Coffee Tips
- Coffee freshly roasted tastes best!
- Coffee is best enjoyed fresh – buy smaller amounts more often. After roasted coffee has been exposed to air, the flavour will begin to deteriorate extremely fast. A large portion of the flavour is lost in just 7 to 10 days!
- Store coffee in an airtight container in a cool dark place, never in the refrigerator or freezer (moisture caused by condensation is the enemy of fresh coffee).
- Never let coffee boil or stay on a filter machine warming plate for more then 20 minutes.
The Grind
Beans store longer than ground coffee (up to 10 days – sometimes a bit more) so a quality burr grinder is a great investment.
A high quality coffee grinder will grind the beans consistently and efficiently and will improve your cup of coffee dramatically when set correctly. Be sure to buy one that uses conical or flat grinding burrs. The blade type grinders are extremely inconsistent and best to avoid. We highly recommend the Mini Macho burr grinder – available through our online Coffee Shop.
If you do not yet have a grinder and your espresso machine is of high quality such as a Vibiemme Domobar, an E61 Rocket or similar then we recommend using an espresso grind. Many of the newer Sunbeam or Breville type machines with ‘15-Bar’ pumps can also produce a better extraction with an espresso grind. If your machine is a little older you may want to try our ‘fine’ grind as it may not cope with an espresso grind.
The Water
Brewed coffee is almost completely made up of water so it goes without saying to use good tasting or filtered water. Never re-boil the jug. Start again with fresh water from the cold tap. (water from a hot tap can sometimes be tainted from your house hot water cylinder).
The Strength
Use the right amount of coffee and the correct grind for your brewing method.
1 tablespoon to 1 cup is general rule and modified to taste.
The Perfect Plunger
- Before you start make sure your plunger pot is clean.
- Pre-heat the plunger pot using hot water discard this water.
- Add one tablespoon of plunger grind coffee for each 180ml cup.
- Pour boiled water in the pot to cover the coffee grounds and then stir. Water should be off the boil for 1 minute before adding to the coffee otherwise the coffee may burn.
- Pour in the remaining boiled water to fill the plunger to the desired level.
- Place lid on the plunger but do not press rod down.
- Allow the coffee to brew for four minutes.
- Press the rod down slowly.
- Allow sediment to settle for 30 seconds then serve in a pre heated cup.