What is need to make a great cup of coffee? How hot should the water
get in a drip coffee maker. Should you ground your own beans? What
kind of beans? How many diffence kind of beans are there.

Hi asalee,

You've posted an interesting question and luckily there are some
excellent "all about coffee" websites. I've copied and pasted some
snippets below, but each site has a wealth of information (and more
links) so please click on the links to read all about it.

>>>>>> What is need to make a great cup of coffee? 

The quality of a brew depends on the following factors (in no particular order):
1. Time since grinding the beans.
2. Time since roasting.
3. Cleanliness with brewing equipment.
4. Bean quality.
5. Water quality.
http://coffeefaq.com/coffaq1.htm#Quality

Brewing Coffee: Auto-Drip:
http://kaffee.netfirms.com/Coffee/Methods.html#auto-drip

Preparation Methods: Drip:
http://coffeefaq.com/coffaq2.htm

>>>>>> How hot should the water get in a drip coffee maker. 

The Cardinal Rules of Coffee: Rule 1
"Never boil coffee. Coffee brewing water should be just below the
boiling point (as measured at sea level), that is at 195° F or 90°
C)."
http://kaffee.netfirms.com/Coffee/Cardinal.html

"According to the SCAA, the optimal water temperature for coffee is 92
- 96C (197.6 - 204.8F) for 90% of the contact time."
http://coffeefaq.com/coffaq1.htm#WhatIsBest

>>>>>> Should you ground your own beans?

The Cardinal Rules of Coffee: Rule 5
Use freshly ground coffee.
http://kaffee.netfirms.com/Coffee/Cardinal.html

What kind of grinder should I buy?
"Any grinder is better than having your coffee preground at the store.
Pregrinding is just a way of insuring stale coffee..."
http://coffeefaq.com/coffaq3.htm#grinder

"The time since the beans were ground should be as short as possible.
If you don?t have a grinder, get one. it?s worth it."
http://kaffee.netfirms.com/Coffee/HowToBrewCont.html

>>>>>> What kind of beans? How many diffence kind of beans are there.

Robusta vs. Arabica
"There are two basic categories into which all species of coffee trees
can be sorted. Although there are several varieties of each?each
variety having its own character?this division into two large
categories is useful for understanding the difference between a
gourmet cup of coffee and an ordinary cup. High quality blends consist
of 100% Arabica beans. Lower quality, cheaper blends may have some
proportion of Robusta beans, or they may consist entirely of Robusta.
Arabica beans produce a superior taste in the cup, being more
flavorful and complex than their Robusta counterparts. Robusta beans
tend to produce a more bitter brew, with a musty flavor and less body.
This distinction being made, you can see why high quality coffees
should consist of 100% Arabica beans."
http://kaffee.netfirms.com/Coffee/robustavsarabica.html

Coffee
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
"There are several species of Coffea that may be grown for coffee, but
Coffea arabica is considered to have the best quality. The other
species (primarily Coffea robusta) are grown on land unsuitable for
Coffea arabica."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coffee

"The factors that affect your coffee are: The country the beans come
from, the variety of bean grown, the growing conditions in a
particular year and the general climate, the method used to harvest
the beans, how they were processed to produce the dry, green bean
without the pulp, and the storage conditions of the beans on their
long journey to the roaster. All of these things have an effect on the
quality of the coffee in your cup."
http://kaffee.netfirms.com/Coffee/HowToBrew.html#wquality

"The style of roast that is used determines a lot about how a cup made
from that coffee will taste."
http://kaffee.netfirms.com/Coffee/HowToBrew.html#roasting

>>>>>> Additional Links of Interest:

Why do some people put egg shell in coffee grounds?
Adding eggshell to the grounds of coffee is said to take away some of
the bitter taste that can be associated with cheap or over extracted
coffee. People also use eggshell to settle the grounds of the coffee.
I believe this to be a fairly rare practice now.
http://coffeefaq.com/coffaq6.htm#eggshell

Coffee Links:
http://kaffee.netfirms.com/Coffee/CoffeeLinks.html

Hmm, I think I'll go have another cup. If you have any questions,
please post a clarification request *before* closing/rating my answer
and I'll be happy to reply.

Thank you,
hummer

Google Search Terms Used: how to make coffee

There is a lot of rubbish about coffee making.

Make several cups by different methods and see ...

Whatever you do, a cup of coffee can only ever be a cup of coffee.

Dear Bryan,
              I think you are being a little too flippant with this
question, nothwithstanding your encyclopedic knowledge on most
subjects. I just watched a doco. which says that many factors can 
make the difference between a  very good cup of coffee and a bitter
and hence poor one, even from the same beans from same pack. For
instance the heat of the water at time of  meeting the crushed beans.
One way too much and expert says coffeee could be bitter.

 I know nothing on the subject as I drink Twinings tea,  with blends
like  Russian Caravan taking my fancy and other such aristocratic
blends more suited to my station in life.

  I am sure you know what I mean being of the more gentle classes yourself.

   John From Melbourne

Hi, John

Like you, I never drink coffee but I do get sick of all the rubbish
that is talked about such stuff.

Especially by makers of so-called 'documentaries'.

Of course, I could be wrong but I do love a heated debate where the
temperature of all the participants reaches boiling point.

Anyway, what's wrong with Austrailan Chardonnay?

NOTHING and yet the experts will claim that such and such vineyard
produces better grapes .......

Please SAVE ME from the Experts!

Bryan

Bryan,
          I am about to chance a vacation to the mother country next
year; I may pause for a minute while there and buy you a cup of
coffee.

John

It would really be great to meet you.

Where are you intending to visit?

Bryan

I wish I knew why people heat up milk for coffee in that steaming
device? Doe it change the flavour of coffee or just make it hotter?
They often have a thermometer in the milk as if it's really importnat
that the milk gets up to the right temperature.

BTW, I will also be joining johnfrommelbourne and probonopublico for
their little mother country reunion.

Ooooooooh, Augusta .....

I do hope that you are not planning to beat me up for maybe something I said?

Otherwise .... Great! (I think)

For John ... What about Mel Gibson?