Good Pot of Coffee

Buy the beans of your choice at a coffee shop or grocery store. If possible, buy freshly roasted coffee from a local roaster. The longer that coffee sits around after roasting, the more the flavor deteriorates, so try to find the freshest coffee available. Most larger towns and even many small towns will have a source for freshly roasted coffee. Unfortunately, higher quality coffee often comes with a higher price tag. Only buy enough coffee for 1-2 weeks.

antique hand-crank grinders don't scorch the beansGrind the beans in the nearby grinder unless you have a grinder at home. It is best to grind immediately before you brew. If you grind beans when you purchase them, make sure to use them as soon as possible. Be sure to grind your beans fine for the best taste in an automatic drip coffee maker: the ground coffee should not look like coffee colored baby powder, but rather like poppy seeds. High-speed electric burr grinders heat up the beans, cooking them while grinding. Using a blade grinder can make a lot of very fine powder in even a coarse grind that can clog the filter and cause grounds to overflow into the pot.
Put a coffee filter in the filter basket. It does not matter if the filter is bleached or natural. Try to go with a better filter as cheap generic filters are more likely to clog.
Measure out the coffee grounds. The standard is 2 Tbsp. for every six ounce cup of coffee or 1/2 cup of ground coffee for each 10 cup pot, but you should adjust it to your own personal tastes. Experiment until you are satisfied. Do not use too little coffee as overextraction of the grounds can lead to bitter coffee.
Add a very small amount of salt to the grounds - a few grains per cup. This will help avoid bitterness in the coffee. Too much will, obviously, make the coffee taste of salt.
Measure cold water, according to the amount of coffee grounds you used, using the lines on the coffee pot. It is very important that the water is cold. If water has a disagreeable odor or is particularly hard, remember that whatever you put in the coffee machine will end up in the pot. It is best to use filtered or bottled water.

Pour cold water into the water basin in the coffee pot.
Put the coffee pot back on the warming plate. Make sure the coffee pot is plugged in. (This is very important!)

no electricity? heat water on the wood stove and pour into the filter basketWait for the coffee to be fully brewed. If you "sneak a cup" early it will not only be fairly strong, but it will increase the bitterness of the rest of the pot due to bitter flavors released later during the brewing process.

Coffee's on!Pour yourself a cup of coffee, add sweetener and creamer if you prefer, and enjoy!
from:http://coffeeware.blogspot.com/