Brewing the perfect cup of coffee might seem daunting, especially when you’re relatively new to specialty coffee, but it doesn’t have to be. Every coffee is as unique as the people who produced and roasted it, and as a result, asks for its very own preparation method to get the most out of each delicious little bean.

Below you can find the brew guide to our recently shipped October ’17 coffee box, featuring four absolultely stunning coffees from Puchero, KB Coffee Roasters and Ozone. If you are one of the recipients of this month’s box, we’d love to hear your thoughts on these recipes and please feel free to add your own.

Happy brewing!

Step 1: A great set up is half the rent

When brewing filter coffee, you want to make sure that you are properly equipped. No matter which method you prefer, be it the Aeropress, V60, French Press or even the good old Moka Pot, it’s important to have a few basics in place.

We recommend:

• A good quality burr grinder with different finesse settings
• A set of electronic scales
• A pouring kettle, ideally an electronic one with built in temperature regulator
• Your brew method of choice
• A decanter vessel
• Your favourite mug or cup or glass
• Finally, nothing but the finest single origin coffees, ideally from our monthly coffee box (hint, hint).

Naturally, the same it true for espresso. Whether you’re using a professional café-style machine or a small home espresso machine, you want to be sure you follow some basic rules and recommendations that will help you get the most out of each bean.

We recommend:

• Always making sure that your machine is properly cleaned
• Setting the right water temperature and pressure
• Using a burr grinder to ensure consistency
• Using scales to weigh your coffee (whole bean) and in your portafilter
• Timing and weighing your extraction

Step 2: Follow the recipe of the roaster or make your own

Our roasters take the greatest care to source, roast and share their finest beans with our customers and they always supply us with custom recipes for each of their coffees. While you’re of course not required to follow their guidelines, it makes sense to give them a shot – no pun intended – and see for yourself if they got it right or whether your own recipe makes for a better cup. Coffee, like food, is all about personal preference and experimentation.

Recipes from our roasters:

Puchero: Guatemala, El Rincon IV washed

Recipe filter

Hario V60 or Bee House: 20g of coffee ground medium-fine. Add 340g of water at 92° – 93°. Brew time: 2:20 minutes.

Recipe espresso

19g of coffee ground fine. Extraction time: 30 – 32 seconds. Yield: 34 – 36g.

KB Coffee Roasters: Ethiopia, Chelelektu natural

Recipe filter

Kalita Wave: 19g of coffee ground medium-fine. Add 300g of water at 95°. Brew time: 2:30 minutes.

KB Coffee Roasters: Ethiopia, Abaya natural

Recipe espresso

19.5g of coffee ground fine. Extraction time: 30 seconds. Yield: 43-46g.

Ozone: Ethiopia, Kokola (washed)

Recipe for filter

Aeropress (inverted): 14g of coffee ground medium. Add 220g of water at 89°. Brew time: 3:30 minutes.

Recipe espresso

17g of coffee ground fine. Extraction time: 30 seconds. Yield: 60g.