The best coffee maker...

...Uses the best ingredients. With the proliferation of high end coffee makers, you’d think coffee pleasure is all about these monster machines. But experts say it is a combination of the quality of the bean, how the beans are ground and then how you get the essence of coffee out of the bean and into the water. But most of us miss out on the second step…grinding the beans.

First, don’t grind them at the store because beans lose their flavor soon after they are ground. You want a grinder that crushes the beans evenly so the coffee particles are consistent in size, rather than shredding them. If you are thinking your little grinder you got for ten bucks is a go, think again. You want a burr grinder (crushes between metal plates) and these run about fifty dollars.

So coffee maker aside, put your bucks in a good burr grinder and call yourself a barista.