Coffee! I love it hot in the winter, and cold in the summer. Heck, I love it hot in the summer too! But there are a few tips that help make a good cup of coffee become an amazing cup of coffee, and I thought it would be fun to talk about that today! Through the years I’ve learned quite a bit about the art of coffee, but I’m also a busy work-at-home mom who needs a balance of easy and artful, if you know what I mean. I’m not going to check the temperature of my water or weigh my coffee grounds before brewing, but I definitely do care about the quality and process, because that’s what gives me the most delicious cup of caffeine in the morning.

If you’ve enjoyed a really well made cup of coffee frequently enough, you’ll discover how easy it is to become accustomed to the fine taste, making it might difficult to sip gas station coffee or use a can of pre-ground beans in your coffee maker. Personally, my two favorite methods of making coffee is french press and cold brew. I’ve come to love the robust flavor that comes from the water mingling with the freshly ground beans— a rich taste that you just don’t get with a drip or pour-over method. I don’t believe there’s one best way to make coffee, and to be honest, the method of brewing probably isn’t the most important factor involved in making a good cup of coffee, so let’s break it down real quick!

shown above: french press / espresso machine / bean safe / burr grinder / RO filtration system

First and foremost— freshly roasted beans are so important to getting a pleasantly flavorful cup of joe! And I’m not talking about a freshly opened bag of mass distributed beans, either. Finding a local coffee roaster that roasts at least once a week is your best avenue to a better cup of coffee. Buying freshly roasted beans once a week means they’ll never go stale. If you can’t consume them quickly enough, buy smaller quantities or get a bean safe to ensure that the beans you’re storing will stay fresh for as long as possible. Coffee beans go stale as the roasted beans release carbon dioxide, and when they’re contained in an air-tight space, the carbon dioxide speeds up the process, robbing the beans of their rich taste. Bean safes come with a one-way-valve to allow the carbon dioxide to escape, without oxygen entering the container. This is the best way to store beans— not in a bag, or an air-tight container, or stored in a low temperature environment (like a freezer), and especially not in a bag near other foods. The beans will absorb the odors from the other foods.

So to review: Buy fresh beans as often as possible, and store them in a bean safe to keep them fresher longer.

Where coffee beans are grown greatly affect their flavor, as well as how they’re washed and how long they’re roasted. Just think of how many different kinds of roasts are out there as distributors blend  multi-origin beans and use a variety of roasting methods! I’m typically a medium roast kind of gal, and I usually prefer beans grown in Central American countries, like Columbia and Brazil. I always look for “nutty” and “caramel” listed as flavor notes. The best way to find out what kind of roast you like best is to be cognizant of what you’re drinking and think about how it compares to other roasts you’ve enjoyed. If you always use cream, taste your coffee before adding the cream, in order to get the full affect of the flavor. Most coffee shops will give you sample sizes to sip and compare.

Investing in a burr grinder was the best thing I did for my coffee game! Storing your coffee beans already ground is a great way to lose flavor and cause the beans to go stale faster. Think of it as dicing up an avocado and storing it that way if you’re not using it all. It will oxidize and go bad. While ground beans don’t “go bad,” so to speak, they do get stale at a rapid rate. So— grind your beans right before brewing, and make sure you grind them to the appropriate coarseness for your brewing method. A burr grinder or manual grinder will give you the best control over the level and consistency of coarseness, with the old blade processor style not evening coming close.

Coffee is mostly water, so the quality of water you use is so important! I know some people buy gallons of purified water that they only use for making coffee, and I also know others who are pleased as punch to use tap water. The latter probably wouldn’t be interested in reading this post, if that’s the case! I recently had a reverse osmosis water system installed in my home with a tap right next to my sink. This gives the purest drinking water you can get at home, and basically a blank slate for your coffee. It really does make a difference!

While the method you use to brew your coffee does matter to a degree, I believe it’s simply a matter of preference. If you don’t have time to heat up water before or time to clean up after the coffee has been made, you might not like a pour-over or french press method. The french press probably has the most clean-up, because the grounds are actually loose in the beaker. Most other methods allow you to easily toss the grounds into the trash with the filter.

I totally get why people love their drip coffee makers! It makes a decent cup of coffee, it heats the water to the right temperature, and can even keep the coffee warm. You can even program coffee makers to have the coffee ready for you when you wake up! But keeping coffee on a warmer does degrade its quality, and you don’t get as full of flavor from a drip or pour-over as you would with a french press. Some people prefer this, actually. So it’s really a matter of trying out a few methods and seeing what you like. I’m not suggesting you go out and buy all this equipment, but maybe see if friends mind letting you use their equipment so you can get a better sense of how the brewing method matches up to your preferences.

My most used method of making coffee in the morning is french press. I switched from a standard drip coffee maker to a french press method after having pressed coffee made for me by friends on two separate occasions and being blown away by the flavor. Sure, they were using good beans, but I was intrigued. Some people say french press coffee isn’t for them because it’s too strong. But you can adjust the strength according to your taste by simply adding more or less grounds to the water.

There are three important factors to consider when making french press coffee: The grind of the beans (coarse); the temperature of the water (a bit below boiling); and the time you allow it to steep before pressing down the filter (4 minutes). Like I mentioned before, some coffee fanatics weigh their grounds and monitor the temperature of their water, but that’s just too intense for me. I boil water on the stove, then allow the water to rest for a minute before adding it to my coffee grinds. I add 5 level scoops of coffee to the beaker, but I honestly couldn’t tell you what unit of measurement my scoop is, or where I got it! I think it may be the one that came with one of my french presses. Who knows? What I think is important is finding what water to grinds ratio works for you and your preferences.

One important bit of advice I would give about making french press coffee is to really make sure you have a consistently coarse grind in your beans. If there are any medium or fine bits, they will not be kept down by the filter and will be found in the bottom of your coffee cup. I wouldn’t bother making french press coffee if you don’t have a burr grinder or manual grinder. Sure, you could have your beans ground for you at the store, but then they’ll only be optimally fresh on the day that you bring them home.

Cold brew coffee is my favorite because it produces such a smooth result that is lower in acidity and gentler on the gut than coffee brewed with hot water. Sure, since it’s already cold, this method is super convenient to use for iced coffee, but you can gently heat it and enjoy it hot as well! It will still be flavorful and smooth after heating once. So why don’t I use the cold brew method as much as I use my french press? Well, simply because it requires planning ahead, and that’s not my strong suit where coffee’s concerned!

All you do to make cold brew coffee is mix cold water with medium to coarse ground coffee and allow it to steep for around 12 hours or overnight. Then you pour the water through a coffee filter once or twice (depending on how picky you are) and can store it for up to a week in the refrigerator. It will give you the full, rich flavor of french press coffee, due to the coffee mingling with the water for so long, but you won’t have the acidity and sometimes gut-wrenching after effects that come with using hot water to extract the flavor.

I typically use 3 cups of water and one cup of ground beans and store them in a mason jar before straining into a glass bottle. This makes a concentrated version which will need to be diluted with water and/or ice to your preference. I actually don’t dilute mine at all when I’m drinking it over ice. But maybe I’m a maniac.

I know many people who will boldly proclaim that they drink their coffee black, as if they deserve a prize or something. Great! That’s wonderful for you, but I’ve been happily drinking cream in my coffee for many years and don’t plan to go without it any time soon. In fact, you want to talk about a letdown? When someone offers you coffee, you say yes excitedly, and then they give you a cup of black coffee and tell you they don’t have cream. Or milk. Major letdown. But like I said before, I might be a maniac.

When I want to add an extra delicious note to my coffee, I’ll use flavored creamer. But the funny thing is, I like different creamers for iced coffee than hot coffee! My favorite creamer for iced coffee is International Delights Chocolate Caramel creamer. For hot coffee? International Delights Hazelnut creamer all the way. A little bit goes a long way, and always makes my day feel a little more special.

Sign up for the International Delights newsletter and receive a coupon for a discount on flavored creamer today. Check out their Pinterest page for fun and unique recipes using their creamer too!

Experts may not agree, but I also believe a lovely coffee cup is an effective way to make your coffee that much more enjoyable. I like finding vintage mugs to add to my collection, and displaying them on open shelves to enjoy even when they’re not in use.

What’s your favorite way to enjoy coffee? Or maybe you’re a tea drinker? My mom goes for tea, while I go for coffee, and we’re still the best of buds. We both maintain a passion for creamer, though, so perhaps that’s what bonds us! :)

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of International Delight. The opinions and text are all mine.