Brewing Great Coffee Is An Art

The process of brewing is complex. All the care, from the moment the coffee tree has been planted until that very morning when you're about to make yourself a cup of joe, can be lost if one is not careful enough. Knowing the basics can help hugely towards enjoying a better, consistent and delicious brew. Overall, it all boils down to two things: EXTRACTION TIME and RATIO.

Whether you are using a plunger or an espresso machine, we've gathered a few tips to help you out!

Note: The ratios given are a personal preference as we like strong coffees. Feel free to experiment, keeping the amount of water the same and adding more or less coffee to suit your taste or caffeine intake!

French Press / Plunger / Cafetiere

Ratio: 20g/250mL

  1. Grind the weighted coffee before you start brewing (if applicable).
  2. Bring your water to the boil and let it cool down until it stops simmering.
  3. Place your weighted coffee in your plunger and pour your desired amount of water over it, making sure all the coffee is wet.
  4. Steep for 4 minutes then stir so the crust breaks and most of the coffee falls at the bottom of the plunger.
  5. Steep for another 5 minutes and plunge the mesh filter  so that it's close to the coffee but does not come in contact with the liquid to avoid disrupting  the silty coffee at the bottom.
  6. Pour the coffee through the mesh until you get close to the bottom and enjoy!

Pour Over / Filter

Ratio: 60g/L

  1. Grind weighted coffee and boil water. In the meantime, rinse the paper filter under hot water to reduce potential papery taste and warm up the filter.
  2. Place coffee into the filter, wait a few seconds until the water doesn't simmer anymore and pour a little bit of water onto the grounds (about twice as much as the coffee weight but no need to be too accurate).
  3. Watch the coffee "bloom" for 30 seconds before pouring the rest of the water on it.
  4. Give it a gentle swirl and let it drip through until the grounds look  dry. 
  5. Enjoy your cup!

Aeropress

Ratio: 18.75g/250mL

  1. Grind the weighed coffee, place a filter into the filter holder and lock into the brewer.
  2. Run hot water through to warm up the brewer and rinse the filter.
  3. Add the coffee, boil your water then wait a few seconds until the water stops simmering. Pour in the water.
  4. Give the coffee a stir, put on the piston part of the Aeropress to create a vacuum.
  5. Let the coffee brew to the desired amount of time (a minute for example) then place over.
  6. Enjoy your cup and make the necessary adjustments to improve your coffee if needed next time (Pushing harder or steep for longer for example).

Stove Top / Moka Pot

Ratio: None. Simply fill up the ground coffee holder and fill up the unit with the water until it reaches just below the valve.

  1. Grind the amount of coffee you need and fill the basket so it is even and levelled. Do not compress the coffee.
  2. Boil the water and pour into the stove unit, making sure not to cover the valve.
  3. Put the coffee basket on top and assemble the chamber, making sure it is screwed on tight then place on the stove on a low to medium heat.
  4. When you hear gurgling sounds, turn the heat off and rinse the base under cold water to stop the brewing process.
  5. Enjoy your cup!

Espresso

Ratio: 1 part coffee for 2 parts water (common espresso) OR 1 part coffee for 1.5 parts water (strong espresso)

  1. Most machines now are equipped with a timer, a burr grinder that can be fine tuned and pull close to consistent shots. Ideally one would have a 0.1g accuracy scale to gauge the finished product but not all of us are willing to go that far (especially not at 5am in the morning!). So, here are a few tips and tricks to help you getting good shots of coffee without thinking too much about it:
  2. Make sure to tamp your coffee flat, leave the tamper on top of the coffee to observe the angle.
  3. Do not tap the portafilter. It loosens the coffee making it prone to "channelling".
  4. Flush through some water through the group head to stabilize the temperature and rinse old coffee grounds from previous brew.
  5. Aim for an extraction time between 27 and 30 seconds.
  6. Typically, a bitter coffee is over-extracted  and the amount of liquid will most certainly be lesser (flow was slow). It can be corrected by grinding the coffee coarser OR changing the weight slightly (ie 18g instead of 18.5g).  
  7. If your coffee is weak or harsh, it is likely to be under-extracted and the amount of liquid in the cup will be in greater quantities. Simply grind the coffee finer OR increase the amount of coffee.
  8. Finally, always make only small changes at a time when adjusting the grinder.

Note on the importance of consistency

Every good barista knows it. Making coffee can be as frustrating as it can be rewarding. And one way to avoid (a lot) of frustration is through consistency. Every parameter counts from the temperature of the water to the amount of coffee used.

A key aspect of good brewing practices is to use a scale and a timer. Most of those are fairly cheap nowadays (maybe one day we'll even have one for sale on the website!) but their value towards enjoying the same great fresh coffee the way you loved it the morning before is immense!

Anyway, if you scrolled down that far, you might as well tell us what you thought of our brewing tips using this form here!