Coffee

We are coffee nerds. Big coffee nerds. The kind of coffee nerds that not only own every style of coffee brewing equipment under the sun but the kind that also got into home roasting as well.

As any coffee consumer can tell you, roasted beans are expensive, and those made by artisan producers are often doubly so.

So while we got into coffee roasting as a fun, albeit nerdy, hobby, we also did so because we thought it would end up saving money in the long run as green beans are often far, far cheaper.

Naturally, we wanted to share the math on if this purchase truly worked out in our favor or not!

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As much as I love sitting down to a big mug of hot coffee, when the summer heat is oppressive I find myself gravitating toward cold coffee drinks instead. There are several different techniques for making cold brew coffee, but most all can be classified as either immersion techniques using room temperature water, or regular brewing techniques using hot water that is subsequently flash cooled over ice (which is not inherently cold brew, but is often discussed in the same breath).

We've always wondered if there was any difference in the resulting flavors from these different types of cold brew techniques, so we decided to put them to the test. We tried several different cold brew techniques and found a clear winner; in this post we'll share our recipes and results from each test along with a little theory behind cold brew.

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Shopping for coffee-related gear can be overwhelming with the huge number of options out there, and the variety of espresso cups available is no exception. When it comes down to it, though, the main things we consider when buying espresso cups are material/performance, aesthetics, and cost.

We recently purchased four different types of espresso cups and evaluated them on the above criteria for their pros and cons. For performance tests, we measured espresso temperature as a function of time in each cup. In this post we share our impressions and the results of our tests so that you can pick the best type of cup for you.

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When it comes to brewing a cup of coffee with an Aeropress, the process seems simple enough.  Wet your filter paper, screw it onto the base of the unit, add coffee grounds, bloom, add water, steep, and plunge (check out our full Aeropress recipe for specifics).

Apart from tweaking your grind, temperature, and brewing time for any given roast, there is little technique involved in this full-contact brewing process.

While you could simply follow this rough set of steps and end up with a good brew, many baristas utilize an inverted Aeropress brewing method that switches things up ever-so-slightly. In this process instead of brewing with the base of the unit at the bottom, the plunger is first added onto the top of the unit, the entire thing is flipped, and then grounds and water are added to steep. When the brewing is finished, the filter paper section is screwed on last before the unit is inverted and plunged.

There are a number of reasons we've seen given as to why this is better, but we were curious if this made much of a difference in the final cup- so we devised a test to compare the two and see what happens.

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Aeropress is a popular brewing method for a number of reasons. First and foremost, its small size makes it portable, ensuring you can have specialty coffee even in the most unlikely places (no more crappy hotel coffee!). The second is that for a relatively simple brewing method you can actually make some pretty delicious coffee with it!

In this one, I wanted to share my favorite Aeropress recipe with you so that you can make Aeropress anywhere life takes you.

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If there is any coffee brewing method that is almost a set-it-and-forget-it approach, it would most certainly be the French Press. On the surface, this one is an easy process as you add water, coffee grounds, and wait for a sufficient period of time before pushing the plunger down and pouring out a cup.

But with everything, minor changes here with your grind settings and brewing temperature can go a long way to a flavorful cup.

In this guide, I wanted to share my process for making the best French Press coffee at home, including what you'll need to make one and subtle brewing details that are often overlooked.

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Espresso is one of the most fundamental and versatile types of coffee. Espresso shots can be enjoyed on their own, diluted with water to make Americanos, topped with steamed milk to make drinks ranging from macchiatos to lattes, and so much more. But espresso is also one of the most difficult coffee brewing techniques to perfect, as the equipment used to make it is more complex and the shot quality is more sensitive to brewing parameters than other types of brewing techniques.

In this guide, I wanted to share my process for making the best espresso at home, including what you'll need to pull delicious shots in no time and subtle brewing details that are often overlooked.

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When it comes to coffee products, there is a seemingly endless variety of gadgets and gizmos out there. From different coffee makers and brewers to accessories there really is no end to what you can purchase. Sometimes it can be overwhelming sorting through what's truly necessary to brew a great cup of coffee and what products are just gimmicks. That's where we can help!

For those who are only looking for the essentials, there are three main products you need to go along with any specific brewing implement. They are simply the following: a kettle, a scale, and a grinder.

In this guide, we are going to dive down more into why that is.

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