Many people think it’s hard to brew a good cup of coffee, but really it’s pretty simple. Patience and skill are all you need to make a cup of coffee that will knock your socks off. The following article may not give you patience, but it will give you the skill to create good coffee.

Seal all of your coffee in airtight containers. Air will cause the coffee to start losing its flavor and will become stale. Bulk coffee bags are also a bad choice, as they lose flavor fast after they are opened. Their only purpose is for letting air escape when they cool after roasting.

It is a bad idea to let coffee sit on a hot burner after brewing. Keeping the heat on will cause your coffee to “cook,” and will ruin its freshly-brewed flavor. Instead, unplug your coffee-maker or other appliance, or transfer the coffee to …