My brother was telling a friend about this website.  His friend challenged whether all the extra work that goes into making great coffee was worth it.  My brother’s response was that it takes a surprising little extra work, and I’ve emphasized the same here.  It takes only little steps to make big impact on the flavor in your cup. 

And once you’ve had great coffee, you’ll wonder why you drank bad coffee for so long.

When my brother told me this story, I realized it was time to revisit the site’s Golden Rules of Good Coffee.  That page of the site had grown organically over time, adding updates as they came to mind as important.  It was time to make it concise.  Below are the Seven Golden Rules of Good Coffee.  Visit the Golden Rules of Good Coffee for more elaboration on each rule.

I say it on that page, and will say it again here.  How many of these rules that you follow is entirely up to you.  The more you follow, the more you will notice a difference in freshness and flavor in your coffee.  If you ever doubt it, go to 7-Eleven afterwards and buy a coffee there.  It will help you appreciate the importance of these little tips.

Golden Rule #1: Get your coffee from a professional roaster

Golden Rule #2: Buy your coffee every 1-2 week

Golden Rule #3: Buy your coffee in whole bean form

Golden Rule #4: Use a burr grinder

Golden Rule #5: Keep your coffee beans in an airtight container at room temperature

Golden Rule #6: Invest in a French Press or a good drip brewer – your gear is as important as your coffee

Golden Rule #7: Keep everything clean

Visit the Golden Rules of Good Coffee for more elaboration on each rule.

I’m excited to see the site’s new look and I hope you enjoy it now and as it continues to develop.  All of the information was moved over from the previous format so nothing is lost, but reorganized in a way that was intended to make your navigation of the site easier and more logical.  You’re also looking at a radical change in color scheme and hopefully you find it easier on the eyes than the site’s old black and dark brown scheme.

Keep checking in as we get more and more great content and coffee deals up on the site.  If you’re making better coffee at home, we’re doing our job.

I’m pleased to have published two new sections of MakeGoodCoffee.com:

In time for the holidays, the Coffee Gifts section is meant to give some good ideas to the gift buyer shopping for the coffee lover, or better yet, ideas for you to suggest to those shopping for you. In reviewing the different coffee vendors, I found the Starbucks Store best for Gift Packs.

First of all, they offer as much as a 33% savings on the same items they sell in their retail stores if you buy it from their website. Secondly, the online Store has a larger selection than most standalone retail locations.

And introducing Coffee Subscriptions, or recurring delivery of coffee right to your door. These plans allow you to specify a delivery schedule of coffees of your choice at what frequency you want them delivered and in what quantities. Or, trust in the vendor’s pre-arranged selection of their best coffees, and you just decide how frequently you want them delivered. It makes delivery of great coffee automatic so you just set up the schedule and sit back while great coffee is delivered. I found the infamous Peet’s Coffee to be head of the class with their convenient Peetniks Coffee Club. I have personally used Peet’s to set up “coffee tours” for both family and myself personally, so I can vouch for the quality of their Customer Service and just as importantly, their coffee and how fresh it arrived.

Looking forward to your feedback, either here or by e-mail.

Stay tuned.  My name is Marc Wortman and I am dedicated to making the perfect cup of coffee at home.  Here, I will answer questions you send me by e-mail or ask on the Ask Marc page, I will keep you posted on my own home coffee adventures, and I will update you on what’s new with the site.  Together, we will learn to make the perfect cup of coffee at home.  Let’s turn our kitchens into coffeehouses!