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What you need to consider is the method of brewing you are going to be using. The usual method of drip coffee maker works just fine with a medium grind, which is why its the most commonly found grind in commercial coffee products. Its when you start brewing other ways that you may need to think about choosing the right coffee grind. For example, if you make coffee with a French press or plunger pot, you will get a much more flavorful cup of coffee if you use a coarse grind. Coarser coffee also helps keep the grounds together when the mesh plunger is pressed. Vacuum pots also work better with coarse coffee, and the less popular percolators as well. Making espresso would mean a finer grind because of the pressurized water. The grounds need to give up their oils and flavor faster, and fine ground beans do that best. Steam or pump machines should be used with extra fine coffee, which would have smaller "grains" than table salt. Little moka pots are ok with coffee that is a little coarser than that, but finer than medium. The finest grind is called Turkish, and it's actually powdered. This type of coffee won't work in most coffee makers and really is only for traditional ibrik brewing. Most high-quality coffee bean sellers will give you these types of grind choices as long as you remember to ask. If you're not getting the grind you want, you may have to get a grinder and start doing it yourself. It's only a few moments of extra effort, and you can choose the right grind for yourself. Burr grinders can be set at the right level so there is no guess-work, but many blade grinders just grind until you stop them. You'll have to practice a little bit to learn where the right consistency is. Besides having more control over your coffee grounds, using coffee that has been ground moments before brewing is one of the best ways to get a very fresh and aromatic cup of coffee. For those new to coffee grinding, none of this is 100% crucial for brewing. Most methods will work fine even if your coffee isn't actually at the ideal coarseness level. Coffee that is too fine may leave more grounds in your cup, and coffee that is too coarse may be weak. Choosing the right coffee grind is about perfecting your cup, so don't stress too much over it.

Instant coffee isn't usually the first thing you think of when you are talking about finely brewed coffee. Generally, instant coffee is considered a poorer form of coffee, used out of convenience rather than quality. What exactly is in instant coffee, and how is the stuff made? Though it may seem like an artificial product, instant coffee crystals are nothing but coffee that has been dried. There are no extra chemicals or additives. Different manufacturers use different methods to create the dry crystals, usually either spray-drying or freeze-drying. The freeze-drying process will produce better quality instant coffee that tastes more like the "real" thing. Freeze-dried coffee is first brewed into the usual liquid form, and then it's flash frozen. The water is allowed to sublimate out (like evaporation, only with solid ice) in a vacuum chamber, and all that remains is dry crystals of pure coffee. The other type is made by using a fine nozzle to spray liquid coffee into a large open chamber filled with dry warm air. The tiny droplets quickly dry and form very small particles of dry coffee. This actually produces a powder that can be harder to dissolve in water than the crystals. So this type of product is processed further to clump up the powder into the granulated crystals you find in the stores. Even with the extra step, this is the quicker way to manufacture instant coffee and the final product is usually cheaper. Either way, all you need to do to reconstitute the coffee is add hot water with a teaspoon or two of crystals. It's virtually impossible to make any mistakes, which is why instant coffee is still a popular product. Instant coffee is particularly popular during the summer months when people are making iced coffee drinks. It's much more pleasant in a hot kitchen to be able to make a drink without having to add more heat to the room. The crystals do dissolve better in hot water, but a little extra stirring lets you make an iced coffee without any hassle. These days, not all instant coffee comes in crystal form though. A few new innovations have added a new dimension to instant options. You can now get a few different types of liquid instant coffee that gives a much better cup of coffee in the end. They are usually labeled as a "coffee extract" or "coffee concentrate" but the idea is the same. You just add hot water, and you've got a cup of coffee. Java Juice is one brand, and they carry a couple of flavored coffees as well as a decaf version along with their original blend. The packages resemble the little packets of ketchup you get at a fast-food place. You just snip off the end and squeeze out the extract. They are typically sold in individual units, unlike the large jars you get of the crystals.

Iced Coffee Jamaica Me Crazy Coffee Cocktails Coffee pods are one of the latest things in coffee making. The whole concept of single-serve coffee brewing started off with these humble pods, and it has grown tremendously in popularity ever since. If you're not familiar with them, knowing what coffee pods are is the place to start.