Coffee should be ground with a conical burr grinder. The burr grinder is optimal but a blade grinder will somewhat work if you know what the grind size needs to be. I use the Cuisinart burr grinder but there are many other grinders better (and more expensive) than mine. Different brewing methods require different grind sizes. Pour-over requires a ground size around the size of beach sand or granulated sugar. Coffee press needs a course grind, and the Aeropress needs an fine espresso grind. The Moka Express needs very fine ground espresso coffee for it to work properly.Experiment to see what you like best.
The best way to dose out the coffee and water is by weight. Weighing the water and coffee gives the more accurate and consistent results. I have tried many different combinations of water and coffee and I prefer the Intelligentsia Coffee Company proportions best. For pour-over I prefer 28grams of ground coffee to 415grams of hot water just off the boil for about 1 minute. The coffee press needs 34grams of coarse ground coffee and 500grams of hot water just off the boil for about a minute. The Aeropress requires tinkering with weights and water amounts. Following the instructions included with the press work as well. The Moka Express requires you follow the instructions and various demonstrations via YouTube.
You can find Intelligentsia’s iPhone app at the App Store. It has instructions for ALL of the popular brew methods and times within the app.
Pour-Over Method
This is my favourite method. A pour-over should take 2 1/2 minutes to pour, therefore you need to pour the hot water using a trickle.
I personally use the Mellita cone due to its availability and price. I adjust my water pouring method to the Hario. Here is a video for the Mellita method.
French Press (Coffee Press)
Hot water is poured over coarsely ground coffee and it is allowed to steep for 4 minutes. After this time, gently press down the plunger, pushing/filtering the grounds to the bottom of the press. This is a great method for allowing coffee oils and very fine silt-like sediment through the mesh filter. These are crucial for allowing many different flavour compounds to come through.
Bialetti Moka Express
This is a great method to obtain concentrated espresso-like coffee. This method is the standard in all or most Italian homes. This coffee is great as a base for warm milk.
Aeropress
This method is very new to me. It is an ugly contraption that looks like syringe setup. Following the instructions will make really good coffee, but inverting the Aeropress and allowing time for a steep makes AMAZING coffee! There are many videos on YouTube regarding the Aeropress.
I just recently purchased a very DIY coffee ‘roaster’ off Ebay. Soon I will fill everyone in on my first attempts into home coffee roasting.
Flavour Country 