Damn this is good coffee!

I think that I am finally starting to get the hang of this new coffee maker.  I haven't used it very much because it requires babysitting (unlike the whole "fire and forget" nature of a drip maker), and because the coffee that I have been getting from it - while good - has not been good enough to warrant the extra effort.  In the few times that I have used it, I've toyed with the process until today I think I finally hit the magic formula.

To start, I have found that it works better if I grind about 20% more coffee than I would for the drip maker.  Previously I would let it continue to boil for about a minute after the water had risen to the upper globe, but today I let it boil for about four minutes, venting steam through the coffee mixture.  The resulting coffee is rich, flavourful and remarkably smooth.  This is the best cup of coffee I have had in a couple of years - maybe even since I moved out here from the coast.  I can taste why people have sung the praises of this type of coffee maker.

Now that I have got it right, I'm going to start toying with perfection.  Tomorrow I'm going to toss a bit of cinnamon stick in with the coffee grounds.  Not a lot, but enough to give it a subtle flavour.