Les 5 règles d'or pour avoir un bon café

The 5 golden rules to get a good coffee

Getting a good coffee requires several parameters. You need a good coffee that you like, of course, but not only that!

To help you, Ma Caféine offers you its 5 golden rules, which will allow you to get a good coffee in a cup.

1

Fresh coffee

At Ma Caféine, we always advise you to buy your coffee beans and grind them as you go along. This way you keep the coffee fresh.

Indeed, ground coffee loses its freshness and its aromas in barely a week, whereas with a well preserved coffee bean you can go up to three weeks.

But it should not be too fresh either. A coffee that has just been roasted is not good for immediate consumption. It can have a strange smell, which comes from the CO2. It is then generally left a week to a coffee, simply so that the CO2 has had time to be released to the maximum of the beans. The valves on the bags are there to evacuate this CO2 without putting your bean in contact with oxygen, which could accelerate the aging of the coffee.

Then we grind it 5 minutes before the infusion.

You can keep your coffee several months before opening if the bag is well sealed.

To remember

Buy freshly roasted coffee (ideally at least 1 to 4 weeks)
Store coffee beans in an airtight container at room temperature (see our article How to store your coffee properly)
Grind as you go, maximum for one week of coffee.

All our coffee beans

2

A good grind

Why is having the right grind so important?

Having a good coffee in a cup requires several steps. And one of the most important is to have the right grind, adapted to your machine, in order to obtain a good extraction. This will give you the best possible result in your cup.

For example, a grind that is too fine could clog your coffee maker, while a grind that is too thick will totally drown the aromas of your coffee, making it bland and uninteresting.

Each type of machine requires a different grind size, adapted to its brewing system. You will not have the same grind for an espresso machine and for a piston coffee maker.

But don't worry! We've created a guide to help you find your way around.

Grind Guide

Discover our article to help you get the best grind for your coffee machine.

Read the guide

3

Quality water

Probably the most important criterion, since water is the main ingredient of your coffee.

You need to make sure that your water is of good quality. And for that, we think filter and freshness.

Water filter for automatic or espresso machines, and filtered water for other systems. Because unfiltered tap water is much too hard, or chlorinated, which will alter the taste of your coffee.

We also think freshness, as for its coffee beans. Water that has been sitting in the tank for a week is not a guarantee of quality for your coffee.

Forget distilled water, which will lack minerals, minerals that allow the transport of soluble food. Of course your machine will not be scaled, but the quality of your coffee will not be as good as it should be.

The best is therefore tap water, filtered with a Brita carafe or a water softener for example, which you let stand to reduce the smell of chlorine. Mineralized bottled water is also an option, but it is not the most ecological.

To remember

Your water should be fresh, clear, odorless and mineralized.

Prefer filtered water.

All our water filters

4

The right storage container

In order to guarantee the freshness of your coffee, it must be well stored.

Forget about the myth of storing it in the refrigerator or freezer! By doing so, you will actually damage your beans. Either because they will take on the odors of your fridge, or because you will shock your beans by freezing them and then thawing them, which will dissolve the flavors.

If your coffee bag has a CO² release valve and can be sealed, you can store your coffee inside the bag, and place it in a cupboard away from heat and light.

But the best is to have a suitable container.

Here are some examples of containers. You can also read our article on conservation.

Hario - Bona 800ml
$ 46.60

Fellow - Atmos 1.2 liters
$ 60

Nektar - Box 340gr
$ 19.99

OXO - 1.6 liter container
$ 27.99

All containers

5

Preheating your cup

A hot cup is the guarantee of a good coffee. And that's what the professionals say!

If you serve coffee in a cold porcelain cup, you will lose some of the tasting qualities, since the hot coffee will be "shocked" by the coldness of the cup, and you will prevent your coffee from releasing all its flavors properly.

Just as it will get cold faster. This is because cold porcelain immediately recovers heat from freshly brewed hot coffee (up to 10℃ less!), causing it to drop in temperature more quickly. All you have to do is add cream or milk, and the temperature loses another 10℃, giving you an unpleasant coffee to drink.

Also worth noting, a hot mug will keep your crema looking good for longer.

To preheat your cup quickly, if you don't have a cup warmer, use very hot water, using a steam nozzle or a kettle, fill your cup and empty it just before pouring your coffee.

All our cups