Coffee Tips
Grinding Tips
The single most important thing to remember is that you should only grind the amount of beans that you plan to use for immediate brewing. Once your coffee is ground, the flavorful oils contained inside are subjected to air, which decomposes the beans. This is not good! It literally begins to lose flavor the second the beans hit the burrs in the grinder.
Different methods of brewing will require different modes of grinding. As a rule, most people use a drip-style coffee brewer at home. For this style, ground coffee should resemble the consistency of granulated sugar. A full pot of coffee should not take more than four to six minutes for the brew cycle to complete. If it takes longer, you may want to grind the coffee coarser.
Some folks prefer the French-press method, which is our personal favorite. It is the best method to truly extract the oils of the coffee bean in their purest form. For the French-press, it is important that the grind is very coarse. Too fine a grind will cause the final brew to be bitter due to over-extraction. The grind is too fine when it is difficult to push the plunger down into the pot.
Storage
When storing your coffee beans, it is best not to put them in the refrigerator. Coffee has a funny habit of absorbing the flavors and aromas of foods around it. The freezer situation is a mixed blessing. If you are purchasing a larger quantity at once, freezing is the best option available. It does, however, have damaging effects upon the beans. As the beans are removed from the cold of the freezer, they begin to warm to room temperature. Moisture that was not visible on the surface of the beans when they were frozen melts, and will seriously taint the flavor. Our recommendation is to store your beans in a clean, dry, airtight container, which should be kept in a cool, dark place (cabinet, pantry, etc.).
Quick Tip for Dosage
As a rule, when making coffee in a drip brewer, allow 2-2.5 level tablespoons per 6 oz. water used. You can also use the ratio of 3 tablespoons per 8 oz. water. For a home espresso machine, use 7-8 grams of coffee for a single shot, and 14-16 grams for a double shot. On a final note, it is important to use cold, filtered water! It represents 98% of a brewed cup of coffee, and truly makes a difference in the taste of a given bean.
Where and when did
coffee originate?
Coffee’s history is literally as rich as its brew! Its origins can be traced back to current-day Ethiopia around the year 1400 BC. It is in that year that the infamous tale of Kaldi’s goats came to be. A Yemenese shepherd, on his daily walk, observed several goats eating reddish berries from a bush. After a short time they became restless and excited. Amazed, he immediately reported the incident to the local monk. The latter took a sampling of the berries, boiled them, and distilled a bitter black beverage. He found it “rich in strength, and capable of dispersing sleep and weariness.”