The Three Things That Actually Matter

Before anything else, three things actually move the needle on your cup. Everything past this is preference.

Water

Just off the boil, roughly 90–96°C (195–205°F). Water that's too hot pulls out bitterness; water that's too cool leaves flavour behind. If you don't have a thermometer, boil it and let it sit about 30 seconds before pouring.

Ratio

A good starting point is 1 part coffee to 15–17 parts water, by weight. For a simple starting point: about 15g of coffee to 250ml of water makes a solid single serving. Adjust from there once you know what you like — more coffee for stronger, more water for lighter.

Grind size

This one matters more than people expect. Too fine for your method and it'll taste bitter and over-extracted; too coarse and it'll taste weak and sour. Match the grind to the method: coarser for longer steeps, finer for quicker ones. We'll go deeper on this per-method in future guides.

Get these three roughly right, and you're most of the way to a genuinely good cup — before you've spent another dollar on gear.