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the chatter about coffee these days, you rarely hear about simple techniques and tricks for making home-brewed coffee better that don't require getting a degree from Coffee Geek University. Until now.

1. Cappuccino milk without the espresso machine

If you haven't dropped a major roll on a home espresso machine or mastered the art of perfectly steamed milk, try this: Pour warmed milk into a French press until it's one-third full. Press the plunger down into the pot, pull it to the top again and then back down, re-plunging a half-dozen times. You will be stunned by the flawless cappuccino milk you've just made. Note: This can be done with cold milk, too (see: iced coffee).

2. Deep "double clutch" extraction

Some 168 million Americans use a filter coffee brewer. But how many of them know how to crank up their brew by doubling-pouring? To do this, pour half the water you typically use into your coffee machine and let the maker do its thing. Once the brewer stops dripping (and, say, you've made toast), add the second half of the water. This will extract more flavor out of your bean in a way that will seriously please you, without changing a thing.

3. Motorize your grinding

If you're anything like me, you certainly appreciate freshly ground coffee, but the act of hand-grinding in the half-dark of your morning kitchen isn't the way you want to greet your day. Instead, power up by purchasing a decent inexpensive burr hand grinder, remove the crank handle and clamp the chuck of a cheap variable speed cordless drill onto the shaft, then grind to your heart's content. No more breaking a sweat making your favorite coffee.

4. Iced coffee that actually tastes of coffee

Pour your best strong, hot coffee into a stainless steal martini shaker, then place the shaker into an ice bucket or large bowl filled with ice and water. When the coffee is cool, add ice to the shaker as if making a martini (and sweet condensed milk if you wish), shake vigorously, and pour into a chilled mug, leaving the offending ice behind. You'll find it impossible to drink the watery mess found in chain cafes ever again.

5. Hardcore French

For the hardy coffee drinker: Add twice the amount of bean into your French press, this time (and this is important) using a gold-filter fine grind. Pour in the hot water as always, but this time stir the coffee quickly, allow to steep maybe 3 seconds — and I mean not a second more — then plunge the thing before the grinds swell and make it virtually impossible to plunge. Warning: Once you've tried this, you'll never use the chunky grind again. Sure, there will be silt, but the resulting brew is movingly good.

Try a combination of the above, like a hardcore French press using your new MacGyver-style grinder topped with your own perfect cappuccino milk, and say goodbye to your old cup of coffee.

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