Our April 2023 Coffeevine box is about to ship, a few days before the London Coffee Festival kicks off where I will be guest brewing at PLOT Coffee on Thursday and hoping to meet lots of exciting new and already known roasters. From what I’ve heard, all three April 2023 roasters will be in town too and hopefully, I’ll coincide with them somewhere to celebrate the shipment of this box with them.

But now, without further ado, let’s take a look at the recipes for this month’s Coffeevine box that includes delicious picks from Lucid, Sloane and DAK. I hope you’ll enjoy these babies as much as I enjoyed selecting them and feel free to play the tunes from my new playlist to get you in the mood!

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
  • Water for brewing
  • A pouring kettle but a regular kettle will also do, however, it requires more precision

Feel free to take a look around our shop to see if there are things that you might like. We have a nice selection of items from Timemore and other brands to help you brew delicious coffees.

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 or put it in the freezer. 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 Profitec Pro600 espresso machine and a Profitec ProT64 grinder.

My recipe for the Origami Dripper 1 cup:

I use a fairly standard recipe for this brewer that I really like. 20g of coffee with 300ml of water. Grind your coffee medium-coarse, around 25-27 clicks on the Comandante grinder.

Prep your brewer by flushing the filter paper with hot water, adding the coffee and then starting with a long bloom for 45 seconds with 75g of water fresh off the boil. At 45 seconds, add 75g more, then continue in 75g increments until you’ve added all of the water. I like to give the brewer a gentle swivel to release any coffee grounds stuck to the sides. Total brew time should be around 2:30 minutes.

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Lucid’s recipe for filter:

Flat bottom brewer (Kalita or Orea): 24 clicks comandante (medium/coarse). 16g coffee with 240g water. Pour 40g and bloom for 30 seconds. Then pour 40g at 1:00 minute, another 40g at 1:30 minutes, another 40g at 2:00 minutes and a final pour of 80g at 2:30 minutes. Swirl. Total amount of water: 240g. Brew time 3:15 – 3:30 minutes.

Lucid’s recipe for espresso:

19g in, 40g out in 28 – 30 seconds.

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Sloane’s recipe for filter:

V60: 300ml water at 93° degrees; 20g of coffee, medium fine grind. Start by pre-wetting the filter.

Add the coffee in the dripper and add 50ml of water for 30 seconds to start the pre-infusion. After the pre-infusion ends, start by pouring 70ml for 15 seconds in a clockwise direction. Pour 80ml for 15 seconds in an anti-clockwise direction. For the next 20 seconds, pour 50ml of water directly in to the center. To end the brew, pour 50ml in a clockwise direction. The pouring should stop at the 1:30 minute mark. Total brew time – 2:45 – 3:00 minutes.

Sloane’s recipe for espresso:

We found the sweet spot using the 1:2.2 ratio. 18.5g IN with 40ml OUT, at 92°C in 28 seconds. This being only a starting point depending on the equipment, water and other details you can customize.

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DAK’s recipe for filter:

V60: 1:18 ratio with 15g of coffee and 270g of water at 98-100°C. Bloom with 60g for 45 seconds. At 0:45 seconds, first pour to 170g followed by second pour at 1:30-1:45 minutes up to 270g. Total drawdown time should be 3:00 – 3:15 minutes.

DAK’s recipe for espresso:

17g IN and 50g OUT. 35-40 seconds extraction with water at 94°C.

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If you received the GEMS #10 coffee from Rose Coffee Roasters, your best bet is to watch Matt Winton’s video on YouTube to learn how to brew like the former World Brewer’s Cup Champion.

What did you think of these recipes and the coffees from the April 2023 Coffeevine box? Let me know in the comments down below and make sure you subscribe in time for the upcoming May 2023 Coffeevine box or browse our shop for some super cool accessories and other items you might love.