Had a great Barista 101 class this evening. A really enthusiastic group of spro students. Everyone pulled some great shots, and even poured some nice latte art. Hopefully everyone that attended picked up some useful tips to help them with their “God Shot”. Demand for the class was higher that we anticipated, so well be scheduling a second class in the next week or two.

A photo from 1945. Thanks Miles for sharing

We will be closed November 11th.

How I make coffee

One of the most common questions I receive is, “why doesn’t my coffee that I make at home taste like the coffee I buy in your shop?” It’s a great question. The ratio of coffee to water, the coarseness of the grind, the brewing method, the amount of time the water and coffee are in contact, the
temperature of the water, the quality of the water, the quality of the
beans, the freshness of the roast, the amount of time that has elapsed
between grinding and brewing – all affect the flavor of the coffee.

Here are some things to remember:

1. Grind just before brewing (if you own a grinder)

2. Grind just fine enough not to clog your filter (if you’re brewing drip coffee)

3. Maintain the correct ratios. Most people I have talked to are not using enough ground coffee. The result is that the coffee is often thin and bitter. I recommend using 10 grams of coffee (about 2 Tablespoons) per 6oz of water. If you are using a drip coffee maker, those number gradations on your pot are usually referring to 6 oz cups. So, a 6 cup coffee maker is taking 36 oz of water. The best way to remember is to use 2 Tablespoons of coffee per number on your coffee pot. If you fill it to the 6, you need 12 Tablespoons of coffee.

Here’s the problem… A lot of lower cost coffee makers are not designed to handle that much ground coffee. If you have a 12 cup coffee maker and you try to put in 24 Tablespoons of
ground coffee, you will probably find yourself filling up your filter
basket. This will probably overflow when you start brewing. If you have one of those coffee makers, you might need to start making half pots.

4. Your water needs to be just off boil. A common problem that people face when making coffee at home is that their coffee maker is not getting their water hot enough. One of the features in higher priced coffee makers, is they often guarantee a water temp of around 200 to 205 degrees.

5. Lastly, you never want to cook your coffee after it is brewed. Don’t let it sit on a hot plate for hours. If you need your coffee to stay hot, you should use a thermal carafe.

How do I prefer to make my coffee?

I don’t use an automatic drip coffee maker. I follow the same principle as a drip maker, but I make it manually from a tea kettle. I make one cup at a time. This ensures that I have plenty of room in my filter to use the correct amount of coffee. It also ensures that my water is just off boil, and then I pour it over the grounds. It is a low tech, low cost way to get a great cup.

French press is another great low tech, low cost alternative that I like to use. I’ll talk about this method and other brewing methods in later posts.