Coffee Lab

Beacuse they are dark and dry, roasted coffee beans don’t look delicate. But they are just like bananas. Remember, this is a fruit that has been subjected to high temperatures. The resulting sugars have a finite shelf life and a baseline for consumption. In general, coffee beans thrive on room temperature, darkness and air-tight bags. Yet roasted beans are taken for granted by cafes, grocery stores and coffee resellers. Unknowing shoppers will buy coffee from glass dispensers, thinking it is fresh, but two things don't match up:  the roast is subjected to light 24/7 and it carries no roast date....

Let's throw some cold water on cold coffee. Ice coffee has taken over this subject since Starbucks popularized Frappuccino. In reality, it's been old news since the mid-80's when Coffee Toddy's were curious items alongside Krups drip machines driven by LED alarms. Cold coffee shouldn't have been relegated to trend; the Toddy has been around since 1964. History of cold brewing dates to ancient Peru, but the Dutch began documenting cold brew in 1840. But let's take a step back. Ice coffee is popular and has a place in your day. But if you taste carefully, the result is as...

In short, size matters. Controlling this variable allows you to improve the taste of your coffee, ensure repeatability, experiment with recipes and adjust to your preference. Coffee flavor can be compromised by grind size. Choose the wrong one and the result is weak or bitter brews. Here is a baseline for grind size and the brewers that work with them. Experiment, starting with these examples, then adjust finer or coarser, longer or shorter brew times. Be creative — as you increase grind size, you can lengthen brew times. This is where immersion and extraction offer so many profiles, there is no getting...

The classic French Press, known for its clean favor and deep body, be wary of the sludge Although it’s one of the easiest methods to make coffee for more than one cup, French Press is no longer the best route to an immersive cup of coffee. What?!?! French Press is an immersion method, and time-worn tradition holds that it makes the biggest, sweetest cup. You can see why: It steeps in medium coarse grind (fewer fines). But the advent of the Clever Dripper made chemists get their hardware and software out. They found the latter made a more immersive cup,...