There we go again. Literally one day after I shipped the huge December 2021 Coffeevine box, the Dutch government announced a new hard lockdown and today, the whole city feels deserted and moribund. There’s little to be said about except that I feel bad for all the entrepreneurs who were eager for the Christmas business.

Luckily for all of you beautiful Coffeeviners out there, your supply of delicious coffee beans for the upcoming weeks is secure. And while these little boxes make their way around the world to end up on your doorstep, I’m enjoying a cosy Sunday at home before Michal and I head off for a well-deserved holiday to Mexico tomorrow.

Of course, I was not going to leave you without your brew guide before we go. This time, I tried something new; brewing in bed. Have you ever done this before? It’s fun! Let’s make it a thing. #brewinginbed

Basic setup:

As in any good kitchen or bar, you want to be sure to have a few key items at your disposal that will aid you in preparing a delicious cup of coffee.

These include:

• • Scales (with or without a timer – you can use your phone or your watch)
  • A good quality burr grinder such as the Comandante Grinder
  • Your favourite brew method (Origami, Kalita Wave, V60, AeroPress etc)
  • A clean vessel for brewing and decanting
  • A ladle or stirrer for agitating the grounds (I was kindly gifted a beautiful handmade stirrer from my ambassadors @bloom.that.coffee
  • Water for brewing
  • A pouring kettle but a regular kettle will also do, however, it requires more precision

It’s very important to always freshly grind your coffee just before preparation because coffee is very volatile and quickly loses its full aroma in a matter of minutes.

You can also vacuum pack your coffee in portions, name and number each batch and then keep it in a dry cool place. More information about freshness and how to rest your coffees can be found in this article.

For espresso, I use my home espresso machine, a Lelit MaraX along with a separate grinder for espresso. I use the same water I use for brewing.

My recipe for brewing the Ethiopia, Tessama Edima from MOK:

Mountain Dripper: I was kindly gifted this beautiful dripper from Stanislav Hasanov who, after nearly 8 months at The Coffeevine, will be moving on to a new challenge in January.

This beautiful ceramic dripper is like a mix between the Orea Dripper and the April Coffee Brewer and is best used with a Kalita 155 Filter paper. I used 12g (my go-to recipe) and 200g of water. Grind your coffee medium-fine (about 23 clicks on the Comandante) and bloom with 40g for 30 seconds. Then, in 2-3 pulses, add the remaining water in slow continous pours. After all the coffee has drained, leave the dripper on for another 10 seconds or so before removing it. Pour and enjoy.

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SlowMov’s recipe for filter:

Chemex: Use 19g of coffee and grind it medium-coarse. Flush your filter with some hot water and discard. Add the coffee and do a short bloom for 30 seconds. Use freshly boiled water at 92ºC. Add a total of 300g of water with an expected brew time of around 3 minutes.

SlowMov’s recipe for espresso:

Fine grind. 18g in / 45g out. Extraction time around 33 seconds. Water should be 91ºC.

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MOK’s recipe for filter:

60-70g/1L. Water is probably the most important factor to make this delicate coffee shine. We recommend soft mineral water with a low bicarbonate content. In BE and NL you should look for Volvic or SPA, or ask your local coffee shop if you can borrow some of their Reverse Osmosis water.

Use a V60 with 16g of coffee ground medium fine. Aim for around 256g of water.

MOK’s recipe for espresso:

18g ground coffee – 40-50ml espresso. Shot can taste good from 23 to 50 seconds. With very long shots you would need a soft pre-infusion.

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Ditta’s recipe for filter:

To maximize natural flavors we suggest a recipe with V60 brewing method using 15.5g of ground coffee (grind size: medium to fine) with 250ml of mineral water.

The water we use is mineral water at 95ºC with 100 ppm of total dissolved solids. V60 method in 2 steps:

1: pre-infusion for 40 seconds with 50ml of water. 2: Pour the rest of water until you reach 250ml.

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Ditta’s recipe for espresso:

For the espresso, to have an amazing cup we suggest to use 19g of ground coffee and extract 40ml in the cup in about 30 seconds, this will allows to have a super balanced cup in acidity and also sweetness, body will be syrupy and aftertaste very long and intense.

What did you think of these recipes and the coffees from the December 2021 Coffeevine box? Let me know in the comments down below and make sure you subscribe in time for the upcoming January 2022 coffee subscription box.