THE QUEST FOR THE PERFECT CUP OF COFFEE
It is generally agreed that there are four basic elements critical to the perfect cup of coffee:
Element 1: Water
Coffee is 98% water. Often overlooked, the quality of the water is as important as the quality of the coffee. A good rule of thumb is that if your water doesn’t taste good from the tap, it won’t taste any better in your coffee. That’s why Cuisinart has added a water filter to the Brew Central ThermalTM Coffeemaker. The charcoal water filter removes chlorine, calcium, bad tastes and odours, for the purest cup of coffee every time.
Element 2: Coffee
While the bulk of the liquid is water, all of the flavour should be from the coffee. To achieve the same great quality cup of coffee you receive at a coffee bar, you need to use the same quality beans. If you choose to grind your own beans, buy the beans fresh and whole, only about a
Element 3: Grind
The grind is critical for proper flavour extraction. If the grind is too fine, overextraction and bitterness will result. Too fine a grind may also clog your filter. If grind is too coarse, the water will pass through too quickly and the desired flavours will not be extracted. We recommend a
Element 4: Proportion
The cups on the Cuisinart® coffeemaker are 5 ounces (148 ml). Add the amount of ground coffee that corresponds to the number of cups being brewed. Many coffee bars and the Specialty Coffee Association of America recommend adding 2 rounded tablespoons (30 ml) of coffee per 6 ounces (170 ml) of water. Some coffee manufac- turers recommend using 1 tablespoon
(15 ml) per cup. We recommend using
1 tablespoon (15 ml) of ground coffee per cup, but use more or less to suit your taste.
NOTE: The maximum capacity for ground coffee is 15 tablespoons (225 ml) for this
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