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Coffee Roasts: Which one is for you? Explore the different roasts and their characteristics here.

admin — Sat, 16 May 2009 03:09:39 +0000

Coffee Roasts can make or break the flavor of coffee beans. Roasting actually blends the sugars, fats and starches held within the coffee bean. This results in distinctive oils for each coffee bean. This oil concentrates the beans flavors and aromas, the oils that we all seek in our brews.

Let’s run through the different roast types and the names used to describe them within the coffee world.

Light Roasts (Half City, Cinnamon)
Light body with slightly sour taste and dry bean surface.

Medium Roasts (Full City, American, Breakfast)
Sweeter than Light Roast, complex full body and aromas, with snappy acid. Dry surface.

Dark Roasts (Espresso, French, Viennese, European, Continental)
Spicy with a complex sweet rich chocolaty body. Slightly oily surface.

Very Dark Roasts (Italian, Dark French, Spanish)
Smoky flavors from the roast feature as much as the inherent bean flavors. Very oily bean surface.

So there you have it, coffee roasting from Light Cinnamon to the darkest Spanish.

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Coffee Grinding: Find out which is the best grind for your coffee brewing method.

admin — Sat, 16 May 2009 02:49:29 +0000

Coffee Grinding is an important part of brewing good coffee. Some well known tips are to always grind only as much coffee as you are going to immediately use and grind to suit your coffee brewing method. Before we get to which grind suits which brewing style, letâ€™s explore why we grind.

Coffee grinding helps us get to those wonderful oils trapped inside the coffee beans. The oils are the key to providing rich flavors and aromas.

Okay, now which coffee brewing methods work best with which coffee grinding methods.

Extra Fine grinds: Espresso machines.
Fine grinds: Drip Filtration coffee makers with conical filters, Moka Pots.
Medium grinds: Drip Filtration coffee makers with flat bottom filters (not conical).
Course grinds: French Presses (or Plungers), Percolator (if you still use one) and Vacuum Pots.

Who likes Turkish coffee? You probably already know that an ultra-fine grind is the right one for you.

What happens if we get the grind wrong? We will end up with a weak coffee if using a course grind in an espresso machine. Conversely, if we use an extra fine grind in a conical drip filter system, the filter will get clogged up. A medium grind in an espresso machine has given me a drip filtered style of coffee. This is not necessarily a bad thing, it shows that you can experiment a little. However, the listing above will provide you with some good guidelines.

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Coffee Brewing Methods present different flavors and techniques for each process. We explore them here.

admin — Sat, 16 May 2009 02:28:45 +0000

Coffee Brewing Methods range from popular Espresso or French Press methods to lesser used methods like Turkish. Here we explore the four most popular Coffee Brewing Methods.

Letâ€™s start with the Drip Filtration style.

Drip Filtration

Drip Filtration is probably the most popular method of all. The Drip Filtration machine works by spraying hot water across ground coffee that is held in a conical shaped filter. The hot water then slowly moves through the ground coffee. Once the water reaches the bottom of the conical filter, it drips into a container beneath it.

The most widely used conical filters are made of paper, while expensive stainless steel or gold conical filters are also available. Yes I did say gold. When buying paper filters, be sure to use oxygen bleached paper. Chemically treated papers may affect the taste of your coffee. Another point to be aware of with paper filters is that you may also have some of the flavorful coffee oils trapped by the paper filter. It is the oils that produce the rich crema when you make an espresso.

The grind is also important with Drip Filtration. If the grind is too fine, you may clog the pores of your filter. You can avoid this by using a course grind (read about grinding here).

Finally, if you do not expect to drink the full pot of coffee, either by yourself (all that caffeine….) or with friends, beware the constantly heated coffee. It loses its flavor and may even become bitter. And the golden rule….never reheat coffee.

French Press or Plunger

One of the simplest of all Coffee Brewing Methods is the French Press or Plunger. This is probably the easiest way to make great coffee!

The French Press works by directly mixing ground coffee with near boiling water. The coffee flavors get drawn out into the water and then the press or plunger is depressed, separating the exhausted coffee grind from the brew. While the process has a similar taste to the Drip Filtration style, the French Press can extract more flavor from the coffee grind by extending the brewing time. But be careful. Manual infusion requires you to get your timing right. If you let the brewing process run too long you may end up with a bitter coffee. Conversely, if you brew too quickly you will have a weak tasting coffee.

One more point, use a course grind. You don’t want fine ground coffee escaping through the metal filter and into the brew. A dusty cup of coffee is not an experience worth having.
Espresso Machines
Probably the most popular of the Coffee Brewing Methods in recent times is making an Espresso using a machine.

So how does an Espresso machine make a great cup of coffee? Super hot, pressurized water is forced through fine ground, tightly packed coffee. The pressurized infusion process ensures that the water stays in contact with the coffee grounds long enough to draw out much of the coffee ground flavor. The water then finds a path through the coffee grounds. And the coffee commences to pour into your cup. When the water finds a path through the coffee grind it is referred to as the ’shot being pulled’ through the group.

The sign of a good espresso, using fresh coffee beans, is the richness of the crema. Crema is the hazelnut foam that sits on the surface of the coffee. This is produced by the pressurizing process and the oils of the coffee bean. Oils break down with time, and so a rich crema will be produced using fresh beans.

And if you didn’t catch it when I started talking about Espresso, use a fine grind. Using a course grind allows the water to ‘brush past’ the grind rather than infuse with it. Using a course grind will still produce a good coffee, but it will taste more like a coffee produced using a Drip Filter coffee brewing method rather than true Espresso coffee.

Moka Pots

The most Italian of all the Coffee Brewing Methods would have to be making Espresso coffee using a Moka Pot.

The Moka Pot style is also known as a Stovetop coffee pot. Moka pot’s come in several sizes including 2, 4 or 6 cup capacities. The Moka Pot a simple 3 piece pot. The water reservoir is at the base, with a coffee basket in the middle and the brewed coffee ends up in the top.

The coffee brewing method is very simple. The pot is placed on a stove top which heats the water in the lower reservoir. As the water reaches boiling point, the steam rises and the water starts to push upward through the coffee grounds. This continues to travel up the central funnel and seeps into the top chamber where it comes to rest. The process finishes when the coffee stops moving into the top chamber. This should only take a few minutes to brew depending on the cup size of the Moka pot.

The grind should be a fine grind, similar or finer to that used in an Espresso machine. If you want to fill the coffee basket the way traditional Italian drinkers do, then heap the coffee grounds high in the coffee basket and screw the two pieces together. Don’t worry about compacting the coffee. When the top half of the pot is screwed on, the grounds will be compacted by the filter screen. You should end up with a dry, compacted puck of coffee grounds at the end of brewing.

So there you have it. The four most popular Coffee Brewing Methods.

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Coffee Brewing doesn’t need to be hard, you just need to follow the right steps.

admin — Sat, 16 May 2009 02:26:50 +0000

Coffee Brewing is all about extracting the most flavor out of your favorite coffee blends. Brewing is a very personal and sensual practice. Your senses are bombarded every time you make coffee. The main secret of coffee brewing is to brew to your taste. Make sure that you love the flavors and aromas of your coffee.

You should start with quality Arabica coffee beans. Without this start, you may end up with a coffee that cannot be saved by even the best preparation techniques. The coffee bean is the base of great coffee. If you are not sure which coffee beans to use, read more in our coffee beans area.

Now which brewing type is the right one for you? In our brewing area we discuss the various brewers, from Espresso Machines to the simple but elegant French Press or Plunger.

A clean brewer is also very important to the taste quality of your brewed coffee. Each brew leaves behind some residual. As this builds up, it can impact the taste of your coffee. We share some basic brewer cleaning tips that will help give you great tasting coffee with every brew.

The right grind is critical to flavor concentration. Espresso machines, Drip Filters, French Presses and Moka pots (or stove top espresso’s) require different grinds to get the best out of them. Drip Filters will have a course grind while an espresso machine works best with a finer grind. Find out more about the right grind .

Coffee Storage is important. If you do have to store beans or ground coffee, you need to store your coffee right. In our Coffee Storage area, we dispel the myths and share with you how to extend the life of your coffee.

Coffee Brewing takes into account all of these important areas that we have just discussed. If you take short cuts you risk producing coffee that is less than it should be.

Remember, the best coffee is the one that suits your tastes. If you want an expert opinion on coffee, read up on the basics at The Java Cafe, then experiment a little….become your own expert.