Brew up a perfect cup of coffee

It's a simple cup, but oh-so-important to so many of us. A cup of coffee is one of the most common, most loved parts of the daily ritual.

But how come baristas make it better? Why does coffee taste better at a specialty coffee shop?

Darryl Miller of Fidalgo Bay Coffee says it boils down to three things: The water, the bean and the machine.

The water

Darryl says Seattle's tap water is just about perfect. Mineral content is great for making coffee, but he recommends getting some sort of filter - Britta or otherwise - to remove some of the chlorine.

When it comes to water temperature, 205 degrees is just right for making coffee. Darryl says you don't need a thermometer.

"Just boil your water and then shut it off when it comes to a boil so that by the time you grind your beans and get your French press ready, whatever you're going to use to brew, you can have the water at the right temperature."

The machine

Darryl recommends a French press or a stove-top espresso machine. He says the paper filter can lead to coffee that doesn't taste perfect and the French press and espresso machine create what he calls a perfect "mouth feel" to the coffee.

He suggests setting a timer to four minutes, pour the water into the French press and let it sit for one minute. Stir. Then let rest for three minutes and your coffee is ready.

Another machine to be concerned with is your grinder. Don't use a blade grinder, which creates an uneven grind - and can lead to too-finely ground coffee, which leads to bitterness. Instead, Darryl recommends a burr grinder.

The bean

Finally, that bean. Use whatever variety you like, but when you grind it, make sure you use the right ratio of coffee to water. It's two tablespoons coffee for every six ounces of water.

And that means that a, say, 12-cup drip maker would need 24 tablespoons of ground coffee. Your filter basket won't hold that much, so reduce the amount of water.

"If you have a 12-cup home coffee maker, you probably would not be able to get 24 tablespoons of ground coffee into your filter basket, so you just adjust your amount of water down and perhaps brew 6 cups," says Darryl.

Darryl says you shouldn't keep your beans in the freezer - just store them in a dry, dark place.