Coffee. some people like it. Some people need it. Whatever coffee is to you, we want you to get the best out of it.
Obviously to make the best coffee you need to be using great beans. That’s where we can help. but there’s also plenty of great roasters in the area.
Once you have some great beans, you need to brew them well. The most important part of brewing is knowing what you are doing. And by that I mean what you are actually doing in regards to amount of coffee, amount of water, temperature of the water, and anything else you’re doing that can effect the brew. In order to do that we recommend using a scale as a minimum. You don’t need anything fancy, just something that you can consistently measure how much coffee and water you are using. If you’re doing manual brews, ideally you would have control over the temperature. A temperature controlled kettle is nice but not necessary. if you have a stovetop kettle you can get decent control of the temperature by how long you’ve taken off since boil.
Once you know what your are doing, then you can hopefully learn what you are doing.
Coffee brewing is using water to extract the flavors of the coffee. When you’re brew doesn’t turn out well, it’s very likely you under- or over-extracted. Under-extracted taste sour and have more of a sharp taste. Over-extracted taste bitter and have more of a faded taste.
Now you may think sour and bitter are similar but there are some differences between the two. A sour flavor can usually be diluted to reduce the sourness. A bitter flavor will typically remain even if you dilute it. I would recommend trying brews on the far ends of each and try side by side to get familiar with each.
Under-extraction can result from too coarse of a ground size, water that is too cold, or not enough agitation. Over-extraction can result from a ground size that is too fine, water being too hot, or too much agitation during brewing. Grind size is typically the easiest variable to change as that is adjustable with your grinder. And if you don’t have a grinder that is adjustable, you reallyyyy should get one that can.
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