life.
I love my coffee very strong, very creamy with a bit of choco and cinnamon. Long live caffeine! It is a good antioxidant, so I bet it will outlive us all. Thanks for sharing, your photos are cool!
Grace@ FoodFitnessFreshAir - Randomly stumbled across your site. I’m in love. Beautiful photography. And yes, there’s something so beautifully ritualistic about a warm mug of roasted coffee in the morning.
Megan - The pinch of salt can temper bitterness coffee can sometimes have
Russell at Chasing Delicious - Another set of gorgeous shots! And boy do I love starting my day with a good cup of coffee.
p.s. I love how your cat gets a cameo at the end of each post. Adorable!
vkrees - Linda- I honestly have no idea. I saw a bunch of recipes calling for it so I tried it and liked it. =)
Linda - That first picture is such a beautiful, paintable still life. I was wondering, why the pinch of salt? Beyond maybe giving the optional sugar some depth, is there some molecular reaction with salt?
vkrees - Elizabeth- You are a wealth of knowledge! Thank you for sharing all of this with us. The more I know, the more likely I am to successfully break my morning coffee shop habit. Thanks! =)
Elizabeth - I loooooooooove your photos. So beautiful and emotional.
Everyone has their own way of making coffee and I try to not be too vocal, but I always make an exception when the “f” word (freezer” comes into play. DON’T store your beans in the freezer if you are using them on a regular basis. Here is a great site with some info: http://www.coffeeam.com/coffee-storage.html
Basically the porous beans will absorb the air in your freezer and taste like your freezer and also it will break down the oils which give coffee it’s amazing aroma and flavour.
As for me, I’ve recently discovered the AeroPress which really does make the best homemade coffee, but it takes more beans than our French press. We do a procedure we learned from our fab friend (a barista here in town). He suggests pouring boiled water (not boiling, which can cause bitterness) over the 6 heaping tablespoons of grounds in the press. Wait 2.5 minutes, stir and place the lid on the press but do not press down. Wait another 3 minutes and then press. Voila! Perfect coffee every time.
Gee, do you think I am some kind of coffee snob? Ha!
Vlad - pure awesomeness on these pics. Adorable
Kelly - Your cat makes my day. I just can’t wait to see him (?) when I visit. I go to bed at night looking forward to my morning coffee. It’s simply one of life’s greatest pleasures ;0 We drink ours with warm frothed milk and cinnamon every morning – De.Lish.
coldandsleepy - Alas, the price of having coffee out really does add up… I made the switch to mostly drinking coffee at home maybe a year ago and while I miss the luxury of someone else making me coffee, it does save the dollars.
I use a plain ol’ drip cone at work and an AeroPress at home. Your French press is making me want one. Also, I love that you’re using your takeout cups!
And your cat is still adorable.
Steph - I have a local coffee shop that I’m probably going to have to give up soon as well. I have a small coffee pot, but the coffee is just meh from it. I think I’m going to have to look into a french press.
On a ‘it’s a small world’ note, I’ve been a fan of Girls With Slingshots for years, and even own a few originals and the books. I found your site through Vegan Mofo, and imagine my surprise bumping into Danielle’s hand. On such a huge internet I wouldn’t guess two smallish circles colliding.
Fanny - I do the same, although my french press is smaller and unfortunately I don’t have a grinder, so I have to use pre-ground coffee.
Alex - I was in need of a post like this – I always screw up when using my french press. Thanks for the tips!