You don’t need to be pretentious or obsessive to understand that different coffee brewing methods can yield highly varied results. It should be common sense that a 35 ml espresso shot, made with 206°F water, evenly pressed through a cake of finely-ground coffee, at 9 Bar of pressure, will taste vastly different from a Ms. Coffee machine, dripping a stream of 12 cups of varied temperature water (180-210°F), right down the middle of a loose pile of drip-grind coffee.
What does Brushtail Coffee recommend? Well that very much depends. If you are looking for the simplest way to get fantastic coffee, perhaps start with a french press. With that said, you should really explore all the options available to you for brewing, as you may find that they all have their time and place.
Despite the endless amount of literature available on the topic, find herein, various suggested brewing methods, from Brushtail Coffee.
]]>What does Brushtail Coffee recommend? Well that very much depends. If you are looking for the simplest way to get fantastic coffee, perhaps start with a french press. With that said, you should really explore all the options available to you for brewing, as you may find that they all have their time and place.
Despite the endless amount of literature available on the topic, find herein, various suggested brewing methods, from Brushtail Coffee:
[[ recipeID=recipe-8krxwjsco, title=French Press Brewing ]]
[[ recipeID=recipe-8krxscuku, title=Aeropress Brewing ]]
The Prismo Tip is an attachment from Fellow Products that allows for higher pressure in your Aeropress brewer, making for something of an espresso-like drink. Its pressurized valve also allows for infusion without having to worry about pressuring the chamber with the plunger or an inversion method. While this innovative device is fantastic, the classic paper filter of the Aeropress is not to be neglected, as this is truly where the Aeropress devices shines.
[[ recipeID=recipe-8krxtlmxb, title=Drip Coffee Machine Brewing ]]
[[ recipeID=recipe-8krxwjio7, title=Chemex (Pour Over) Brewing ]]
[[ recipeID=recipe-8krxwkfbt, title=Cold Brewing ]]
We may cover espresso in greater detail another time. Espresso requires exceptionally fine-ground coffee, pressed tightly into a puck, and 9 bar, or 130 psi, of pressure. If you are able to dial in your espresso setup's water temperature, Brushtail Coffee would recommend a brew temperature of around 207°F (97°C) for most of our roasts. The only exception to this would be the Peru and Uganda dark roast, which you could try at a lower temperature, say around 198°F (92°C).
What's your favorite way to brew? Do you choose your brew method for simplicity, taste, the experience, or a combination of factors? Let us know in the comments!
]]>To select unique and remarkable coffee, and match it to your own, individual palate, it is important to understand the difference between "wet" and "dry" process beans. [...] This break in coffee variety takes place after coffee cherries are harvested, when the coffee beans (cherry pits) are ready to be "processed" from the cherries.
]]>To select unique and remarkable coffee, and match it to your own, individual palate, it is important to understand the difference between "wet" and "dry" process beans. This can be viewed as a first fork in a flavor tree, or maybe as two circles of a flavor venn diagram (with blends or "honey process" being in the center).
This break in coffee variety takes place after coffee cherries are harvested, when the coffee beans (cherry pits) are ready to be "processed" from the cherries.
Most of us are probably more familiar with "wet" or "washed" process coffee. The coffee has this name because the coffee fruit is literally "washed" off of the coffee bean before it is set to dry. Wet process coffee, to me, tends to be more full-bodied, nutty, and is more likely to have strong herbal and citrus notes.
In contrast, "dry" or "natural" process coffee, is somewhat of a different genre. Dry process coffee gets its name from the fact that the coffee cherry is left to dry, prior to removing the fruit and pulp from the coffee bean. The length of time which the fruit remains on the bean varies, depending on the crop, and has drastic effect on flavor. Dry process coffee, to me, tends to be very fruity. It can have notes of flavors such as jam, chocolate, and red wine.
There is also a third method, known as "honey" process. This is (arguably) an "in-between" of the dry and wet processes, as the outer-most layer of the coffee cherry is removed, but much of the fruit mucilage is left on the bean to set, before being removed at a later time. Honey process coffee, to me, tends to be a more subtle bean, but is fully capable of many of the same notes as wet and dry process beans.
These, of course, are not hard and fast rules. Farming practices, regionality, storage, age, the roast process, and many other details attribute to the nuanced flavors of an exceptional cup of coffee. However, knowing these differences can be a great starting point for pinpointing the origins and processes that you love in your cup.
]]>It is my personal experience that coffee reaches its peak flavor potential 3 days after roasting. Any sooner than that, and all subtle-ness will be covered in a blanket of dull "roast" flavor. From approximately days 3-7, flavor is at its apex. It is here that virtually all beans are at their very best. Coffee brewed 3-7 days from its roast day is to me, a special thing, and a perfect accompaniment to a morning of gratefulness.
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After considering the many different possibilities for coffee shipment subscription models, I want to quickly discuss the "freshness curve" of roasted coffee beans and why someone would, potentially, opt to pay more to have beans shipped once per week, instead of once per month. Further, I will point out that you should NEVER EVER freeze your coffee (I'm serious) unless you do it just right. :)
It is my personal experience that coffee reaches its peak flavor potential 3 days after roasting. Any sooner than that, and all subtle-ness will be covered in a blanket of dull "roast" flavor. From approximately days 3-7, flavor is at its apex. It is here that virtually all beans are at their very best. Coffee brewed 3-7 days from its roast day is to me, a special thing, and a perfect accompaniment to a morning of gratefulness. From here, the degradation of a bean varies, depending on the origin and roast. From day 14 and onward, most coffee is just not quite what it once was, although some especially flavorful beans maintain greatness up to day 20 or so and fall off from there.
If you then are considering freezing your fresh beans from the moment that you bring them into your home, STOP IT! This might be a good idea, but you should not proceed until you know what you're doing, because moisture, in the form of condensation, will greatly degrade coffee flavor.
So, if you so choose, for whatever reason, to freeze some coffee, you should first separate the contents of the coffee into separate, single-usage, air-tight containers (mason jars are ideal). After the coffee has been portioned and sealed air-tight, you can safely place it in the freezer. When it comes time to use your frozen coffee, you should pull it from the freezer 8 hours, or the night before you make your coffee, while keeping the container air-tight. This is not necessarily to "thaw" the coffee, but much more importantly, to allow it to come to room-temperature before it's opened to the air. If the coffee is still cold when the container is opened, it will condense, and you will have degraded coffee. Geeze oh petes!
If you are looking to cease each day with gratefulness, keeping a fresh stream of coffee which was roasted within the last week is a superb strategy. If you decide to lessen the degradation of your coffee by freezing it, be sure to never let it collect condensation, as this is potentially worse than simply letting the coffee age on the shelf.
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