4. Use a French press.

My favorite thing about a French press besides the ease and speed with which you can brew an excellent cup of coffee is how portable they are, not to mention you don't get that wet cardboard taste that sometimes results from using paper filters in a drip machine. I used to keep a $25 French press just like this at my desk at work (the plastic helped prevent it from breaking or cracking) along with a stash of ground coffee in a Ziploc bag...with a few pinches of salt already added into the mix. Put in a couple of tablespoons along with some piping hot water from the kitchen et voila: no more shitty office coffee. For further explanation as to why French press coffee tastes superior to drip coffee, check out this excellent article.

5. Don't keep your coffee in the freezer.

If you're buying coffee in bulk, I suppose that's one thing. But if you're just buying enough coffee to get you through a few weeks, your best bet is to keep it in the refrigerator, sealed in an airtight container. This helps prevent transmission of scents from coffee to fridge and vice versa, and the cool, dark environment will keep the beans fresh. A freezer will just form ice crystals on your beans and dry them out, not to mention taking ice-cold grounds from the freezer and running scalding hot water over them is a recipe for disaster. Grind your beans as you need them or simply grind ahead for a week, as mentioned above, and you'll always have fresh and flavorful coffee.