All ways of brewing coffee are basically the same:
Ground coffee is soaked in water
until the water tastes good.

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Buy the freshest coffee possible, and store the beans in an airtight container in a cool, dry place. Whole beans stay fresh longer than ground. If the coffee has been ground, consume it right away. Ground coffee begins losing its aroma within 15 minutes and can go stale within hours if exposed to air. Coffee's three primary foes are light, air and moisture.

GRINDING

Grind coffee just before brewing using the correct grind for your brewing method. Faster cycles require finer grounds for proper extraction. Use a coarse grind for a slower brewing process.

Grind according to the type of coffee maker that will be used. Grind the coffee as fine as you can make it without losing any through the holes in the filter of the coffeemaker. Never grind coffee to a powder. The finer the grind, the more contact there will be between coffee and hot water, and the faster and more thoroughly the essential oils will be released, without activating harsher, less-soluble chemicals.

There are 4 ways to grind coffee, the oldest being the mortar and pestal. The next oldest is the millstone, updated to steel burrs or corrugated plates. The next is the roller mill, which is used only in giant commercial grinders. The most recent is the electric blade grinder, which works on the same principle as an electric blender. Grinding with a good quality burr grinder is preferable. Though utilizing a burr grinder is optimal, buying whole bean coffee and grinding with an inexpensive blade grinder is still better than purchasing already ground coffee.

If not ground, consume coffee within 2 - 4 weeks.

PROPORTIONS

The recommended proportion of coffee to water is two level tablespoons (one standard coffee measure) per 6 ounces of water for regular strength coffee. Don't skimp. Using too few grounds may make the coffee taste bitter from over-extraction. Experiment to determine the strength you prefer.

WATER AND BREWING TEMPERATURE

Coffee is almost 99% water. so the better the water, the better the coffee taste. Do not use softened water, as it inhibits proper extraction. Use fresh water, as free of impurities and alkalines as possible. If the water is not pleasant to drink, do not make coffee with it. Use bottled water or a filter system. Hard, or alkaline, water does not directly harm flavor and aroma but does mute some of the natural acids in coffee and produces a blander cup with less dry brightness. Water that has been treated with softeners makes even worse coffee, however, so if you do live in an area with hard water, you might compensate by buying more acidy coffees (African, Arabian, Central America).

Brew with hot water, as opposed to lukewarm or boiling water (Middle Eastern and cold-water coffees are exceptions). A temperature of 200°F is ideal, which means bringing the water to a boil and then waiting a second or two before brewing. Boiling damages coffee flavor because it vaporized much of the coffee essence while it continues to extract other bitter-tasting chemicals. The French began steeping, as opposed to boiling, coffee in the early eighteenth century, but this innovation did not penetrate the coffee-drinking mainstream until the nineteenth century and had to wait until the 20th century to triumph. Today, all American and European methods favor hot water (around 200°F), as opposed to boiling.

Steep coffee in cold water and get substantially the same results as with hot water. THe only differences are that the process takes longer (several hours longer) and makes an extremely mild brew. Cold-water coffee is made concentrated and , like instant, is mixed with hot water.

Don't percolate or reheat coffee; it has the same effect as boiling, only less so. Don't hold coffee on heat for more than a few minutes for the same reason as above. Coffee left on a heated burner may taste bitter. Remove to a thermal carafe.

BREWING MACHINERY AND METHODS
Coffee making requires consistent and precise timing, a virtue difficult to maintain in this age of distractions. The advantage to machines is their single-mindedness; they make coffee the same way every time. Keep the coffee maker clean. Filter and Drip systems - avoid brewing less than the brewer's full capacity.

To achieve the flavor you desire, you must first choose the right brewing method. There are six basic methods of brewing:

Strained Method
Straining is the separation of brewed coffee from spent grounds. In the past, the solution was to simply let most of the grounds settle to the bottom of the cup or pot and drink whatever remains along with the brew. Filtering was reintroduced into the mainstream of coffee culture in 1684.

Cold-Water Method
The cold-water method involve steeping a pound of ground coffee in a small amount - usually one quart - of cold water for about half a day to produce a coffee concentrate, which can be kept refrigerated for weeks.

Percolators Method
The percolator in the past has been one of the most popular ways to brew coffee because of its convenience and efficiency. The percolator method forces heated water up through a pump tube and into a filter basket that contains regular grind coffee. The end result is brewed coffee which drops to the bottom of the pot. This process is repeated several times by taking coffee and reheating it and throwing it over the grounds over and over again. Percolators violate most of the natural laws about brewing coffee because they over extract the oils and flavor.

Drip Method
In this convenient method, coffee is made when water is added to the machine, and once heated, moves to an upper compartment containing the coffee. The water drips through a strainer or filter into a lower compartment/carafe below for serving.

The Vacuum Method
The vacuum brewer consists of two glass or metal globes that fit tightly together, one above the other, with a cloth or metal filer between them. The ground coffee is placed in the upper globe, and water is brought to a boil in the lower. The two globes are fitted together and the heat is lowered. Pressure develops as water vapor expands in the lower globe, forcing the water into the upper globe, where it mixes with the ground coffee. After one to three minutes, the pot is removed from the heat, and the vacuum formed in the lower globe pulls the brewed coffee back down through the filter.

Espresso
Espresso coffee makers are exactly what their names imply - "quick brewers." The method involves forcing hot water at high pressure, through very fine ground coffee.

French Press Method - French plunger (Pressurized Infusion) The plunger method is also called the French press.The plunger device consists of a glass cylinder with a metal rod extending through the center. Protruding from the top end of the rod is a handle and at the bottom end is a filter that fits snugly around the inside of the glass cylinder. Coffee grounds are placed in the cylinder and boiling hot water is poured over the grounds. After they are allowed to steep, a metal filter or strainer is forced down through the coffee like a plunger, pressing the coffee grounds to the bottom of the pot and leaving the clarified coffee above.This unique method adds a heavy body to complement the fine flavor of the coffee beans you selected. Prepare only what you’ll drink in twenty minutes and don’t let your coffee sit in the Press for too long, as it will become bitter and over-extracted.

The most perfectly extracted coffee will have a strange taste if the equipment is not cleaned and rinsed thoroughly after each use. It is very important that you wash your coffee maker pot and filter container thoroughly at least once a week. Bitter oils stick to the glass container and plastic filter holder. Just washing the plastic filter container and rinsing the glass pot and your coffee will start to taste bad. Wash both thoroughly with plenty of soap. The flavor will improved dramatically. Some drip coffee makers require periodic cleansing with a solution of water and vinegar. If you have a coffee/teapot, the inside of which is stained with oily brown residues - also plastic/metal coffee filters, tea strainers, and stainless steel - they can be restored to a shining state by washing in hot detergent.

Filters In brewing quality coffee, a filter is necessary to separate used grounds from the freshly made brew. Paper filters make grounds easy to dispose of and the coffee maker easy to keep clean. Don't mix old grounds with new. There are three types of filters: paper, cloth and metal. Each type allows different flavors to filter through. It is the individual's preference that determines the filter type for each different coffee.

OTHER FACTORS

Storing Coffee
To help prolong the life of your coffee, store it in an airtight container in a dark, dry place. Buy your coffee no more than one week before using it and grind your beans just before brewing. Never store in your freezer or refrigerator!!! If you must store your beans in the freezer, defrost only the amount you will need one half hour before grinding and brewing. Ground coffee is only good for no more than 2 hours (no matter how you store it) so don't grind more than you need. Whole beans maintain most the flavor up to 21 days if stored properly.

Storing coffee properly will keep it fresh and help it retain its flavor for as long as possible. Keep in mind that the main objective is to keep your coffee away from air and moisture, which deplete the flavorful oils.

To Freeze or Not
For every article you seeing declaring the evils of freezing, you can find one strongly advocating it as the best storage technique. Some roasters freeze as soon after roasting as possible. Others shutter at the mere suggestion. Technically, freezing can alter the coffee and, therefore, theoretically, could affect the taste.

After you open your coffee package, transfer the contents to an airtight container.It is suggested NOT to store coffee in the freezer. Have you noticed that (when you first open freshly roasted coffee) the beans are oily? Coffee oils contain most of the flavor and are also responsible for the "crema", a dense, light brown foamy layer visible on top of your espresso. When stored in the freezer the oils shrink, crack to eventually fall off during the thawing process! As a result the extracted coffee lacks full aroma and the extracted espresso shot produces no crema. To preserve the flavor store your container in the room temperature. The key is to try and avoid fluctuations in temperature (don't thaw and refreeze/re-refrigerate once coffee is brought back to room temperature).