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.

From now on, we will be publishing the custom recipes that we receive from each one of our monthly roasters on this site to make sure that our subscribers, customers and anyone with a particular curiosity for brewing great coffee has access to them at any time.

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).

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.

In our July ’17 coffee box: Taf, Colonna and Sloane

Taf: Colombia, Finca El Jordan (omniroast)

Recipe filter

Hario V60: Take 15g of our coffee and grind it medium-fine. Wet the filter before adding the coffee. Water temperature should be between 90 – 94°C. Bloom using 30ml of water for 30sec, then add the remaining 220ml of water. Total Brew time: 2.40min.

Recipe espresso

Take 19g of our coffee and grind it fine. Extraction time between 25 – 28sec. Yield: 25 – 28ml.

Colonna: Ethiopia, Gigesa Grade 1 (filter & espresso roast)

Recipe filter

Aeropress: Take 11g of our coffee and grind it medium-fine. Add 180g of freshly boiled water at 94° in the inverted position. Brew time: 1min. Quick brews like this best accentuate the aromatics of our coffee.

Recipe espresso

Brew ratio of 1-2.5. We use a 15g basket with 15g finely ground coffee to a yield of 38g. Extraction time: 25 – 27sec (depends on grinder, we brew in 18 seconds with an EK).

Sloane Coffee Roasters: El Salvador, Finca Peña Redonda (filter & espresso roast)

Recipe for filter

Hario V60: Take 13.5g of our coffee and grind it medium-fine. Gradually add 200g of freshly boiled water at 93 – 94°C. Brew time 3:30 min.

Recipe espresso

Take 20g of our coffee and grind it fine. Extraction time depends on whether your machine has preinfusion or not. Non-preinfusion machines: 25sec, preinfusion machines: 30 – 33sec. Brew ratio: 1-2 but a yield anywhere between 39 – 44g will result in a great shot of espresso.