If your coffee is too bitter, try different
beans. Photo by Klaus Post | SXC.

The level of bitterness in coffee is a result of the bean variety, how it is processed and roasted, the brewing method, temperature and the chemical content of the water.

If you’d like a less bitter cup, here are some tips from the Coffee Research Institute:

• Buy a medium-roast arabica coffee, brew using a drip system and try a coarser grind.
• Don’t use distilled water. While logic might say it makes better coffee, hard and soft water have chemicals that cancel out the bitterness.

Read more about how to make better coffee, and find much more information about coffee (plus recipes) in our Gourmet Coffee Section.

Take a look at how you can benefit from:

• An electric food steamer
• A food dehydrator
• Countertop grills
• A vertical rotisserie
• A pressure cooker
• An electric wok
• Vapor cookware
• An electric frother
• A loose leaf tea brewer

See them all and decide if they can help you with your eating goals.

This food steamer makes it easy to cook
three different types of healthy veggies
at once. Photo courtesy JCPenney.com.

Make your own flavored waters as a treat
for yourself and your guests. Photo by
Kelly Cline IST.

1. In a two-quart pitcher, cut half a cucumber into 1/8″ slices. If it’s a waxed cucumber, use a carrot peeler to remove most of the waxy peel before slicing, but leave some decorative “stripes” by peeling the cucumber vertically, leaving long strips of peel at 1″ intervals.

2. Cut a lemon and/or lime into 1/8″ slices, removing the seeds. Add to the pitcher.

3. Fill with water. Refrigerate for 4 hours or more to chill and let the flavors infuse. (When you’ve finished all the water you can add more to the same cucumber and lemons, although you’ll get a lighter infusion.)

4. You can also layer the flavors by adding other favorites, such as fresh rosemary.

We drink a quart of this zero-calorie flavored water daily. It’s earth-friendly—there are no bottles to dispose of. And it’s refreshing and delicious!

• Find reviews of mineral and spring water.
• Where did water come from? Find out in The Origin Of Water.
• There’s no such thing as “pure” water. Here’s why.