Good Housekeeping’s Guide to Better Coffee

Better Coffee
The Institute Tests Methods of Preparing It

This article, “Better Coffee: The Institute Tests Methods of Preparing It,” originally appeared in the January 1925 issue of Good Housekeeping, published by the Good Housekeeping Institute.

COFFEE is a universal drink and used to such an extent by the American people that Good Housekeeping Institute has carried on considerable research on the subject of coffee making. In doing this, the Institute is not recommending the drinking of coffee. To drink it or not to drink it is not the question here. We are considering merely the problem of securing better coffee. It was interesting, however, to find that one member of the staff could take no part in the testing, being sensitized to coffee.

The results of this testing and research work indicated that the making of excellent coffee hinges upon following a few simple rules. We feel that these general instructions will aid the housekeeper materially in the production of better coffee.

1. Buy in the bean and buy in reasonably small quantities.
2. Keep your coffee in a tight container.
3. Grind as used. A well-known coffee expert and importer says: “The instant the structure of the roasted berry is broken open by the grinders, the delicate, subtle, very volatile, aromatic element is released and should immediately be captured in the brew.” The grinding should precede the brewing by a period of minutes only, for the highest results. Hours mean diminished fragrance, days mean deterioration, and weeks actual damage and complete loss of true character of the coffee.
4. Measure carefully—the water as well as the coffee. The exact proportion depends upon the kind of coffee used and the individual taste. At the Institute we used two level tablespoonfuls of ground coffee to one measuring cupful of water.
5. Use the grounds but once. Coffee once used has no more value in making coffee than ashes in building a fire.
6. Serve at once. If you must delay, keep the coffee piping hot, but never let the finished coffee boil.
7. Keep the coffee-making appliance clean.

And now for the method of making the coffee the most important factor of all. In ascertaining the best methods of making coffee, every member of our Institute staff became also a member of the coffee testing staff, with one exception. Without any knowledge of the method used in making the coffee, each person judged the coffee from the standpoint of: (1) odor, (2) clearness, (3) taste without sugar and cream, (4) taste with sugar and cream, or as the individual was accustomed to drinking it. Of course, in a test of this kind we realize that the taste sense of the person making the test may sometimes be influenced by training or experience, so that those accustomed to coffee made by one particular method will often consider it the best because they are accustomed to it. However, we feel that in making this test, our testing groups varied sufficiently to overcome this.

These tests were not made once, but many times, and included not only the members of our own staff, but groups of visitors who were visiting the Institute kitchens while the tests were going on. One group was a class of college students representing different homes and widely different sections of this country and other countries.

Before we compared the different methods used in making coffee—boiling, percolating, and drip—we tested out all the possible methods of making each type before deciding on the best. Percolated coffee started with both hot and cold water was tested. The consensus of opinion was that the coffee made with hot water, which was allowed to percolate seven minutes. This was used as a standard of comparison with the other methods.

The same method of determining the standard for boiled coffee was used, and the majority of the staff decided in favor of coffee started with cold water, allowed to boil for three minutes, and then left standing on the back of the stove for ten minutes.

In making the drip coffee, both metal and non-metal pots were used. The testers favored the coffee made in the non-metal container. We conferred with a well-known coffee expert who advises that coffee be ground to the consistency of powdered sugar when using the drip method. The container should be preheated by filling with boiling water a short time before being used. After the coffee grounds have been placed in the proper compartment, fresh, rapidly boiling water in the proper quantity should be poured over them and allowed to drip through. It was interesting to note that the staff favored the more rapidly dripped coffee as being the more flavorsome. If impossible to serve the coffee immediately, it may be kept hot by placing the container in a pan of hot water.

After the best way of making each type of coffee was agreed upon by the staff, a comparison was made of the three generally used methods. While we demonstrated that excellent coffee can be made by all three methods, there was little variation in the consensus of opinion of the coffees tested. The majority of our staff and the visitors who assisted with the testing favored the coffee made by the drip method.

In summing up the question of coffee making, we believe that the kind of coffee used deserves a word. Often faults charged to the brand of coffee are due to lack of knowledge of the proper method of preparing. We advise the housewife to experiment with various brands and blends until she finds a brand that suits her particular taste. Cheaper grades of coffee, if properly stored and prepared, are frequently more desirable than coffees of higher grades improperly cared for and badly brewed.