Find tips for getting the perfect pour form your desired brewing method below.
French press
Grind: Coarse
Ratio: 1:15, one gram of coffee for every 15 grams of water. For example, 15 grams of coffee requires 225 grams of hot water (195-205F).
Method: Heat your water to around 90 degrees Celsius or 190-200 degrees Fahrenheit. Place course ground coffee in the carafe of the brewer. Once the water is up to temp, bloom the coffee by pouring in about half the total amount of water you will be using. Ex: if you’re using 225 grams of water total, pour about 110 grams of water in. Stir and let sit for about 1 minuet. Add the rest of the water and let it brew for another 3 minutes. Slowly press the plunger down and pour the coffee into mugs or an insulated carafe so the coffee doesn’t continue brewing.
Tips:
- Use the weight of your hand to press the plunger down. If it presses down too quickly or easily, your grind may be too coarse. If it is difficult or there is too much resistance the grind could be too fine.
- Once the brew time is up, pour the coffee into mugs and serve. Or pour it into a large, insulated carafe or travel mug to keep it warm without over brewing it.
- Different coffees might do better with slightly different parameters. Try changing the brew time or adjusting the ratio of coffee and water to make the best brew for you!
Drip/Auto-drip coffee maker
Grind: Medium
Ratio: Roughly 10 grams of medium grind coffee per cup you want to make. For example, 40 grams of coffee for 4 cups of brewed coffee. You can adjust this ratio if you find you’d like the brew to be a bit stronger or weaker by adding or subtracting a couple grams of coffee per cup.
Method: For most coffee makers you will simply follow the manufacturer's instructions. These usually involve a few easy steps, starting with placing the correct size filter in the brew basket of the device. You then place the ground coffee into the basket and add the appropriate amount of water to the reservoir. Turn on the machine or press the brew button to initiate brewing. After it is done brewing, we recommend pouring the coffee into an insulated carafe to keep it hot. Some drip coffee makers have heating elements under the pot which continue to cook and potentially burn your fresh brewed coffee, which can affect the flavor.
Pour over
Tips:
Pour over brewing is greatly helped by a special kind of kettle, a goose neck kettle. This is what we would highly recommend you use for pour overs. This allows you to have better control of how much water is being poured and more accurate placement of the water. You can of course just try to carefully pour from a regular kettle or pour your hot water into a heat proof measuring cup for more exact pouring.
Grind: Medium
Ratio: 1:16, One gram of coffee for every 16 grams of hot water(195-205F). For example, 450 grams of water to 28 grams of coffee. This can be adjusted to your taste or depending on what coffee you are brewing.
Method: Place ground coffee in an appropriately sized filter for your pour over device. Give it a shake or tap once you place it in your pour over maker to level out the grounds. Your total brew time should be about 4 minutes. Pour 50g of hot water over the grounds in a circular motion to saturate them. This is called the bloom and prepares the coffee for the rest of the brewing process by degassing it. After 30 seconds, in the same circular motion slowly pour 200g of hot water over the grounds. After another 30 seconds repeat this with 100g of hot water. After 1 minute add another 100g of hot water and let it brew through the coffee. You should complete this process in about 4 minutes.
If you are using a timer it will look like this:
@0:00 +50g
@0:30 +200g
@1:00 +100g
@2:00 +100g
@3:30-4:00 Enjoy!
Espresso
Tips: Making a great espresso relies on three main factors: dose, time, yield. Dose is the amount of coffee used, time is how long it takes to pull the shot, and yield is how much espresso is made as a result of the brewing process.
Don’t be afraid to make small adjustments to better dial in a specific coffee.
Grind: Fine
Ratio: aprox. 1:2-1:2.5, for a double shot or doppio, you would need a dose of about 18g of coffee, which should extract for 20-30 seconds, and yield about 36-45g of espresso.
Method: Let your machine fully heat up before use. Weigh out your fine ground espresso and place it in the portafilter basket. Shake or tap the portafilter to even out the grounds or use a distribution tool if you would like to. Place the porta filter on a flat surface and tamp straight down firmly. You just need to compact the grounds so no need to press too hard here. Replace the portafilter in the machine and begin the extraction process. If your machine has a manual button, use a timer to know when to turn it off. If your machine is automatic/programable, follow manufacturer instructions to set the extraction time. After pulling your shot be sure to knock the puck of used espresso out of the portafilter and wipe it out, also run some water without the portafilter in the machine to rinse any other grounds out. You now have some delicious espresso! Enjoy it black, with sugar, or use it to make a latte, cappuccino, or whatever your heart desires!
Moka pot
Tips: -A Moka pot has three main parts: the base chamber, the filter insert, and the upper chamber. The filter fits into base and the base and upper chambers screw together.
-Coffee brewed in a moka pot isn’t exactly espresso but it is a very rich, concentrated brew. As such, many people prefer to dilute it with some hot water to make a moka pot americano. You can also use it to make café au lait, lattes, or enjoy it black or with whatever you’d like to add!
-You can either begin with cold water as is traditional or use a kettle to heat the water first. This helps by requiring less intense heat to get the water to being brewing which avoids burning the grounds, keeps brew time shorter and keeps the handle form getting too hot or melting. For the method described below we will be using hot water.
Grind: Fine
Ratio: 1:10-1:13, you can determine these numbers by measuring how much water the base chamber holds. Set the base on a scale and pour cold water to the valve, then divide that number by your ratio. Ex: it holds 300g of water, for a 1:10 ratio divide by 10, 300g of water and 30g of coffee.
Method: Pour hot water into the base chamber until it reaches the bottom of the valve. Place the funnel basket in the base and make sure no water is coming up through the small holes. Spoon your ground coffee into the basket and gently level it with your finger. DO NOT compact the grounds. Be sure the lip of the basket is clear of grounds to ensure a good seal and screw the top chamber back on. Place the entire moka pot on low-med heat, being careful to keep the flame directly under the base chamber. Open the lid so you can keep an eye on the brewing process. At first you’ll see rich dark brown coffee coming up, once the coffee coming up looks more like the color of honey or beings sputtering remove it from the heat. Use pot holders and be careful while handling the moka pot. Right when the coffee stops bubbling up pour it into cups or an insulated carafe. Enjoy!