I like good coffee. By that I mean coffee that is really delicious all by itself. No sugar, flavors or whatever else. Now I am not saying you have to drink coffee back. I don't always drink it black. I am just saying I should taste good all on its own to be considered good coffee.
In my search for good coffee I have discovered the main key factor in making good coffee. #1 freshness of the roast; #2 where/how the bean was grown and #3 the quality of the water used to brew the coffee. These aren't the only factor but if you get these right you'll be way ahead of the game.
So you can go to a roaster and buy freshly roasted whole beans or grinds. This is a big step up from 95% of what is available at the grocery store. However it's expensive in time and money. Making trips weekly to a gourmet coffee shop isn't the most efficient way to really good coffee I find. So after doing that for a little while I decided to get home roaster and roast my own coffee. Boy was that a good idea!
I got a FreshRoast SR500 along with a burr type coffee grinder by Baratza - the Encore model. I highly recommend both. I takes me less than 20 mins for start to finish to roast a batch of beans (4oz) and i really enjoy doing it. I had a hand grinder for a while and after burning though 3 of them I broke down and bought the Encore and what a pleasure it is to have/use.
Now as for the beans themselves. It's a good idea to get beans which are grown in mineral rich volcanic soil. Presently I am enjoying coffee from Guatemala which is organically grown and another favorite right now is an Indonesian Pango, Pango.
Lastly is the water used for brewing. I basically use R/O water which I filter myself. Water with very low ppm allows more room for the flavors and mineral to dissolve into solution. It help bring out the full flavor!!
I get most of my beans in 5 lbs lots online at Yankeeprepper. I also recommend them for constantly excellent coffee.
Awesome I like to freshly ground my coffee and use a french press.