How to Make Coffee
Coffee. God. Thank God. Coffee is amazing. Coffee is life. Without coffee I probably wouldn’t have survived my brush with cancer and thyroid disease, and certainly not my depression (which I almost didn’t). Many times during my journey I often questioned whether coffee was hurting or helping. There is no shortage of people who believe it to be harmful. The society in which I grew up, Mormons, have actually codified a prohibition against coffee, describing it as an actively unhealthful and immoral beverage. During the religious brouhaha in the early eighteen-hundreds in the United States from which religions like Mormonism and Seventh Day Adventists emerged there was a strained effort by religious people to harmonize science with religion. Science was making advancements at such speed it made people’s head spin, and one of the more fascinating angles of Mormonism is its inclusion of scientific language about planets and space, which to that point in human history religion had either been ignorant or actively hostile. It was a very forward thinking religion for its time, in some respects (but like all cults devolved into a scheme for the sexual exploitation of women).
At the same time, the use of coffee was becoming increasingly popular and available. The story about such prohibition within the Mormon church is that the wife of the founder was one day disgusted by the tobacco-spitting congregants and asked her husband to come up with a revelation to ban it, which he did, which also included much of the popular conservative ideas about food and drink of the time which considered anything indulgent a sin and thus forbade the use of coffee and tea along with tobacco and alcohol, framed as a concern for the wellbeing of the body which in turn had been inspired by the growing scientific interests of the day. Today most Mormons get around the prohibition by drinking caffeinated sodas or consuming coffee in forms that aren’t brewed. Famously when I teased my Dad about his eating chocolate covered coffee beans in opposition to his religious institution he claimed the prohibition was only for “hot” beverages. And good for them, because coffee is amazing.
COFFEE AS A DRUG
Some people describe coffee (caffeine) as a drug in a negative sense, as if we never use drugs in any form whatsoever. Coffee is and can be a medicine, and it’s one of the reasons why people use it so ubiquitously around the world. My book discusses the use of coffee, how it affects hormones and nutrient balance, and how it can be leveraged to support health. But there are instances where coffee use can be detrimental. For instance, coffee always raises the metabolic rate, so if you take coffee in the morning before food all you are doing is blowing up your levels of cortisol and adrenaline to the point that you begin to shake, and in fact any shaking or weakness after coffee use is a great sign you are not eating enough calories, carbs, or protein and need to fix your diet. These levels of stress hormones occur because your body has run out of carbs and protein and must then catabolize your own tissues in order to fuel the demands brought about by coffee, and these stress hormones also disrupt electrolyte balance and disturb neurological health at high concentrations, so coffee and caffeine should never be used when you have low blood sugar. When I had an eating disorder and would wake up early to go workout without eating and use coffee to wake me up I was unknowingly destroying my health by forcing my stress hormones up really high, which also contributed to depression and insomnia and later cancer and other severe metabolic illness.
The negative effects of coffee are usually the negative effects of unhealthy dietary behaviors, not actually effects of coffee. But for this same reason, coffee can also contribute to catastrophic drops in blood volume in those who don’t use it correctly or who are missing important nutrients, because poor eating habits reduce our access to elements like sodium, potassium, calcium, etc., and can exacerbate the loss of important minerals we need to sustain our health (more information on these topics is discussed in my book). Coffee is usually a net-positive substance if used correctly, which can effectively and actively support our health and wellness, because it supports rather than detracts from our healthful metabolic pathways, and it is for this reason that so many people instinctively reach for it, even those who are prohibited by their religious beliefs. Coffee’s first effect is actually to increase cellular respiration, if there is sufficient carbs and protein in the body from a good diet, and also to promote dopaminergic channels (promoting dopamine, our happiness hormone) which is why it can make us feel so good. Dopamine though is converted into adrenaline when we have low blood sugar, which is why dietary deficiency can lead to negative effects of coffee consumption, but which are easily avoided simply by eating enough carbs and calories. Even a glass of orange juice or an apple is sufficient to prevent negative effects of drinking some coffee in the morning, and you can then make your real breakfast while enjoying your coffee. Just never consume it with low blood sugar.
EQUIPMENT
Most people do not know how to make proper coffee. Sure, you can just pop your coffee grounds in the pot and hit brew. It’s fine. But there are some points about coffee preparation which will not only make it taste much better, but also function better to support your health. The first mistake that most people make when preparing coffee is the method of bean grinding. When I lived with my ex boyfriend we had an expensive coffee mill and drip machine, but our coffee always tasted terrible and we usually went out each morning to Starbucks. One day a friend brought us a gift of really expensive coffee (almost $30 for half a pound). We thought, Oh great! Now we can have some actually good coffee at home. But I was extremely disappointed to find that our $30 half-pound coffee tasted just as badly as all the other coffee we had at home, and we still went to Starbucks (update: BOYCOTT STARBUCKS for complicity in genocide and union busting).
At that point it became clear we were doing something wrong, and after much investigation I discovered that our method of bean grinding was the reason for our bad coffee. BLADE GRINDERS OXIDIZE COFFEE BEANS. The speed of the blade and the vigorous aeration of coffee particles bathes the coffee in oxygen and heat, which is the exact recipe for severe oxidation of anything. We immediately bought a cheap, $30 burr grinder with a coupon from Bed Bath and Beyond and the first batch of coffee we had was better than any run to Starbucks. After we ran out of that expensive stuff too, even the cheapest, generic blend of coffee beans tasted amazing when prepared with a burr grinder. A burr grinder crunches the beans with slower moving gears, so there is no chopping, heat, or oxygen bath. There are various types of burr grinders, but even the cheapest is better than any blade grinder. Blade grinders should not even exist. They are an offense to coffee. Pre-ground beans are not as bad, but because they are stored already ground they can also oxidize and make coffee taste less pleasant than freshly ground, and burr grinders can be inexpensive and worth the investment. Some are even hand-cranked and super cheap, so there’s no real excuse not to have a burr grinder. A burr grinder will deliver non-bitter coffee every time, even if you use the cheapest beans available. Bitterness in coffee is only the result of oxidation prior to brewing, usually from inferior grinding processes.
While pre-ground beans are just fine, and I often buy instant coffee to carry when traveling just in case there isn’t a coffee shop nearby, grinding your own beans makes the freshest coffee possible so investing in a cheap burr grinder is going to be worth it. Because I’m poor I also just use a hand-grinder that takes a little bit of muscle that cost about $10.
Brewing coffee in a drip machine is great, and my favorite way to make coffee is in my french press, but you don’t even need a machine or carafe to make coffee—I once accidentally knocked my glass fresh press on the side of the counter when cleaning it and it broke a huge hole in the bottom. Coffee can be made by simply pouring grounds into simmering water, remove from the heat, stir until all the bubbling subsides, and then let steep until the grounds sink to the bottom. While you will get a little bit of grounds in your cup they tend to sink so even in a pinch it’s possible to have coffee as long as you have a pot, water, heat, beans, and a grinder.
WATER
Contrary to common belief we do not use coffee for its caffeine content, nor is its caffeine the reason for its health benefits, although caffeine does have some benefit. If this was the case, we could get the same enjoyment and benefit from just taking a caffeine pill, which we do not, and caffeine alone can hardly compare to the benefits of coffee. Instead, we crave coffee because of its high prebiotic content, which are constituents in food that feed microbes, and in the case of coffee its potent prebiotics can (can) stimulate the growth of beneficial microbes in our gut which in turn produce lots of B vitamins and short chain fatty acids we require to be healthy (as discussed in my book). Our commensal microbes are anaerobic, which means they can’t grow in an environment with oxygen, and aerated water used to brew coffee such as that dispensed from the kitchen sink can add lots of oxygen to coffee which oppositely suppresses our commensal microbes and promotes opportunistic aerobic microbes which will instead grow on the coffee prebiotics. Very often this is the primary reason some people cannot enjoy coffee, because decline of the gastrointestinal system which normally maintains a hypoxic environment (low oxygen) required for a healthy microbiome allows oxygen entry from sources like aerated water which then promotes opportunistic microbial overgrowth (this problem is addressed in my book). Making sure to use water which is not oxygenated is very important for brewing safe coffee, so removing the aeration grille in faucets or running water at a low speed so it doesn’t foam up will help prevent saturation of brewing water with oxygen.
Additionally, never use distilled water or reverse osmosis water. Distilled water is water without dissolved minerals and will remove taste from the coffee. It’s also dangerous to drink, because it pure water dilutes the electrolytes in our body. Adding mineral drops back into the water does not fix it because these filters also remove dissolved carbonic acid and bicarbonate from the water which are required for water to be chemically inert and for flavors in coffee to develop. Tap water is not ideal as chlorine and chloramine can react with coffee, but it’s not a big deal if you don’t have access to better water, and distilled and RO water is much more dangerous than chlorine. Chlorine also off-gasses rapidly from boiling water, so allowing steam to escape from boiling water for a few minutes before using in coffee will reduce its chlorine content. Ideally, fresh spring or mineral water is the best, or gently filtered tap water (charcoal based or vitamin C filters are best) if it’s available.
FILTERS
The second part that can potentially remove some benefits from coffee are paper coffee filters. The major health benefits from coffee come not just from the caffeine. Coffee is filled with some vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients. Chiefly removed by paper coffee filters are the beneficial coffee oils which are unique to coffee and part of the reason it can help us feel good. These unique oils promote the synthesis of different hormones and steroids when consumed, but if they are removed by paper filters you don’t get this benefit, and in fact coffee is more effective in supporting health if these oils are present. Many drip coffee makers come with the option of a metal sieve, or they can be purchased separately to use in place of the paper ones. This also makes the preparation process less messy and more cost efficient, as the sieve just needs to be rinsed between uses, which you have to do anyway for the hard plastic part which holds the paper filter. Other preparation processes like French Press don’t use paper filters anyway, and turn coffee making into a relaxing, enjoyable ritual that also produces amazing coffee.
My favorite method is French Press, though they are known for sometimes being difficult to plunge (the plunger seems to get stuck) this is caused by the plunger being screwed on too tightly, so grains of coffee grounds get stuck between the grill and the sieve of the plunger. Unscrew it a few turns until it is loose, and your press will be easier to plunge.
DON’T GROSS IT UP
There are a lot of circulating trends about adding various things to coffee like gelatin or MCT oil. These can make your coffee taste really gross, and whenever we adopt gross or dissatisfying dietary habits we are far less likely to continue them. Coffee should be enjoyable and pleasant, to help you start your day off right. Don’t gross it up by adulterating it. Use cream and sugar or get a latte, or have it black. Save those supplements for other methods, and just enjoy your coffee.