The Best Coffee Maker? Its All About the Ingredients

Coffee drinkers always ask us to recommend the best ways of brewing and specifically, the best coffee making equipment (actually it happens every day). It's a quest that also dominates internet search engines and reveals an obsession with coffee making gadgetry that fills dusty kitchen cupboards and lofts throughout the UK.

Coffee culture has embedded itself into the UK high street over the last 5 years and as a nation we have become more demanding when it comes to enjoying a cup of the black stuff. The jar of instant granules just doesn't seem do it any more (although it is by far still our primary way of consuming coffee in Britain). Roast and ground coffee sales are up, bean to cup machines are selling like hot lattes, and pod machines (Nespresso and the like) are appearing on kitchen worktops everywhere.

Coffee history in the UK is largely a convenience led story since the 1800's (did you know there were more coffee shops in London in the late 1800's than there are today)? Ever since the invention of the instant coffee granule in 1933, and the tea bag in the early 1900's, the UK has always considered hot beverages in the home with speed and convenience in mind. This addiction to caffeine convenience has driven developments of some of the craziest machines ever seen that contrive to mix grounds with hot water and then separate them again. The nation seems to believe that the best cup of coffee at home lies at the end of a button on a sleek brushed steel and black plastic box that costs around three hundred quid. Now, this article does not concern itself with the instant coffee pod based machines, it is about the creation of real coffee from real coffee beans or grounds.

About a year ago we decided to research the best coffee maker, the best brewer, the beans knees, the crema de la crema, the...(oh stop it) and our conclusions were very surprising: After trying countless different bean to cup machines, espresso machines, filter machines we have discovered that it really doesn't matter which coffee machine you use as long as you use good fresh beans.

Lets face it, the secret to good coffee is not in the how to brew, but in the what to brew. To explain, and I'm sorry if you were expecting us to recommend another expensive gadget, but the finest coffee experience comes from using quality ingredients. Think about it, when have you ever asked for the make and model of a cooker after enjoying a wonderful plate of food?

So, if you want a better cup of coffee, don't change your coffee machine, change your coffee supplier. Here's our guide:

• Buy good quality coffee from small scale artisan roasters. Freshly roasted beans are best but freshly ground will do if you buy in small qtys.
• Buy fresh coffee (If you have to buy a gadget - get a coffee grinder as beans are the best devices to store aroma and flavour)
• Use the correct grind for your particular machine
• Follow the instructions for your machine consistently but experiment to find your best process

For the record, we use a pour over filter made from black plastic that costs £4 when brewing for one or two and an 8 cup cafetiere (good make with working plunger) for meetings.

For more coffee know-how and great beans every month visit http://www.realcoffeeclub.co.uk

Working towards a more Epicurean and discerning nation of coffee lovers in the UK.

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