The importance of using fresh roasted coffee

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Ruth Cameron
6 years ago
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1 The importance of using fresh roasted coffee Coffee tastes at its best 4-10 days after roasting, but will still taste good, if kept airtight, for up to a month. There is no problem using beans older than this, but the good flavours will start to diminish after this time. Always buy beans that have been packed soon after roasting in a sealed bag, with a one way valve. This ensures the gases from roasting escape without letting any oxygen in, meaning your beans will be kept as fresh as possible. There is something special about a fresh roasted cup of the good stuff. All the flavours that the roaster has delicately coaxed from the green beans are bright, complex and delicious! You just won t get the same experience with old coffee. Of course it s better to buy whole beans if you can and grind to your requirements, just before brewing. Once coffee is ground and exposed to oxygen it begins to deteriorate and will lose its fresh taste after just 10 minutes! Pre ground coffee that is packed as above will be fine if kept airtight but nothing compares to freshly ground coffee. A lot of roasters will supply the roast date on their packs, which is a great way of checking for freshness.

2 Choosing a good grinder After purchasing your delicious, fresh coffee beans, you will need to grind them up ready for brewing. Which method you decide to use will determine how coarse or fine you need to grind your coffee. Buying a good adjustable grinder will be the best investment you will ever make in terms of brewing coffee at home! This doesn t have to cost the earth. The best grinders have steel or ceramic conical burrs. These stay sharper for longer and grind the coffee evenly without heating it up. Home spice grinders are to be avoided, they have blades rather than burrs! These blades make a meal out of the beans and really warm the coffee, which ruins the flavour. Simple hand grinders can be as little as 40, are adjustable and are small enough to pop in your bag. A reputable make is Porlex, they come in different sizes and have ceramic burrs which stay sharp for longer, don t rust and are easy to clean. If you re a really serious coffee drinker and you have the space, you could always go for an automatic grinder with a hopper. Something like a Mahlkonig Vario gives you a lot of control over your grind, resulting in perfect coffee, however this will set you back about 350. Once you ve got your beans and your grinder, you re ready to roll. As a guide, the perfect ratio of coffee to water is 60g to a litre. So the brewer needs to be a bit handy with numbers to work out different quantities for different methods.

3 Using filtered water As a cup of coffee is mainly made up of water, it s only right that you should use filtered water when brewing. Depending on what region you live in, the tap water quality can vary a lot, from hard to soft and minerals in the water will affect the flavour of your coffee. To avoid these flavour taints and for best results it s best to filter your water of any impurities. Using filtered water will also prevent any damaging limescale build up on your equipment.

4 French press / cafetiere Probably the most common way of brewing coffee at home, the French Press or Cafetiere steeps the coffee rather than filters it, creating a fuller mouthfeel. Boil your kettle so the water you come to use will be slightly off the boil, around 90c. You don t want to scorch your coffee with boiling water, it ruins the flavour. Weigh out your beans. For our 8 cup cafetiere it s 50g coffee to 800ml of water. Ideally measure your cafetiere capacity and use the 60g to a litre rule to calculate your perfect ratio. Grind your beans to a medium coarse setting. Too fine and the coffee will push through the plunger and you will have sludge at the bottom of your cup. Too coarse and the coffee won t take on enough flavour, looking watery and tasting flavourless. Remove the plunger and lid from the cafetiere and put your ground coffee in. Pour your just off the boil water in a circular motion, wetting all of the grinds. When half way, stop and see the coffee bloom. The fresher the coffee, the more it will bloom, or bubble up, absorbing the water. After 20 seconds, pour the remaining water, break the crust with the back of a spoon and stir, then leave to brew for 4 minutes. After 4 minutes skim the remaining floating grinds and place the plunger onto the cafetiere. Plunge gently, there shouldn t be too much resistance, if there is there is too much coffee or the grind is too fine. Pour into a pre warmed cup and enjoy that coffee!

5 The perfect pourer An important although not essential piece of equipment to have is a good pouring kettle. These specially designed kettles have a thin spout that is perfect for directing and controlling the flow of hot water onto the coffee grounds. The pouring action needs to be a little more directed when using a V60 or a Chemex, so these are perfect.

6 V60 / Drip coffee / pourover Brewing coffee this way may take a little more preparation, but it gives you a beautifully clean, balanced cup of coffee. Highly recommended for really getting all those delicate flavours through. Firstly boil the kettle, so when it comes to using it, the temperature will be just off the boil, around 90c. Open out your filter paper and fold the seam down so it sits in the ceramic cone perfectly. Soak the paper with a little hot water, to take the taste of paper away and hen discard the water. Place the V60 cone onto your mug. Using the coffee to water ratio, measure out your required amount of coffee beans. Our mugs are 300ml, so here we d need 18g coffee. Pour 300ml of hot water into your pouring kettle. Grind the beans to a medium coarse grind and place in the cone. Pour a small amount of water onto the coffee grinds, wetting them all, then stop to let the coffee bloom. The fresher the coffee, the more it will bloom. This will take about 30 seconds. Pour the remainder of the water slowly and steadily in a circular motion to agitate the coffee grounds. Leave to drip through, the total time from start of pouring until finish should be about minutes. Remove the V60 from the mug and drink that delicious coffee!

7 Chemex The Chemex has become a popular brew method in recent years. It s hourglass shape is perfect for making larger quantities of clean, rich tasting coffee. Open out your filter paper and fit it snugly into the top cone of the Chemex. Boil your kettle now so your water is an optimum temperature of 90c when it comes to brewing. Weigh out your coffee beans using the coffee to water ratio. For a standard 6 cup Chemex, we use 30g coffee to 500ml water. Soak the filter paper with a little hot water to take away the papery taste. Discard the water. Pour 500ml water into your pouring kettle. Grind your coffee to a medium coarse consistency and place it into the cone filter. Pour a little water over the coffee grinds, just enough to wet them all and encourage the coffee to bloom. This should take about 30 seconds. Slowly pour 200ml water in a circular motion, making sure all the coffee is moved around. Then add the rest of the water, stir a little and wait. The filter process as a whole should take around 3 minutes. If it takes 4 minutes or more, remove the filter to stop the process. Pour yourself a cup and enjoy!

8 Aeropress The Aerobie Aeropress has revolutionised home coffee brewing by allowing enthusiasts to brew espresso style coffee, quickly and cleanly, without the need for an espresso machine. Boil your kettle to ensure you have the optimum water temperature of 90c at the time of brewing. Weigh out 14g of coffee beans. There are many recipes and it is encouraged to play around with quantities to find your perfect cup, but to start with, use ours! Grind your coffee to a medium to fine consistency. Dampen your Aeropress filter with a little water to get rid of any papery taste. Invert your Aeropress and place your freshly ground coffee inside. Slowly pour your hot water over the coffee grinds and stir for 10 seconds. Then fill the chamber until its 3/4 full and leave for another 30 seconds to brew and screw on the filter cap. Upturn the Aeropress and place it on top of your warmed cup. Gently press down on the plunger to start pushing the coffee through. Enjoy your deliciously strong cup of coffee as it is or dilute it for a longer drink!

9 Moka pot / stove top The Moka Pot or Stove Top, is a great method of brewing a stronger, deep and balanced cup of coffee at home. Boil your kettle, it s better to use boiled water in the base of the Moka Pot than cold, as it speeds up the process a little. It also doesn t expose the base of the pot to heat for too long, which will ruin the coffee. Grind enough coffee, at a medium to fine grind, to fill the basket that sits in the base. Fill the base with the boiled water up to the pressure valve. Fill the basket with your ground coffee, but don t compact it. Doing so will result in an over extracted coffee that will taste bitter. Place the basket into the base and screw the top of the Moka Pot onto it, joining both parts together. You re ready to brew. Set the Moka Pot onto a steady heat, too hot and the coffee will boil. Wait for a gurgling sound, which will be the coffee being pushed through to the top chamber. When the gurgling sound starts, remove the Moka Pot from the heat source, so the remainder of the coffee brews without boiling. Once the coffee is brewed, either drink straight or dilute slightly to taste and enjoy your coffee!

10 Happy brewing We hope this simple brewers guide helps you get to grips with the basics of coffee brewing at home. Each method is outlined, but of course we encourage you to experiment with different coffees, different grinds and different ratios it s all down to individual taste.

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