COFFEE TIPS

1. Start with a clean coffee maker. A thorough cleaning will remove hard water deposits (scale), leftover coffee oils and other impurities from the internal components. Clean your coffee maker at least once a month, run a mixture of water and vinegar or baking soda through the coffee maker, then just process just water for a few cycles.

2. Make coffee from the bean. Any coffee connoisseur will tell you fresher is better. The longer that coffee beans sit around after roasting, the more the flavor deteriorates, so buy freshly roasted coffee from Coffee Emporium, Cincinnati’s local roaster. A perfect pot starts with freshly ground coffee. To grind your coffee at home buy a grinder specifically designed for coffee, or have Coffee Emporium grind your beans when you buy them. No matter how you do it, use the coffee as soon as possible after it's ground.

3. The best coffee is achieved when the water is between 190-200 F when it hits the coffee grounds. Many automatic drip coffeemakers cannot heat the water to that temperature when it starts out cold. If your coffee maker produces coffee with bitter or weak flavor, try adding room temperature or hot water. On the other hand, if you have a coffee maker that's known to make burnt-tasting coffee because the water is too hot for infusion, wet the coffee grounds first with 1/4 cup of the cold water. This temporarily prevents the grounds from exposure to too hot temperatures. It is best to use filtered or bottled water. Some people prefer using distilled, which contains no minerals at all.

• Be careful not to grind the beans too fine or they will clog the filter and back up the coffee machine.

• Do not let the brewed coffee sit for too long. Coffee becomes increasingly bitter the longer you let it sit. Half an hour is pretty much the longest you should let it go without drinking it. Additionally, coffee maintains freshness better in an insulated carafe than a glass carafe on a warming plate.