Optimizing the office pot I usually get to work about an hour before most of the other people in the office do and I've got the 2-3 carafe's all to myself.

We're brewing a 1.9 liter pot each time, so I'm not sure how much coffee that is. It's about 8 cups, so about 8-10 TBSP's is right on the money? Still it should cover the bottom of the coffee filter a ways up right?

We've got a bunn CWTF15-APS coffee maker with an automatic hookup to some not terrible tasting water.  Are there any subtle ways I can alter the situation to make a truly tasty pot of coffee out of pre-packaged ground coffee without spending any money?

Three quick and easy hacks you can do without throwing capitol at the issue:

Shoot a dud pot first thing in the morning.  By brewing a coffeeless pot and throwing away the water, you will empty the the Bunn's hot bladder.  Think of it as a morning tinkle for the CWTF15-APS to git rid of the rank overnight water fouling your morning joe.
Use an extra filter. Substandard inputs are signiflatulanceficantly improved by an additional filter.
Scrape the the cheeto and donut leavin's off of the lip of your coffee cup once in a while.  The "seasoned" coffee cup is a myth as proven in a blind taste test where we forced coworkers to drink coffee from a randomly selected sampling of well seasoned and clean coffee mugs.  There was a little bit of a flatulence effect with seasoned mugs in that a subset of coworkers "liked their own brand" in testing, but the overwhelming data suggest that dirty mugs are just gross.


How to save over extracted coffee made using Dutch cold brew method? My wife and I have just started using our Dutch Coffee Maker.

Our virgin experience was quite a failure.

We had some ground coffee (given to us as a gift) that was too fine (espresso grind), and the coffee came out over extracted.

What can we do to save the over extracted coffee? We do not want to throw it away :(

Thanks in advance!

PS: Can we get a dutch-coffee tag? Cold brew is not quite dutch :) or maybe enlighten me on which tags I should use. Thanks!

Well, when you are talking about cold-brewing methods, you will always want coarse ground coffee. If you are set on using this finely ground coffee in your Dutch Coffee Brewer you will want to try a few things.

First, use much less coffee. Yes, it will still over extract over the same time period but will not be as strong. This is probably the worst option.

Second, brew faster. I know that in a Dutch Brewer this is more complicated than just letting it sit for less time. If there is a way to put more water through the grounds in less time, you will want to go with that.

Otherwise, use a different brew method for the finely ground coffee and buy new coffee for your Dutch brewer.

Hope this helps!


Why does instant coffee have a poor reputation? Among coffee drinkers instant coffee is generally considered as a last resort and many avoid it entirely, even though instant coffee is often cheaper per cup and doesn't require specialized coffee brewing equipment.

Because the taste and aroma are horrible. I've been places (for instance Shanghai and Beijing) where it's hard to get a cup of coffee outside of business areas catering to foreigners.

The instant coffee is terrible. It is not a pleasure to drink. It's only palatable (to me) with a ton of evaporated milk and a lot of sugar. For someone  who usually drinks coffee black this ruins the coffee experience.

To answer your question: for people who love the smell and taste of good, freshly roasted, freshly ground coffee - instant coffee simply doesn't compare. Hence the poor reputation.


What's a good small hand / electric grinder available on the market? Just transitioned from a coffee shop to an office job, and got a bag of wonderful Counter Culture coffee beans.

New workplace only buys pre-ground coffee and runs it through a Mr. Coffee drip machine. Boo!

I want to buy an Aeropress and start grinding my own coffee beans. I think the fresh coffee will win people over and we can start getting some serious coffee action going on in the office.

Any recommendations for grinders? Looking in the $20-$30 range, but open to anything. Ideally it is small, something I can throw in my backpack on the way to the office, and easy-ish to clean.

I was nearly sure that I have already read the answer somewhere here. I couldn't find it. There might be a duplicate somewhere, or distributed among several answers. Anyway...

Hand grinders could be the first option. They're way cheaper, smaller in size, easier to carry, and not noisy in action (nice property for office space). I could mention three nice grinders that I know of. Probably more people may want to add many more nice grinders, but these are the first three I could name. So, no offense please.

Hario has a nice small one. Skerton ceramic must be the model, I assume.
Zassenhaus has a very nice hand grinder. I opt for this as it can grind as fine as Turkish. Zassenhaus Havanna is the model name.
Of course, Sözen is a very very nice hand grinder that you can use for centuries. They have just two models for decades; a carry-on and a table model with the same inner structure.

Then, you can think of electric grinders. Lately, I have heard of Baratza Encore a bit too much on the low end side. You may have a look at that.

For sure, there are specialized web sites just for choosing grinders such as this.


"Untwist" the triple-shot program? On one of the super-automatics at work (Starbucks Mastrena), we have a "twisted" triple-shot program where the single-shot portion is grinding longer than the double-shot portion. My procedure isn't fixing it.

How can I trick its little brain to do what I want?

I had an idea. It hasn't worked yet, but based on my theories, it ought to work.

To calibrate the triple-shot button when the single part is too long for the double part,

Queue-up several triples.
Just before it grinds for the single, crank up the grind 10 (or more) clicks finer.
Just before it grinds for the double, crank down the grind 10 (or more) clicks coarser.

This should exaggerate the problem so the little computer can "see" it, and apply whatever self-correction it may.


Microplanting my own coffee I live in Czech Republic. Quite far away from coffee belt.

If I wanted to plant, harvest, process and roast my own coffee, would I be able to actually do it?

I have my own garden
Obtaining coffe plant to actually plant it would be a challenge, but not impossible
I could plant it in my own greenhouse.
Obviously, I do not plan to sell it for business, just for my own purposes.

So, theoretically: Am I able to actually produce me coffee in "drinkable" quality?

I suppose you can if you can first make a decent coffee plant(s) to first make the coffee. Using this website can help you with your gardening/farming of coffee plants. It is mainly based in the USA so sorry! Some tips to notice for decent coffee beans:

Don't put coffee plants in direct sunlight for too long. It will kill your plant and ruin your life. Most coffee plants need little sunlight to survive.
It takes 10 minutes of frost/3 hours of direct sunlight outside from May and November will kill it.
Place it near or at the east-facing window to get a good morning sun and just enough sunlight from the afternoon.
Use warm water but don't flood the pots with it.

Making the drinkable coffee will the hard part I guess. Here is a seemingly a good website for roasting at home: Roasting at Home. Remember to use green, unroasted coffee beans!


Why does coffee heal headaches in some people but causes it in others? I know that it could be related to the effects of caffeine with blood pressure, but I don't know if there are any other side effects of caffeine itself or from the other chemical components inside a cup of coffee.

Different people react to chemicals and stimulants in slightly different manners.  It's entirely possible that the raise in blood pressure caused by caffeine may be exaggerated in some individuals (especially those who are caffeine naive) and cause headaches.

On the other hand, caffeine may reduce or prevent headaches in other individuals through several mechanisms:

  Caffeine is also a common ingredient in many medications used for
  treating migraines, due to the fact that it makes analgesics work more
  efficiently, causes a faster absorption, and allows for a reduced
  dosage which decreases possible side effects of certain analgesics.

It's also possible for people who are caffeine addicted (daily coffee drinkers) to begin withdrawal symptoms if they don't get caffeine/coffee.  One of these symptoms may be headache.  Consuming caffeine again can alleviate these withdrawal symptoms.


Merits & demerits of coffee consumption Every now and then, there are research reports on the benefits as well as the harm of coffee consumption in the journals and the newspapers. Once, they say it is bad; then a few days later, they say it is good.

What to rely upon?

Generally,
it's helpful when considering "resaerch" - to consider the source rather than the newspaper report of a resaerch paper.

More times than not - with coffee as with just about any other topic from science explained in the media - the news is taking a high level single take away from what may be a complex study.

For example: if something says "coffee is bad" what's under the headline? Bad for rats when forcefed caffeine for a week and kept awake?

Likewise for coffee, one of the best things to do if interested in the science is look for REVIEW articles, that have been carried out over the past couple years so the latest work is included - and see where the consensus is at -

That's one.

The other is to look at those reviews in terms of areas - so coffee consumption over X mg may be completely bad - for a particular effect - but completely fine in another.

Right now it's difficult to find where coffee at normal levels (a few cups a day) has any real problems. and may have benefits

For instance - this is a quote from a 2017 big review of studies on coffee

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5696634/

  Conclusion Coffee consumption seems generally safe within usual levels of intake, with summary estimates indicating largest risk reduction for various health outcomes at three to four cups a day, and more likely to benefit health than harm. Robust randomised controlled trials are needed to understand whether the observed associations are causal. Importantly, outside of pregnancy, existing evidence suggests that coffee could be tested as an intervention without significant risk of causing harm. Women at increased risk of fracture should possibly be excluded.

Another review from 2017 - looking at impacts on health generally writes
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28675917

  For adults consuming moderate amounts of coffee (3 - 4 cups/d providing 300 - 400 mg/d of caffeine), there is little evidence of health risks and some evidence of health benefits. This review provides up-to-date information about coffee on health. Topics addressed include the cardiovascular system, liver diseases, and diabetes as well as gastrointestinal disorders.

In both cases, you can see the consensus, when looking at a variety of areas that are related to "health" suggest coffee is pretty ok.

Now if you want you can look into specific correlations like coffee and different types of cancer (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/?term=coffee+cancer) - where intriguingly even here some work shows cancer cells in for instance collorectal cancer (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5386640/) are inhibited by coffee - but that's if you get really intrigued with the topic.

Hope that helps empower your coffee journey

Main take away: if you see an ineresting news article making a claim about science - try to follow back to the original article being referenced and check out at least the abstract, and if you can the full article - in particular the conclusion.

All the best
-m.c.


Piece that goes screwed in my steam wand I bought a espresso machine for home. The machine I bought is a Ikohs Kaffeta.

It has a screwable piece that goes in the tip of the steam wand that it is used to create foam (as the manual says).

I see some other home espresso machines come with what it's called an auto-frothing wand, and basically is a piece that you can remove to make the wand work like a normal wand for creating more micro foam milk.
I tried removing that piece but it only heats the liquid and creates a lot of bubbles.
I can only put air into the milk and make a whirl using that piece. The thing is that I am tring to create more of a microfoam for trying latte art but I end up getting a thick layer of dense foam (which I also like) but I want to be able to create micro-foamy milk.
I get nothing like elastic milk.

Is it a wand with a single tip at the end?

To get microfoam, you only have to produce a little foam at the start of steaming, a few light 'rips' of bubbles, then the rest of the time is spent whirling this into the milk. Keep the wand tip just below the milk and a little to the side while keeping the pitcher flat. This will create a whirlpool that helps mix everything else up. Hope this helps.


How should I clean my burr grinder? I have a hand-powered Hario burr grinder. I occasionally rinse out the lower chamber with hot water and a sponge as it gets quite dirty over time. Should I clean the rest of it, and if so, how? I'm assuming the burrs get dirty but I'm hesitant to get them wet.

There are two options.

Get yourself some grinder cleaner (Grindz, Urnex and probably other brands), that you just grind through. You can buy it online. It cleans the burrs, removes oils and other residues. Afterwards you need to grind some beans so that you don't have the cleaner in your cup of joe. This is a rather convenient way to clean your grinder, however definitely more costly and wasteful than the second option.
Disassemble your grinder according to the instructions provided by Hario and use any kind of brush (toothbrush, pipe cleaner, as long as the bristles are reasonably rigid anything works) to clean the burrs. All the other parts you could also wash with a mild detergent.

That's it, it's easy and should be done once every other month in my opinion. I suggest brushing the burrs and rinsing the rest. It's easy, quick and clean enough.


how often should I replace the metal filter on a Bialetti Moka Express 6-cup? I've been using the same filter in my Moka pot for one year, and it looks fine. None of the holes are blocked. But I noticed that Bialetti sells gasket packs in threes with one filter included. That suggests that Bialetti expects (or wants?) you to replace the filter with every third gasket. Seems like overkill to me, but what do the experts say?

Welcome to CoffeeSE!
You do not need to replace the filter that often, it is just metal  after all. As long as you can clean it properly and it functions normally there is no need to replace it just because you're replacing the gasket, especially when there's no visible corrosion or damage.
There are some people who use their Moka Pot very often, don't clean it properly and almost neglect it. They can go through gaskets fairly quickly, my mother used to change it every few months, but she just replaced the filter just once, and that was because she lost the original one. For those people getting a few gaskets for a cheaper price per gasket makes sense. For others, getting just one is fine. I have even seen a pack of 6 gaskets and one filter not long ago.
Clean your Moka Pot after every use (or at least rinse it thoroughly and clean it properly every few days) and you filter should last you quite a long time.


Why are Robusta beans considered 'low brow'? I read that Robusta production is increasing in many 'only aribica' countries.  Is it 'low brow' because of lower profit margins or it is so lousy I should never let a sip cross my lips?

Latin America’s premium coffee growers branch out to cheaper beans

Because they are low brow, that is lower quality and much less desirable. Robusta beans are generally regarded as inferior to Arabica and command about half the price. Many coffee producers will proudly proclaim that their coffee is 100% Arabica as a hallmark of quality.

Arabica beans produce a richer taste and have a better balance of sweet acidity. Sugar, fruit, berry and chocolate flavours are common and the characteristic winey taste of higher of higher quality coffee is due to Arabica's excellent acidity. Also the much remarked upon and pleasantly appealing aroma of roasting coffee is due to Arabica beans. Brazil is the largest producer and Arabica beans represent 75% of all coffee sold in the world.

Robusta by contrast has a stronger, harsher full bodied and more bitter taste with a grainy flavour profile and earthy or peanut aftertaste. Traditional Italian espresso blends typically incorporate about 10% Robusta because Robusta beans create more crema. The majority of Robusta beans go towards the bulk manufacturer of instant coffee where price trumps quality concerns.

Robusta beans contain more caffeine, are easier to grow and produce substantially higher yields. Vietnam is the largest producer.


How much coffee grounds do I use for a large percolator? For the 10th year in a row, I have charged myself with the duty of brewing coffee for parish's Fall Festival.  Usually, I am provided with a giant tub of Folgers and told I might want to rinse out.  They also give me a little card that says how many "perks" I'll get out of every cup.

This is the kind of coffee maker I'm talking about, you put the coffee in a metal hopper in the pod and water splooshes out the middle and burns you when you try to open it:

I've got 3 coffee makers: I can't remember the exact sizes, but I think they vary between 35 and 100 cups. I usually make a pot of regular in the big one, a pod of decaf in the medium and a backup pot of regular in the small one.

I am going to purchase big bottles of filtered water for this endeavor and also to get fresh ground beans from a local roaster the night before.

What I really want to know is:

What is the actual cup-to-coffee ratio.  I know 1 Tbsp to 6 OZ and could do the math (But that's like 8 Cups of coffee grounds for 100 cups of water which I believe is chest-hair territory)
Given the ideal ratio, how far can I deviate before I sink into bathwater territory?

I am a big fan of ignoring volumetric measures and using weight instead.

Especially for a huge pot like this one, any old kitchen scale should be precise enough to allow a good dosage (for just a cup or two, you need more precision). The general recommendation for filter coffee is

  60g coffee per 1000g water

(And remember that 1000g =1kg = 1l.)

As for the "bath water territory", I admit that I have gone down to "1 heaping teaspoon per mug", which translates to ca. 7g per 200-220g or 30-35g per 1000g. That's pretty close to what aficionados call "bath water", but I'm sometimes a whimp when it comes to filter coffee.
If you are dealing with the average crowd of American (weak) coffee drinkers (sorry for bashing the cliche here), I think you can easily go down to 50g/l or even slightly below without the majority even noticing.

But as you are working with a small local roaster, I suggest you get a small sample beforehand and run a little test. Note that his coffee might (should!) brew differently from the supermarket sawdust. You might want to choose the right roast if you're going to lower the ratio. Tlk to your roaster: Factors that should be kept in mind are the type of machine and the fact that the water will probably be very hot, so the selected roast should be able to withstand it somewhat.

Also, the grind will be important, but "medium" should be a good starting point. If your machine needs coarser grounds, you will have to increase the coffee by 5-10% to get the same result.

Finally, even if you did some test runs at home and think you perfected every parameter, that kind of machine you will be using is not designed to maximize the coffee quality, but the output - that's just how it is. The results should still be significantly better than "get a few cans of [you know which brands] and boil them to death with chlorinated water". Most of your guests will enjoy the fête and the community and pay only little attention to the coffee - they will taste your effort and appreciate your dedication nevertheless.

(And if you do all that to make sure you can have a decent cup of coffee at the festival, I still think that's worth it!)


Is it necessary to allow a shot of espresso to rest before adding it to a drink? After making a shot (or multiple shots) of espresso, there appears to be a lot of activity going on. The best I can compare it to, visually, is a pint of Guinness settling.

Is it best to allow the shot to complete this 'settling,' or is this unnecessary as nothing really happens in this ~30 seconds after pulling?

Not necessary in my opinion.  In fact, i prefer to add it as soon as possible.  The activity you describe is the crema dissipating.  I prefer a lot of crema...  if you wait 30 seconds, there should still be decent crema integrity.  By the way, Starbucks trains their baristas to add the shot within 10 seconds of brewing.


Coffee Grinder vs. Spice Grinder - What's the difference? What is the difference between a typical spice grinder and a specialized coffee grinder?

Is there something that specifically affects the quality of the coffee?

To clarify further, I am talking about the electric grinders with a blade, something like this:

(Note: With a general perspective, you may classify coffee as a spice.)

I imagine you mention the hand grinders. In that case, the main difference is the size of the canals of the grinders. E.g. in a black pepper grinder, the average diameter of the canals are a bit wider than the average diameter of black peppers.

However, this diameter is far narrower for coffee beans. So, you cannot grind coffee in a pepper grinder effectively as the beans cannot fit in the canals.

Summary: proper grinder for proper spice.

After Burhan added the image, I think I should make an edition to this answer.

This grinders are called blade grinders. The main disadvantage of these is the grounds are not homogenously grinded after the process. As the blades randomly cut the beans, some of them may stay intact on the sides.

Burr grinders doesn't have this possibility. All grinded pieces have a maximum volume after the process.

Otherwise, I can't think of a difference. However, you shouldn't use the same grinder for both. You don't want the aroma of your coffee to be mixed with spices and herbs. :)


What/when/how do you consider coffee as organic? Our shop joined this bazaar and we we're selling roasted beans (Brazil Santos) which we get green then roast in our shop. A customer was asking questions about the coffee beans and the only one thing I wasn't able to answer thoroughly was: "Is this organic?"

What coffee is organic? or should I say: How or when do we consider a certain coffee to be organic?

You were most likely right in saying 'no' straight out.

Coffee is considered organic if no chemical substances were used for its production. This includes herbicides, pesticides, and I believe some fertilizers too. Wikipedia agrees with this.

But even if you're a coffee producer and you're sure you don't use chemical substances and there are no residues in the soil, that's not enough. You have to certify your product and you'll be able to say that your coffee is certified organic. The certification process and agency will depend on where the coffee is grown.

Of course, the certification costs. And some producers might not afford it (thanks to Chris_in_AK for pointing this out).

Since you're only roasting the beans and not producing them, it's not really up to you (you could ask your provider if the beans they're selling you are certified organic). But you could buy beans that are certified organic.


My Jura coffee machine doesn't pour espresso The machine operates okay with milk, but when espresso program is activated, machine acts like it is making it (grinds coffee, than heats water) but nothing comes out of the tube. The milk steaming part operates as usual.

Have anybody had experience with Jura maintenance? What are the steps to point a problem?

Probably the grinder or the brew group are clogged. You might want to open up the machine and clean the burrs and the brew group. Afterwards, grind coarser and make sure not to use oily beans.


What's going on inside a Nespresso capsule? As I understand it, a standard espresso shot is about 40 mL in volume, and a lungo/allongé is 100 mL or more. They start with the same amount of ground coffee, but the lungo is made by putting more water through the grounds. (This is assuming a standard portafilter machine.)

So... if I have two Nespresso capsules in front of me, and one says "espresso" and the other says "lungo," shouldn't they have the same amount of coffee inside? Is there an actual difference between them?

Update

The two kinds of capsule weigh the same (6g), so it appears that there is no actual difference between them, unless there's something I'm not thinking of...

Well, as you have yourself conclude that they have no difference regarding the amount of coffee (6 g). I just gonna put there an important note that some people miss.

Espresso capsules are made to be extracted as espressos and lungos, as lungos. The point of this is that Nespresso's lungo coffees are supposedly designed to have a more balanced flavor over a longer extraction/more diluted in contrast to the espresso which was made and evaluated to be drink in a single, stronger shot.

As for myself, I had both ways already and I do believe that at least for the espresso capsules, stick with espresso size (especially if you are using a 3rd party capsule). Nespresso's lungos are often too watery, in my opinion.


Inconsistent Espresso I've got a Lelit Anita with PID (PL42TEMD). The machine is new, about 3 weeks old now. It's used for 2 people to make coffee in the morning.
Ok, settings are 93 degrees on the PID, grind around 3 (a nudge above). 15.5g ground beans in for 30s/ 30g out. No tamping, only distributing with a distributer. Backpressure sits around 11 bar at the end of the green zone on the gauge.
That works well for the first shot I pull, it's dialled in so to speak. Taste is fine.
The second shot, prepared the same way, at 93 degrees, 15.5g grounds in, distributed comes out way faster, usually after 20s I've got the 30g of coffee in the cup. Backpressure is lower too by a bar and a bit, which is expected with higher flows.
This is beyond me because the same coffee puck should result in the same coffee flow, which is not happening and I cannot understand why. Dose is the same, grind is the same, packing is the same, temperature is the same yet the espressos are wildly different between coffees 1 and 2.
If I leave the machine alone for 20 minutes while drinking this coffee and make another set of 2 coffees, I experience the same fluctuation again, first shot fine, second shot fast. What the heck?
Cheers!

No tamping

Start tamping your coffee. Without tamping channels form a lot easier, making your shot pour a lot faster and making your coffee taste sour and bitter at the same time. If you still manage to get 11 bars of pressure somehow without tamping, I'd assume your coffee is ground way too fine anyways, making it even more likely to form channels since they offer less resistance than the puck itself.
The fact that the first shot flows slower than the second one probably boils (no pun intended) down to a colder brew head. If you're not doing this already try flushing your brew head and portafilter to get them hot (so hot you barely manage to hold it for a few seconds) before pulling a shot.


What's the optimal size of a moka pot for a single espresso? I'm new to brewing coffee. All I'm after is a single espresso in the morning. Sometimes latte.

I've recently got myself a 6 cup moka pot - the smallest one we had in a local store. Doing it by instruction gets me a full pot of something in the middle between filter coffee and machine espresso. A bit watery to my taste. I like it stronger. So I use hot water and cut the extraction short - as soon as it starts bubbling - pot gets cooled. Like that I end up with about 1.5-2 cups of espresso with a stronger taste just a tiny bit bitter, just the way I like it. A bit wasteful though.

Then I bought a 1 cup pot, which is much smaller. The extraction process runs smoothly and ends up quicker. The bubbling phase is very short and happens at the very end. It doesn't dilute the result much. I get exactly 1 cup. The taste is just a bit weaker than what I get from the 6 cup one.

This is strange, the volume is 6 times less, but the end result is only half smaller. I'm looking for a happy medium, probably should go for a 3-4 cup or 2? What would you suggest to pick for a single espresso?

I figured it out. I bought a 2 cup Bialetti Brikka. It's a moka pot with a special valve. The main purpose of the valve is crema formation. It's also a bit easier to use than a regular moka pot:

It is designed to start with cold water. Just use the exact amount (there is a measure) not more, not less.
It streams coffee for only few seconds and you don't have to play with the heat intensity while brewing.
The brewing occurs at higher pressure and temperature - thus stronger coffee.
And yes, decent crema!

I get exactly one full espresso cup of strong and nice tasting coffee.


Is stale coffee less healthy for you than fresh coffee? I recently read an article on chemistry of grinding coffee beans and it suggests stale coffee might be less healthy than freshly-roasted coffee, in terms of micronutrient and antioxidant loss over time after roasting.

The argument makes sense but I don't think there's been research specifically on the loss of antioxidants as coffee goes bad. I'm curious what you think... maybe we can use the "Wisdom of Crowds" to find the right answer.

Disclaimer: Lately, I was checking some unanswered questions. This one stands for a while. So, I decided to use the advantages of sitting in an academic office and sought the academic databases I can think of. Some of them are only accessible by abstract. However, I will try to copy the essence of them here without disturbing copyright rules of the publishers.

First things first, I tried to understand the effect of going stale to the amount of antioxidants in coffee. It seems not.

My first reference is "Antioxidant capacity, phenolic acids and caffeine contents of some commercial coffees available on the Romanian market." by Trandafir I., Nour V, and Ionica M.E. which you can read its abstract here. According to this article, total amount of antioxidants in a regular coffee sold in the market is changing in between 19.8 to 41.9 mg per gram coffee.

My second reference is "Recovery of Natural Antioxidants from Spent Coffee Grounds" by Alessia Panusa, Antonio Zuorro, Roberto Lavecchia, Giancarlo Marrosu, and Rita Petrucci which you can read its abstract here. According to this article, total amount of antioxidants in the remains of the spent espresso waste is changing in between 17.07 to 35.52 mg per gram coffee.

I conclude that, even after brewing (chemically speaking; extraction or leaching) the antioxidant amount is not changing much.

Then, I tried to understand what changes the antioxidant level in coffee, if there exist something. Yes, there is one; here comes the third reference by Ayelign and Sabally, "Determination of Chlorogenic Acids (CGA) in Coffee Beans using HPLC" which you can download a copy of it from here. In this study, it is shown that the level of CGAs (an antioxidant) is dropped from 46.144 mg to 0.981 mg per gram coffee, more the coffee is roasted.


Latte: Milk before or after coffee? When making a latte, I've seen baristas make it:

With espresso shot first and then milk and art on top (served in a normal cup)
Milk first and espresso shot poured on top (served in a long glass with a handle)

Are both of these technically lattes or is the second way something different entirely?

Oh, the famous latte!

Apparently hardly anyone knows that it simply means "milk" in Italian, so technically calling a coffee drink "latte" is pure nonsense.

So where does the coffee shop staple get his name from?

In Italy, a latte macchiato ("stained milk") is basically an espresso in a glass of hot (steamed) milk, pouring the espresso last leads to the distinct layers.

A caffellatte ("coffee with milk") is an espresso or coffee from a moka, topped with a generous dose of hot milk. No layers in this cup or glass.

So depending on whether your coffee shop makes caffellatte or latte macchiato, you get milk first or coffee first, layers or none.


Actual Cezve: advice for buying I'd like to buy 200-300ml Cezve. I'm not sure what features are important, such as what material it's made of, handle design, pot shape, etc.

What are the important features to look for when purchasing a cezve, as far as function or usability is concerned?

There are many things to consider.

It is not really important whether it is copper or not. (Copper is for tourists in Turkey and generally of bad quality.)

I advise you to choose a stainless steel one. If you choose copper, find a real thick copper one.

Here, you can see a very good, thick copper cezve that I encountered. However, this is quite expensive (>100$) and really hard to find even in Turkey.

The thermal capacity... The thermal capacity must be high. It's hard to explain this on text. The cezve must be a bit sturdy. This is all I can say. The copper ones aren't generally sturdy. A bit thicker stainless steel ones are nicer for that. So, you can brew your coffee fast and also homogeneously distribute the heat. This is quite important when preparing your coffee in your own hands. The traditional copper ones are traditional as copper was easier to produce historically. Steel is easier to shape now. So, you can go for steel. An indicator for good thermal capacity is the boiling character of your coffee. If your coffee starts to boil from the edges, then it is possible that the thermal capacity is less than it should be (or the fire is way too strong to brew coffee).
The bottom must be a bit larger than the top. So you can easily keep it on the oven.
The slope I can advice is abut 10 degrees from bottom to top for best brewing.
The height must not be more than 10-15 centimeters to stir the coffee easily.
Take care about right/left-handedness. Some cezves have the option to flow the coffee only on one side.

I hope this will help.

Here, I'm adding a photo of my own. It is a right-handed stainless steel one. It's thickness is about 1 mm. No slope at all.


How can I stay off coffee after I quit? I have quit drinking coffee many times, and it was never that difficult for me to do, but can never stay quit for more than about 3 or 4 weeks.

I typically drink 3, homebrewed cups a day, and only put a small amount of half & half in it.

I've been drinking coffee for over 10 years.

My main problem here is that I don't feel quite right after I quit. This feeling does not seem to go away, so I always start again.

How can I stay off coffee after I quit? And would I ever normalize, if so, how many weeks might it take?

I kicked it by switching to caffeine pills so that I could carefully taper down. Before I started the process, though, I went to caffeineinformer to get a good estimate of my daily habit. I then used caffeine pills to replace the milligrams of caffeine I was having as coffee. From there, I began to cut the pills into quarters and slowly reduce my intake over the course of several months. Each Saturday I would step down by one quarter of a pill. Withdrawal was minimal and by Monday I was back able to work. It took discipline and patience.

One unintended, but huge benefit that I found by going this route is that I disassociated the buzz with the ritual and smell of coffee. It became clinical for me. Plus it was quite easy to control when I took my caffeine. I no longer had to make or find coffee to get my fix.


Nitrogen wash beans VS Fresh I live in a really small area. The closet roaster to me is roughly an hour drive away.

I know how big of a role that using fresh beans play in making quality espresso. Because I may not be able to make it to the roaster on a regular basis, I was curious about LaVazza coffee.

I have heard and read online that LaVazza uses a nitrogen wash on all of their beans that keep them fresh longer. How do they perform compared to fresh beans? Obviously they wont be identical, but will they produce a nice fully bodied espresso with a decent amount of crema?

The correct term is nitrogen flushing and it does appear to increase the stored shelf life of roasted beans.  There is a school of thought that using nitrogen (80% of the air we breath) is not a green friendly technique, but it is nevertheless used in other products too.


How does coffee grind size affect coffee taste I have a grinding machine with a lot of different settings. Even between the categories of Fine and Medium there are sub levels of grinding. I'm not sure how they relate to the flavor of the coffee. Is there any research that shows how the grind affects the taste of the different types of roasts?

The main reason for different grinds is the different brewing processes. If the water is exposed to the grounds for a very short amount of time (e.g., 10-15 seconds for espresso), you need a finer grind to provide enough surface area to extract the coffee from the beans. If the brewing time is long (e.g., the ~4 minutes of french press), you need a coarse grind to avoid over-extracting the grounds and getting something too bitter to drink.

That's really the heart of it. If the grind is too coarse for your brewing method, your coffee will end up under-extracted, weak, and acidic. If it is too fine a grind, your coffee ends up over-extracted and bitter. Your grinder is a good brand; if you still have the manual, it includes a guide to grind vs. brewing method. If not, the capresso.com site includes PDF versions.


How long can I store roasted coffee beans? How long do they retain their qualities? In the coffee store near my home the seller told me that their coffee beans are stored for 1-3 months in their shop. But after purchase I'm also storing them for a few weeks.

I assume you are storing them for a later grinding (likely just before preparing your cups of coffee).

According to some sources 1,2,3, the main point is use it within a week. For more than that, it is preferable to freeze them, and in this condition, for no more than a month.

A brief summary:

For short term use (this week's coffee):

Do not refrigerate your daily supply of coffee (in order to avoid moisture).
Keep them in air-tight glass or ceramic containers, in a dark and cool place.
Keep only the amount of beans you know you will quickly use.

For long term use (no more than a month):

If you have a large amount of beans, wrap them in small (weekly) amounts inside air-tight bags, and freeze them. Once removed from freezer, do not return them.
If you are making coffee in an espresso machine, let them getting room temperature for one day.

1: "How to store coffee. National Coffee Association"
2: The Coffee Geek's Guide to Storing Beans
3: For better coffee, store your beans


Coffee cup patina; is there any logic in not washing the cup I first encountered the practice of never washing a coffee cup, when I was sternly warned, and nearly physically threatened by a former employer to never wash his coffee cup.

Apparently it is an old military tradition to never wash out your coffee cup, and being a retired service man he continued the practice.

Is there any logic behind this, does it noticeably effect the coffee, or is this just an old, superstitious tradition?

It may be superstition but many people, myself included, don't wash out their coffee cups. I rinse out my cup but don't wash it - I don't want soap going into my favorite coffee cup. I like the way it smells of coffee. I don't have to see or touch my favorite coffee or tea cup to know which one is which.

In addition I never use soap on either my coffee or tea filters.

Would I notice the difference if I had two identical mugs - one with the "patina" and one without? Maybe not. But I prefer it that way.


What is the ratio of Arabica and Robusta in blend coffees available in markets? I have seen some blend coffeees available in the market, both ground as well as instant.

I want to know what ratio is preferred normally while mixing Arabica and Robusta?

Country : India

This is highly dependent on the market, I think. Still, based on my observations regarding corporate Italian espresso blenders, I would like to write a short answer.

If you purchase packaged coffee, which is not labeled as 100% Arabica, you are mostly buying from 10% to 30% Robusta.

Still, I would like to add, some quality Robusta's (especially Africans) may be superior to not so good Arabica's.

Again, the ratio of Robusta may go up to 50% in some house blends or horeca blends. You may even consume pure Robusta in Indonesia or in Vietnam.


How to brew coffee without "film" on top Often when brewing coffee I end up with an oily film that rises to the top of the cup. How do I reduce or brew coffee without it?

My current set up is using a french press and Lavazza Rossa coffee (I know a fine grind isn't recommended for french press, however being an amateur with a french press I simply bought the brand with a french press on label).

Regarding the pre-ground coffee in a French Press, the website, packaging and company all say its suitable for a French Press / Plunger.  Technically it is, the big thing is usually the finer grounds being sifted through the filter and into your cup of coffee.  Most people don't like this, I personally don't mind this, though I do prefer not to have grounds in my coffee.  If you were to grind your own coffee, you may still get some finer particles pushing through, but not as much

I too use a French Press and I noticed some odd things similar to the oily film when I first started.  I changed a TON of what I was doing, so it's hard to pinpoint exactly what caused that to stop.  Here is a few things.

The grounds of the coffee could be part of that film.  As they sift through, some of the finest particles could be coalescing together and forming what looks like an oily film.
Try different grounds (just for a day, change it up)
The appearance of that film could also be due to the sheen of the bean from processing.  Many flavored coffees, even a subtle flavor or a "non-flavor" from a large company, are from the beans being in a flavor oil.  This being Lavazza, I see that it tastes like Pralines, which could be some of the flavor of the oil the company uses to mask any bitterness or roasting flavors.  Not all companies do this.
Possibly email company and see if they do add any oil to the coffee (even if its natural or during the roasting process)
Check the cleanliness of the french press and coffee cup.  I wasn't washing mine thoroughly enough at the beginning and some of that was a residue from soap I am sure.
Try to fill the french press or coffee cup with water after washing, let sit and see if it produced film
Dish Washer and detergent.  I had an apartment that had a dish washer and when it started to "go", it would still "clean" things but we would notice that everything had a film on it that was pretty much invisible.  We could tell because we would pour a glass of water, then see the film a couple minutes later.  Sometimes it was obvious.  It could also be the detergent in the dish washer.
Try to hand-wash your coffee cup and french press and see if that makes a difference.
Check the water.  You may not have control over the water or the quality of the water, but that can play a factor in that oily film.  If the water is not purified or already has a residue, then your coffee will be the same.
Pour a glass of water from the same source and let it sit for 15 minutes and see if you get a film.
Bag, packaging and storage.  I have a coffee vault for one of coffee's, and when I ran out and reordered more I put a different bean in there.  The previous bean was flavored and some of the oil from the flavor rubbed off on the sides, which then transferred to the new unflavored beans and caused some oily film.  So again, make sure its washed well.  But also, I noticed some bags or packaging have a metallic looking liner inside the bag, and that I feel is often oily.  I am not sure from what or why, could be a preservative coating or just some oil so there isn't bean on metal contact.  That may also transfer to the bean as well.
Check the inside of the bag and see if that has any oil residue inside.  Also email company see if they coat the inside of their packaging.
Lastly, I forgot, but this goes with washing your french press, wash it as soon as you are done.  Out of forgetfulness or laziness I have left my old brew in there overnight a few times, and I have noticed that the next one may have some residue from the previous still, which may be some of that oily film.
Try washing right away after done with coffee

Good luck, hope this helps and try to keep changing things and see what works for you.


Consequences of wrongly cleaning espresso machine with vinegar? I use a small and simple espresso machine (Krups Model 963). Yesterday, I wanted to decalcify it and (being a rather unexperienced "barista") did what I usually do when decalcifying my water boiler: I poured vinegar concentrate, diluted with water, into it.

Afterwards, I wondered whether this might have been a bad idea and started some Google research. I found out that many people discourage the use of vinegar for decalcifying coffee machines because the vinegar may damage the cauldron. This seems to be of particular concern if the cauldron is made of aluminum, which seems to be the case with my machine.

After the cleaning and some iterations with pure water I tried to make some espresso. I didn't notice anything wrong so far: The machine seems to work well, espresso tastes good (or: as usual). The only thing that worries me is that when running the machine with pure water (without espresso powder in the sieve), I noticed some small white particles in the hot water coming out of the machine. These could be just chalk, but I also read that it could be part of the inner coating of the cauldron which has been dissolved by the vinegar.

Now I wonder whether it is still save to use the machine or not?

In particular, I wonder whether

the cauldron could be damaged so severely that it may explode?
the produced espresso could be toxic due to aluminum or parts of the cauldron's coating leaking into the espresso?

Any advice is appreciated!

I'll answer as a chemist and not as a coffee expert, but occasional exposure to vinegar won't substantially damage a piece of aluminum. Also ingesting traces of aluminum isn't toxic.


Does coffee cause gastrointestinal problems? My sister, she got gastritis when she drinks coffee she feels poignant in the area of her stomach. So, I want to know that why do people who have gastrointestinal problems when having coffee got to have stomach ache?

In the article titled "Coffee and gastrointestinal function: facts and fiction. A review.", it is stated that it has pharmacological effects and coffee promotes gastro-oesophageal reflux.

These discussions may be related:

What constituant in coffee has a laxative effect?
Why is coffee a laxative?


What are the differences in perceived quality of Robusta vs Arabica bean blends? There are many different varieties of coffe, but cafea arabica and cafea robusta are two different species grown in my region of Colombia, robusta specifically grown for its increased resistance to disease and pests.  But how are these two species differentiated in the quality of the prepared drink?

Robusta is often used to "cut" blended coffee because it is most often cheaper to purchase than Arabica beans.  Since it generally has a higher level of caffeine than Arabica, it may also be used to up the "kick" of blended coffee.

Robusta is generally though to have an inferior flavor to Arabica, partially because the extra caffeine imparts some bitterness, but also perhaps because of it's growing conditions.  While some very few places out there may strive to produce superior Robusta beans, they are working against a market that generally considers it an inferior product and will not pay as much for it.  Therefore less care is often given to Robusta plants and processing since the return on investment is lower.


Brewing Coffee with instant hot water tap In my office they have a tap with (boiling) hot and cold filtered water system - its designed for hot drinks, and is fine for black tea.  I assume it dispenses at around 100 degrees, though I have not measured it.  The cold tap gives chilled water - I'd assume 5-10 degrees.

I brew my coffee using an aeropress, with about 2 spoons worth of coffee and the standard paper filter. Filled up to a mark between the 2 and 3 marking on the aeropress.

What comes out has a slight metallic, bitter taste.  I do not get this at home where I use a standard kettle (either leave it to boil and cool for a few minutes, or use my new kettle that can specify the temp - I generally use 85-90 degrees)

I have tried to eliminate the problem thus:

Different beans (2 different bags of fresh preground ground coffee, with both "standard for cafetiere grind" and espresso grinds).  Grinding at work is not an option and doing at home is too annoying.
Different storage (I thought the metal tin I was storing in was imparting bad flavour) - I have now got a glass kilner jar which is air tight and stored in a dark drawer
Washing the paper filter before use (I dont do this at home normally)
Using the inverted method (with the same, or slightly less grounds)
Using another breakout area (with the same system) in case the normal one is broken/dirty/etc

None of this makes a difference so I assume it is down likely down to the temperature of the water being too hot.

What is the best (quickest and least fussy) way of improving my brew?

I have considered (but not yet attempted):

Adding a small amount of cold water before adding the hot (approx 1/4 cold to 3/4 hot) then brewing as usual.
Add the hot then add a splash of cold.
Mixing in another cup and adding that - this is undesirable as I already have to carry the coffee jar, aeropress and cup to the kitchen and back.

What is the best means to get a better brew?

Is it, by any chance, demineralised/distilled water, with no minerals added back in?

Aside from temperature (which you should check - it's OK if it's cooler, but too cool is no good, and knowing the temperature will help you modify other parameters), it's important to have high quality, odour-free water that is free from impurities and that has the correct mineral content. The SCAA actually specifies water standards (see here). In many developed parts of the world, tap water is fine. However, demineralised water is NOT fine. It will underextract.

One solution*: Buy bottled mineral water (like Evian or a cheaper alternative), which usually has too HIGH a mineral content, and blend it with the filtered water from the dispenser. This may seem hard core, but it'd be good as an experiment to see if it cures your woes.

Joke only intended after the fact


Is coffee a pro-oxidant or an antioxidant? I've heard that coffee acts as a pro-oxidant which damages cells and tissues causing the long-term effect of shorting life expectancy (Free-radical theory of aging), the opposite of how antioxidants are thought to work (e.g. Green tea).

However I can't find this information on Wikipedia (e.g. coffee or caffeine).

Therefore is coffee a pro-oxidant or an antioxidant?

In Spain one study showed that Brazilian Arabica 100% (A100) roasted samples presented lower antioxidant capacity (less efficient antioxidants) than Robusta coffee varieties (could be due to the higher percentage of chlorogenic acids in Robusta ground coffee than in Arabica) therefore Brazilian Arabica 100% (A100) presented the highest value of pro-oxidant activity.

However higher antioxidant activity was observed in Colombian coffees than in conventional roasted coffee blends. On the other hand, when the percentage of torrefacto coffee was increased, an increase of the antioxidant activity and a slight tendency to decrease the pro-oxidant activity were observed. Therefore addition of sugar at the end of the torrefacto roasting process may influence the antioxidant and pro-oxidant properties of coffee because sugar is one of the main precursors the Maillard reaction.

In summary, we can say that antioxidant and pro-oxidant capacity of ground coffee can be affected by several factors such as coffee variety, roasting process (e.g. torrefacto), growing climate, storage, etc. The details of the studies for further reading can be found below.

Sources:

(study) Comparison of antioxidant and pro-oxidant activity in coffee beverages prepared with conventional and “Torrefacto” coffee at Science Direct
(study) Influence of torrefacto roast on antioxidant and pro-oxidant activity of coffee at Research Gate


Does drinking coffee immediately after lunch or dinner impact health? Does drinking coffee immediately after breakfast or lunch or dinner impact health?

I think this is a rather broad question to answer. Are you looking for overall health effects of coffee or specifically for effects on digestion after eating?

In the former case, recent research has delivered very strong evidence that drinking a moderate amount of coffee (about 3 cups a day) has strong positive health benefits, reducing premature mortality quite dramatically. Among others coffee likely has positive effects on cardiovascular diseases, can be preventative to some types of cancer and alzheimer diseases and has positive effects on diabetes. See for example here, here and here.

The latter case is less conclusive I think. There have been studies showing that coffee (the chlorogenic acid in it) reduces glucose intake from digestion. While a decrease in nutrient intake seems like a bad thing at first glance, it may be beneficial for patients of diabetes, because it regulates glucose intake after meals and may help in preventing spikes/drops in insulin levels. I guess for someone struggling to get enough nutrients (due to other digestive diseases for example) excessive coffee consumption could have adverse effects. For healthy people moderate amounts most likely don't have negative effects (see the linked studies). There's also some evidence that coffee has beneficial effects on your microbial composition in your intestines (see here)

There's some other less severe potential issues that might arise, like an increase in reflux symptoms, due to excessive production of stomach acid (however dark roasts of coffee might even have acid reducing effects).

So overall I'd argue that the potential health benefits by far outweigh negative effects, except maybe in some cases of pre-existing conditions such as diseases of stomach and/or intestines.

References:

Gunter M. et al. Coffee Drinking and Mortality in 10 European Countries: A Multinational Cohort Study. Ann Intern Med. 2017;167:236–247. doi: 10.7326/M16-2945
Jaquet M. et al. Impact of coffee consumption on the gut microbiota: A human volunteer study, In International Journal of Food Microbiology 2009; 130.2: 117-121, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijfoodmicro.2009.01.011.
Poole R. et al. Coffee consumption and health: umbrella review of meta-analyses of multiple health outcomes. BMJ 2017. doi: 10.1136/bmj.j5024
Song-Yi Park et al. Association of Coffee Consumption With Total and Cause-Specific Mortality Among Nonwhite Populations. Ann Intern Med. 2017;167:228–235. doi: 10.7326/M16-2472


How much French Press is a serving? I have a small cafetiere for making French Press coffee. I can't remember what it said on the box when I bought it - it's quite old - but it seems similar to those advertised as '2-cup' size.

Making coffee with it, filling it all the way up, makes a decent mugfull - what I'd consider enough for one person. Is this actually two 'servings' of french press? When I calculate how much caffeine I'm taking in, should I double the values given for French Press?

FDA has no official guidelines on serving size, so your serving size is either determined by the product manufacturer, or whatever you want it to be. We don't know what brand french press you have but if it was Bodum for instance:

  Coffee is measured in 4 oz. cups, so our 3-cup press will brew 12 oz.; a single serving.


Capresso Static Effects on Grounds Is there any way to reduce the effects of static electricity on the grounds in a Capresso conical burr stainless steel grinder?  The grounds appear to be charged and tend to stick to the plastic when emptying the container.

Try putting a couple of drops of water in your coffee beans before putting them in the grinder's hopper. Known as the Ross Droplet Technique.


How do I know if my aeropress is too loose? I bought my wife an aeropress for Christmas and I used it a few times before understanding exactly what the instructions were saying - (I tried to make a latte with hot milk and water in the hopper) it was very hard to press down at that point - I've never tried doing that again, but I think since then it's been a little too easy to press down the plunger.

Should it actually take 10-60 seconds to press down all the water given the pressure from above? It seems like almost all the water (up to #2) is through the filter by the time I get half way down the thing and the last half of pressing gets easier, not harder as you might expect with more pressure.

How easy it is to push the aeropress plunger depends mostly on how coarse or fine your coffee is ground. It sounds like your grind might be too coarse, a finer grind will make it "less loose". A medium-fine or filter coffee grind will usually work best in this situation.

As another answer explained, don't put milk into the aeropress, it won't filter properly. You can add milk to the cup afterwards if you like.

About 20 seconds to push the coffee through the aeropress with light to moderate pressure (just leaning on the plunger) would be a good time. Your description of the water passing easily at first and the plunger being "too loose" sound like your coffee grind is too coarse.

Here is an excellent video showing how to use an aeropress brewer by expert baristo, Tim Wendelboe.


What are the different varieties of coffee- understanding the nearest coffee shop menu? I am unaware of the different varieties of coffee. I have heard names like latte, expresso, etc. but do not know the differences between those and what are some other varieties. Since this is a stackexchange on the very topic, some details would be welcome.

There are many, many, many types. In order to give a good overview, some background knowledge is useful. What all types of coffee have in common is that all are produced from the pits of coffee cherries, the fruits borne by trees in the genus coffea (coffee beans are technically seeds of these trees, not beans). Coffee cherries are harvested from coffee trees, the pits are removed and processed, producing green coffee beans. These are then roasted, ground, and brewed.

Coffee can vary on any of the following factors:

Bean Variety - There are two major bean varieties of coffee: arabica and robusta. Arabica coffees are more ubiquitous and generally regarded as superior in quality to robusta coffees. If you are buying coffee from a coffee shop, ordering it at a restaurant, or brewing it at home, there is a very good chance you are drinking an arabica variety. Robusta is easier to grow and a less temperamental crop than arabica, contains quite a bit more caffeine, and generally is poorer quality than arabica. Robusta varieties are often used in instant coffee.

Processing Method - There are two major processing types for green coffee beans: washed and unwashed. Washed coffees remove the cherry before the bean is left to dry, while unwashed coffees have their beans removed from the cherries after drying. Unwashed coffees often come from Africa and Indonesia and have richer, earthier flavors, while washed coffees often come from Latin America, and are smoother and fruitier.

Geographic Origin - One of the most important factors, as coffee flavors vary greatly with geography, climate, and soil composition. For example, Ethopian coffees tend to be rich, full-bodied, and wine-like, Hawaiian coffees like Kona tend to be more acidic (flavor term, not pH), and Latin American coffees tend to be more medium bodied, fruity, and floral.
Roast - Roasting is a complex process that can produce varying degrees of flavor and caffeine content. Roasts levels can include light/half-city, medium/full-city, full (Viennese/Italian), and double (French), in order of increasing boldness. Contrary to popular opinion, lighter roasts tend to have more caffeine than darker roasts. A good illustration of the process can be found here: http://www.sweetmarias.com/roast...

Brewing method - Can include drip filter, french press, percolated, espresso, or other methods. Brewing method also makes a big difference, with coffee aficionados generally preferring french press and espresso.

The most expensive type of coffee is Kopi Luwak from Sumatra, Bali, Java, and Sulawesi. Kopi Luwak roughly translates to "civet coffee" in English, and is called such because the beans are harvested from the droppings of civets (a cat-like mammal from Indonesia). The beans are supposedly of superior quality because the civets choose only the ripest coffee beans to eat from coffee trees, and are processed in a unique way by the civets digestive tract. Kopi Luwak often sells for around $300/lb.

The following are the different types of coffee drinks that you may find in a cafe that prepares coffee using the espresso coffee making method:

Affogato- This is a term that literally means 'drowned'. It is the description of a shot of separately served espresso that is later poured over a the top of a scoop of vanilla ice cream or gelato. This beverage is usually served in a short drink glass and is a Italian desert favourite. Popular Affogatos include Vanilla Affogato, Mocha Affogato, and Peppermint Affogato.

Americano- Also known as "Lungo" or "Long Black" and made by diluting 1-2 shots of espresso with hot water in order to approximate the texture, flavor and body of an American-style drip coffee. Said to have been originally devised as a sort of insult to Americans who wanted their Italian espresso diluted.

Babycino- A cappuccino styled drink served in an up-market café typically for children. It consists of warm milk in a small cup and topped with milk froth and chocolate powder. No espresso coffee essence is added.
Breve: A term in Italian that means short and is used to describe an espresso coffee drink made with a half-and-half light cream or semi-skim milk instead of full fat milk

Caffe' Freddo- Chilled, sweetened espresso served in a tall glass, often on ice.

Caffe Latte or “Latte”- A ‘premium milk coffee experience’. Freshly steamed milk without foam served in a tall glass with a shot of espresso coffee.
Caffe Mocha: A combination of chocolate syrup and a shot of espresso, topped with steamed milk and a layer of micro-foam. Finished with a sprinkled of chocolate.

Cappuccino Chiaro- (AKA Wet or Light cappuccino): Cappuccino prepared with more milk than usual.

Cappuccino Scuro- (AKA Dry or Dark cappuccino) Cappuccino prepared with less milk than usual.

Cappuccino: “Cap”-  A ‘traditional morning heart starter’. Steamed foamed velvety milk poured over one shot (1) of coffee oil extract made from 12gm of freshly ground beans producing 38ml of essence. Finished by topping with foam and a sprinkle of chocolate powder. Served in a pre heated vitrified ceramic cup.

Con panna- Like the beverage "macchiato", but whipped cream is substituted for steamed milk.

Cortado- means "cut" in Spanish so the double shot espresso served in a demetesse glass supported with a metal handle is "cut" with an equal part of hot milk, making it in between the size and strength of a macchiato and a cappuccino. It is popular in Spain and Portugal, as well as throughout Latin America and Cuba, where it is drunk in the afternoon. Variations include more froth on top than a traditional cortado and occasionally with different names such as Piccolo or Gibraltar. Thanks to Ryan Cerbus for the entry.

Corretto- Espresso "corrected" with a touch of grappa, cognac, sambuca, or other spirit.

Doppio- Italian term for double. Double Espresso or twice the amount of coffee and twice the amount of water. Basically it describes two shots of espresso in one demitasse container.

Espresso con Panna- A variation of the macchiato by substituting a dollop of whipped cream for the milk froth. Basically a Starbucks invention. Means in Italian "espresso with cream”.

Espresso Lungo- American term where a shot is extracted longer for a bit of extra espresso. Tends to maximizes the caffeine but will mostly produce a more bitter cup.

Espresso Romano- Espresso served with a lemon peel on the side. Whilst not a typical accompaniment in Italy it is commonly served with the espresso beverage in America.

Flat White- “White Coffee” - ‘uncompromising taste’.Steamed microfroam milk poured through and under the espresso crème produced from one shot (1) of coffee extract made on 12gm of freshly ground coffee producing 38ml of essence. Served in a pre heated vitrified ceramic cup. A common espresso coffee order in Australia/New Zealand. Great for latte art!

Hammerhead- A coffee drink only served in the USA. It is an American term for a shot of espresso in a coffee cup that is topped up with drip-filtered coffee. As Kris Rosvold explains in the comments: In Oregon, the hammerhead is usually known as a red eye and uses 2 shots of espresso topped up in a 16oz travel mug with drip coffee. It's also sometimes called a "shot in the dark".

Irish Coffee- Coffee mixed with a dash of Irish whiskey and served with cream on top.

Latte Macchiato- Steamed milk served in a tall glass rather than a cup that is “stained” by a shot of espresso coffee.

Long Black- Often called the “American”. It is the ‘benchmark coffee without milk’. It is pure coffee made from one & one half shots of coffee extract made on 16gm of fresh ground beans producing 50ml of essence blended with steamed water. Served in a pre heated vitrified ceramic cup with the essence floated over the top of a cup filled with hot/boiling water. It is a standard espresso (Short Black) but lengthened by the addition of hot/boiling water.

Lungo- An espresso made by purposely allowing more water to flow through the ground coffee than usual. (sometimes called an Americano or ‘long’).

Macchiato- Meaning “stained” - Described as ‘strong, marked or stained’. A touch of steamed foamed milk added to a double shot of coffee extract made from 24gm of fresh ground beans producing 75ml of essence. Served in glass.

Mazagran- A French drink composed of cold coffee and seltzer water. First created by the French soldiers in 1840 in the town of Argelia. A variation includes iced coffee made with maraschino.

Quad- An espresso drink made with four shots of coffee.

Ristretto- (Ristretto in Italian means "restricted, shrunk or short”) It is the richest and most concentrated espresso drink where less water but the same amount of coffee is used to make the beverage and creates a less bitter espresso. The extraction time is shortened producing as little as 3 oz of liquid per serving. Pure and intense espresso served in a demitasse cup.
Short Black: A ‘pure intense Italian favourite with a biting crème head. Contains 75ml of pure double shot (2) coffee essence made from 24gm of fresh ground coffee beans. Traditionally served in glass and is referred to as Espresso by European customers.

Viennese Coffee- Brewed black coffee of any roast or origin topped and served with whipped cream.

If you reached this part then remember. The list doesn't stops here my fried...!!!

All the best.


Why do some people sneer at Starbucks coffee? Business practices aside, Starbucks coffee seems to get a lot of derision from people who consider themselves coffee aficionados. Why is this? I can understand why one might not like the idea of an enormous creamy, iced, syrup-filled beverage, but is there anything wrong with their actual espresso?

An example of this common mindset is presented on Time.com:

  [...] no coffee snob I know would be caught dead drinking a latte, especially the Starbucks latte they implied.

In order to maintain consistency, Starbucks roasts their coffee a tad bit longer than many might prefer. The espresso you get in New York is going to taste exactly like the one you got in Hong Kong, or New Delhi - that's actually kind of impressive. Still, if you're someone that likes their beans just past the second 'crack' - you might find their espresso a bit too dark, a bit too bitter and a bit too expensive to be accepting of a disappointment.

Now, the coffee that they sell in bags gives you plenty of options - you can still get a nice blonde-roasted bag of single source Arabica at many locations. If you're there to order something with milk in it, then you're probably not going to notice just how dark the beans really taste - you'll probably just enjoy your coffee.

However, if you tend to take espresso straight, or a drink that is basically espresso cut with water or very little milk, you might thumb your nose in the air a bit. Then again, I'd take a bitter-ish espresso over a cup of bland-ish drip any day.

People love to complain if given the opportunity. If you like their espresso, enjoy it - if not, well, drink other espresso :)


Is dark roast stronger than light roast? Dark roast coffee is roasted longer and at higher temperatures than light roast.
What is the difference in taste?

Strength is an interesting wording, but some people use it. Mostly, caramelized or burnt flavors get visible during the roasting process.

Understanding Coffee Bean names as they relate to roast

As you may see in that answer, Wikipedia enlists roast degrees and their profiles. I would like to summarize them here.

22 °C (72 °F), Green Beans: You may prepare green coffee tea from these. But not the regular coffee.
165 °C (329 °F), Drying Phase: Beans dry out. You may hear the first crack.
196 °C (385 °F), Cinnamon Roast: A very light roast level which is immediately at first crack. Sweetness is underdeveloped, with prominent toasted grain, grassy flavors, and sharp acidity prominent.
205 °C (401 °F), New England Roast: Moderate light brown, but still mottled in appearance. A preferred roast for some specialty roasters, highlights origin characteristics as well as complex acidity.
210 °C (410 °F), American Roast: Medium light brown, developed during first crack. Acidity is slightly muted, but origin character is still preserved.
219 °C (426 °F), City Roast: Medium brown, common for most specialty coffee. Good for tasting origin character, although roast character is noticeable.
225 °C (437 °F), Full City Roast: Medium dark brown with occasional oil sheen, roast character is prominent. At the beginning of second crack.
230 °C (446 °F), Vienna Roast: Moderate dark brown with light surface oil, more bittersweet, caramel flavor, acidity muted. In the middle of second crack. Any origin characteristics have become eclipsed by roast at this level.
240 °C (464 °F), French Roast: Dark brown, shiny with oil, burnt undertones, acidity diminished. At the end of second crack. Roast character is dominant, none of the inherent aroma or flavors of the coffee remain.
245 °C (473 °F), Italian Roast: Nearly black and shiny, burnt tones become more distinct, acidity nearly eliminated, thin body.


Is Kopi Luwak safe to drink? Kopi luwak, i.e. Vietnamese weasel coffee, is made from beans that have been consumed and excreted by civets.  It can cost as much as $3000/lb, so few have probably tried it. This process doesn't seem incredibly sanitary.   Is this coffee safe to drink?  Do people contract diseases from drinking it?

Yes, it's perfectly safe to drink and extremely delicious. In The Philippines, we often call this 'Kopi Alamid', and it truly is one of the rarest coffees on the planet. At around $20 per 75 grams (local price), it's also one of the world's most expensive coffees.

The palm civet is a nocturnal cat (well, more like a ferret, but technically a cat) that eats the berries (beans) and is extremely picky in its diet. For the civet to choose a bean, it has to be just right when it comes to the aroma, and given the sensitivity of this creature's nose, said aroma means the bean is perfect. Some say the digestive process itself lends to better flavor, it can be a matter of heated debate depending on where you ask ;)

The thing is, the cat doesn't digest the whole bean, just the outer pulp. Farmers follow them around and wait for nature to take its course, then the beans are processed in a very safe manner. Farmers typically get just a kilo or so a day, it's quite an intensive process.

I drink it as often as I can afford to do so, and I have never gotten sick. It's a partly fruity, partly nutty and just an all over cozy and relaxing taste that I highly recommend if you're able to get the coffee. Just be prepared to pay quite a bit, and ready to consume it quickly after getting it home (it does not keep as well as others, probably due to local transportation issues prolonging the time it takes from roasting to actually get to market).

If you have a hand-powered burr grinder, I recommend using it and grinding pretty gingerly, even the heat of most ceramic grinders is enough to lose a little bit of the fruity taste you'd otherwise get. Really, treat these beans like royalty, they're that good.

If you buy some, try to avoid buying from farms with captive civets - the growing popularity of this coffee has led to a cottage trapping industry, which is (unfortunately) likely to seriously endanger them soon.


What is this tamper/filter thing that came with my moka pot for? I recently bought a new moka pot similar to this one:

It has a base, funnel, top and a little extra bit that seems to just fit inside the funnel.

What is it for?

OK, I've worked this one out. This little thing is called a reducer.

What you can do is put the reducer into the funnel. It should sit on the indentation half way down. You then put coffee on top of it. This allows you to make less coffee with a larger pot.

However, although I haven't tried it yet, it seems that most people complain that the quality of the coffee reduces (!) significantly. Many complain of a weaker brew. It's probably better to use a smaller pot if you regularly want to make less coffee.


Milk in place of water What would happen if one were to substitute milk in place of water for the following brewing methods:

Percolating/Moka pot;
Pour over;
Aeropress;
French Press

Would it extract anything from the coffee grounds? Would it create something passable?

Attempt 1

For the first attempt, I brewed it exactly like I brew my normal (water-based) coffee. I used a French Press with a light/medium roast, heating the milk in Pyrex in a microwave. The milk heated unevenly, curdling in places. Luckily, the curdled bits stuck to the Pyrex and I was able to make a passable cup. The thickness of the milk meant that it didn't want to pass through the mesh when pouring.

The predominant flavor was that of the milk. I could barely tell it was coffee, though it definitely absorbed some flavor. The texture was about what you'd expect--very smooth and rich. It was the kind of drink that makes you feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

Attempt 2

From my first attempt, I learned that milk is able to absorb and mask coffee's flavor incredibly well (after all, it's what people use to tone down overly strong coffee). This time, I heated the milk in a saucepan over low heat, stirring frequently (a rather long and annoying process for a single cup of coffee). I probably could have gotten it a bit hotter, but it worked well enough. I nearly doubled the amount of grounds and brew time.

This time, it came out with a distinct coffee smell, and about the same texture. Again, the initial flavor was that of the milk, but it had a smooth, subtle, and quite pleasant coffee aftertaste. I never got that bad taste you sometimes get a while after a normal cup of coffee--instead, the residual flavor was like you had just taken a sip.

Conclusions

I wouldn't want milk-brewed coffee for my morning cup. It feels more like a drinkable dessert.

If anyone else wants to try this, I recommend using some stronger/darker coffee. I didn't have any dark roast on hand, or I would have tried it. Give it time to brew--more than you would with water. Be patient when heating the milk, or you'll end up curdling it and ruining the whole thing.

This could probably work as a dessert drink if brewed with some spices in addition to the coffee. If nothing else, I'd say it looks pretty cool as you can see in the attached image.

UPDATE

I tried this again today with espresso coffee (Cafe Bustelo), and it turned out great. The end result was like a latte but more... dull, or smooth. I don't know how exactly to compare it. Espresso grind is definitely the right choice when brewing with milk--it's the only thing strong enough and with the right flavor profile to stand out in the milk and complement the milk's flavor.

Be warned, though, that the fine grind of espresso coffee means you will need to use a paper filter at some point along the way. Sticking a paper filter in a French Press doesn't work because of how resistant the milk is to going through the filter. It seems to jet around the sides, allowing the espresso to slip through.


Use for old grounds? I'm aware that coffee grounds can be great for composting, but living in a large city makes that more difficult than I'd prefer.

With every cup of coffee comes a bunch of soggy grounds that I normally throw away shortly after. Are there any constructive uses for spent grounds, be it culinary, cleaning, or scent related?

They are very good as de-odourizers, we use them in the kitchen and sometimes in a small perforated plastic container in the footwell of the backseats in our car.

The fragrant smell lasts a long time also surprisingly.

Also it seems to be useful in fridges too.

That link lists the following:

Deodourize fridge
As a scouring agent
A cheap varnisher
Dye for paper
Promoting Hydrangea health
Ash absorber
Exfoliant
Cockroach trap
Fortifying plants
Compost

So the above is quite a good list of uses that could be applicable for your situation

I just found 34 uses here too, I have to say though that using ground coffee as a method for salting a path didn't work for me.

Additonal uses:

slug killer
mushroom grower
carrot and radish feed
worm attractor
cat deterrant (this didn't work for me)
play doh dirt
make a pin cushion
garbage disposal cleaner
drain cleaner
add weathering to wood
meat tenderizer
make energy bites
egg dyeing
coffee candle
make fossils
treasure stones
paint
flea bath
remove build up from hair
eye bag remover
deodorizing salt
salt scrub
face mask
path/road ice melter


Can the MahlKoenig EK43 be calibrated coarser? We just got in our new EK43; When we dial in to highest grind size (11 on our dial), it is much finer than what I would normally use for French Press, or even for Chemex or automatic drip.

Here are some pictures of grounds around a penny, to compare size.

Setting 1:

Setting 6:

Setting 11:

Yes you can adjust the calibration of grind size of the EK43.

Have the grinder plugged in and ready. Turn the adjustment knob all the way to the right. Losen the two screws on the sides of the knob slightly (turn the hexagon shaped screwdriver once). The screws are on the sides of the knob, fixing the big adjustment screw in the middle of the knob. Once they are losend you can use a flat head screwdriver or a coin to turn the screw in the middle of the know. Keep the knob totally turned to the right, to the smallest grind size setting.

So now normally you would turn it slowly to the right while your grinder is turned on until you hear a slight rattling sound. This sound occurs when the burrs are touching. Once you hear the sound, immediately turn the screw back by about ten degrees until the sound stops and the burrs aren't touching anymore. That is the standard calibration and the only one viable for espresso.

In your case you want to turn the screw further counter clockwise, so the burrs are further apart until you get the desired grind size. The maximum grind size will be coarser as well as the minimum. That also means that the grinder will not grind fine enough for espresso anymore.

I don't know if this is recommendable to do, I don't think anything can break. But I will also not guarantee it. To be sure write a mail to Mahlkönig. Also I think there are instructions in the grinder manual on how to calibrate it (to the standard espresso setting).


Tea vs. coffee paper filters: are they interchangeable? I consider using paper bags for tea as a substitute for paper coffee filters and I wonder: do they filter out as much solid material as coffee filters? The matter of fact is that not all paper filters for coffee are identical: some have smaller pores, others have larger ones. Larger pores allow more oils to leak into a cup, it makes a beverage of richer flavor, but does it not make it cloudy as well? And if all paper tea filters are identical, do I have to expect cloudy coffee strained through them?
P. S. What I was going to do with tea bags is either fill them with ground beans and submerge in water or filter brewed coffee through them leaving the grounds on the bottom of the vessel used for brewing. I wasn't going to use tea bags with a pour-over device.

They will function ok for your intended use. Some fines may get through and produce a bit of sludge in your cup.
Your bigger problem is that you won't be able to fit enough coffee into a standard size teabag to get good dosing. French press dosing is between 1:10 and 1:16 coffee to water ratio, which is 16-25g per 235mL or freedom 8oz cup. For the same size cup, you only need about 2g of tea. Teabags are sized for the latter. You may have to use up to ten per cuppa to fit the desired amount of coffee.


Is it possible to regrind beans? Is it possible to regrind beans?

I have about half a bag of very nice coffee in a semi-coarse grind, and I want to use a brew method (Melitta cone) that's more appropriate for a medium-coarse grind.

This is a pretty good way to ruin a burr grinder. Worst case scenario, your burrs jam up so much that they can't spin and burn out your motor. A blade could help, but I'd argue that the inconsistent grind you'd get wouldn't be much of an improvement in cup quality anyway. Realistically you'd end up with some of your grinds unchanged, some at the size you want and some ground to dust. The different sized particles would extract unevenly and the dust is likely to clog the filter.

That said, you're not going to break a blade grinder by regrinding, so give it a shot and see how you like the results. At most you're out 20-50g of coffee.


What's the difference between a percolator and a moka pot? What's the difference between a percolator and a moka pot?  For example, differences in the device itself, the method of use, and the resulting brew?  They seem somewhat similar, since both are stovetop coffee production devices. I see some questions tagged moka and percolator, but none yet seem to discuss the fundamental preparation method.

This question seems to suggest they are synonymous. Are there regional differences in use of these terms?

A moka pot is what some call a stovetop espresso maker; I find this to be a bit of a misnomer, because the result is rather different than proper espresso. Water is put into a bottom vessel; coffee grounds are placed on a perforated platform with attached cone, which is placed on/in the water vessel; a top holding tank with rubber gasket is screwed on top of the apparatus. The device is placed over a heat source, boiling the water;  the boiling water creates steam and pressure, which forces water through the grounds into the upper storage vessel.  The two chambers are separate, so the water is forced through the grounds once (upward). Somewhat similar to espresso, a moka pot develops some small amount of pressure to force (nearly boiling) water through grounds, though the pressure is much less than espresso (see also this answer). I don't think the grounds are meant to be tamped like espresso, either.

A percolator boils water and drips it over grounds continuously.  There is no separate storage vessel for the coffee once brewed; water (at first) or (partially-brewed) coffee is continuously boiled (passing up to the top of the chamber through a funnel/straw) and dripped over the grounds (which are instead at the top of the chamber, rather than in the middle as in the moka pot).  The brewed coffee ends up in the same place the plain water was at the beginning of the brew. Percolators often have a clever little clear cap in the middle of the top, so you can see when the brewing is occurring, and color of the brewed coffee.

I have both devices, and use them differently; e.g., a coarser grind for percolator.  I find the outcome of percolated coffee to be more like French press or perhaps drip; moka is more like Turkish coffee or espresso. Though similar in concept (stovetop coffee production devices), they're (to me) totally different in outcome.

I suspect, but I don't know, if there are regional differences in these terms.

Full disclosure: this meta question and my answer prompted this adaptation as a clarification question.


Is the Baratza Virtuozo+ worth it compared to the Encore? So I am kinda looking around for an upgraded coffee grinder. I am currently using a Braun KG7070. Super cheap, so not exceptionally good and doesn't really provide consistent grinds.
So I was looking around and the most obvious grinder seems to be the Baratza Encore. Used a lot and I heard good things about it. But I also saw that the Baratza Virtuozo+ provides even better grind quality. But it also costs about €100,- more. So I was wondering, is the Virtuozo+ worth it's money or should I go for the Encore?
I basically brew french press and pour-over currently. I know both aren't really well suited for espresso grinds, but I am not interested in that anyway so that isn't a problem for me.

You can upgrade the Encore with the burrs from the Virtuozo if you are handy with some basic tools. So even if you started with the Encore and then down the road decided you wanted an upgrade, you could spend just €40 and get the same grind quality.


Does coffee make you poop? what would speed up bowel movements which chemical compound causes that reaction.does it triggers higher stomach acid levels?

I found this:
"Caffeine within coffee can act as a stimulant, which might induce bile production that increases bowel movements. And some artificial sweeteners, and lactose, may have a laxative effect."

From: https://iffgd.org/lower-gi-disorders/diarrhea/common-causes.html


Is there a way to distinguish decaf from normal coffee? During a move I forgot which jar of ground coffee is decaf - usually I refer them by place they had. Is there any test I can perform at home to find out which jar is which type of coffee?

Only "Brew a pot and see if it wakes you up in the morning, or not." I can't think of any other test that is practical at home.
Other practical solutions -

Mix them and have half-caf until you buy new coffee.

Just buy new coffee, as if it was forgotten in the move.

And perhaps mark the containers in some way.
In the overall cost of moving, it's a small expense.


Most moka pots don't work on my induction stove. How can I still use them? Most moka pots don't work on my induction stove. How can I still use them?
I use a camping stove temporarily, but it requires me to buy gas refills every now and then. Is there an easier way?

Yes, you just need to get a pot that's made of the right stuff. Induction hobs only work with magnetic metals. If you can stick a magnet to your coffee pot, it will work. Traditional moka pots are made of aluminium, which is why they don't.

I have one that looks like this:

A quick search on Amazon should find you what you want, or enquire at your nearest big cookware store - the advisors there should be able to show you which ones will work (most will have indicators on the box in any case).


Are morning or breakfast blends/roasts more of a purgative than other blends/roasts? Coffee consumption and morning bowel movements. Are morning or breakfast blends/roasts more of a purgative than other blends/roasts?

No.

Breakfast blends are simply coffees which are blended to present a particular flavor.  Typically breakfast blends are lighter, and cleaner which are appetizing as a morning drink as opposed to a heavier, darker blend.  Honestly, there's no reason why this is a 'breakfast' blend, other than it has become pseudo-standardized by so many roasteries using the name connected with this style of blend.


Descaling Nespresso with citric acid Nespresso instructs its customers only to use lactic descaling solution or the guarantee may be void.
However lactic acid can be hard to get by and Nespressos own solution is heart-stoppingly expensive.

What could the reasons be not to use citric acid and is this a valid argument for the Nespresso machines?

My opinion is that you can use citric acid. That's all that I use and I use it with my espresso machines, drip coffer maker, and I have used with Nespresso and Keurig machines. It is food safe. I buy it at my local beer and wine supply store. I have read to to use 12 - 18 grams of citric acid to a liter of water. I believe many descale solutions are made from citric acid. I use 3 1/2 teaspoons of citric acid to 40 oz of water to make my descaling solution. You can follow the manufacturers suggested routine of descaling.


Different-tasting coffee in Vietnam/Cambodia When traveling in Vietnam and Cambodia, I noticed that the coffee had a very different taste, compared to anything I've had in the U.S.. I'm talking about black coffee, not Vietnamese coffee with condensed milk. It's hard to describe the difference; it seemed a little bitter or sour.

What accounts for this different taste? Is it arabica vs robusta? Or just a local difference in the beans?

"Robusta coffee accounts for 97 per cent of Vietnam's total output" - Wikipedia

It's very likely you were drinking local pure robusta coffee.  Among other things, the increased caffeine content makes it more bitter.  But, robusta flavor is also generally considered inferior to arabica.


What roast level is recommended for cold brew? With due credit to @Roland for his questions, I peeled off a related topic into a new question.

With any preparation, roast level is a bit of personal preference. However, certain roasts are more common or generally taste better with certain preparations (cf., "espresso roast" or so).

How about for cold brew? Aside from personal preference, is there something about cold brew that lends itself to better extraction with a certain roast level?

For example, a medium roast is recommended in both the cold-brew guide from Blue Bottle and the guide from Kicking Horse.

As noted in the Kicking Horse link above, cold brew will generally produce a lower-acid result (i.e., than the same coffee prepared by other methods). Generally speaking, lighter roasts will have higher acid content. The combination of these two seems to suggest (to me, anyway) to the conclusion that one can use lighter roasts for cold brew (i.e., lighter than you might otherwise enjoy).

Is there a good reason to use medium (or lighter roasts) with cold-brew? Or, alternatively: Is there some reason to not use dark roasts with cold-brew?

I'm going to answer this in terms of flavor, and then acid.

Generally, people choose more lightly roasted coffee to preserve the terrior flavors of the bean. These flavors usually come from unstable molecules that deteriorate quickly after the coffee is brewed. When coffee is brewed and consumed relatively quickly, the drinker can enjoy those flavors. Cold brew produces a more muddled mixture of flavors and relies more on mouthfeel and big flavors like sweetness, savory, earth, chocolate, etc. More delicate precise flavors are lost. It is also important to note that some fruit, vegetal, and herbal flavors are enhanced by the presence of acid, like adding lemon juice and tarragon to a fish filet.

So, it you are trying to avoid acid but you love the fruitiness of say, a medium roasted Kenyan single origin, you could cold brew it and see if you still get the flavors you want. If you hear about another light roasted coffee that has strong sweetness but is more acidic than you usually like, try it as a cold brew.

I.e. if acid is what is holding you back with specific coffees you want to try, try them as a cold brew. Just know that the lack of acid in the cold brew may make it a little lack-luster compared to a traditional cup, especially since tasting notes are made when evaluating hot brewed cup.

Darker roasted coffee as already lost more of the bean flavors and gained more roast flavors. If anything, I would say that a darker roast is going to have a more consistent flavor between hot and cold brewing simply because more of the delicate flavors have already been burned away. I would bet that Kicking Horse and Blue Bottle suggest a medium roast for cold brew because a medium roast preserves the beans own characteristics while introducing the roast flavors. This is why single origins are usually roasted to full city or less.

In summary, I would suggest that you find a coffee you like already as a french press or pour over and cold brew that regardless of roast. Lighter roasts may lose some of their complexity in a cold brew, darker roasts will mellow even more in a cold brew. As backwards as it is, I hope this helps!


The Barisieur Coffee Alarm and Coffee ground freshness The Barisieur Coffee and Tea Alarm Clock (pictured below) is quite a novel spin on the conventional alarm clock where before one goes to sleep they set up the alarm by putting water in the beaker and coffee in the filter, whereupon in the morning they awake to a fresh cup of coffee

My question
Won't leaving coffee grinds out overnight cause the coffee brewed the next day to be bland in the morning? This being said is there any way to have the coffee in there without it becoming bland overnight?

Define bland...

If you compare just-ground to ground last evening and left open, yes, as a connoisseur you will probably notice a difference.

Comparing store-bought pre-ground coffee, a few hours in the open won’t matter too much.

Plus, there are a few minor issues that may outweigh the “freshness” question: Morning breath? Being half-awake? Before the caffeine kicks in, I, for example, am in a somewhat zombie-mode. If it smells like coffee, I will probably drink it... Leaving the finer brews for a time when I can appreciate them.


How do I make my Turkish coffee immune to brewing temperature? I want to design Turkish coffee, but I keep finding that the taste is widely affected by the person who brewes the coffee and the temperature at which he does it.
I want to make my coffee immune to brewing temperature and techniques as much as possible, what should I do?

Whatever you do, Turkish brewing mostly reflects the proper technique.

Still, if you really consider temperature stability as your first concern; there is something you can do. Try to keep the temperature of the cezve intact.

To do so, you need lots of metal to evenly share and distribute the thermal capacity. But... Turkish coffee brewing must be done so quickly. Somewhere around 80 seconds at all. Then, you also need thermal connectivity; which boils down to thick copper.

Again, copper may be poisonous; so, it is plated. Better option is silver for better thermal connectivity. Second, cheaper option is tin. As you see, even a single cezve may cost a lot.

If you think your technique is advanced, stainless steel may do based on your budget.

Please see this previous answer:

Actual Cezve: advice for buying


Chemex Setting for Bay Area Costco Grinder Machines I recently bought Peet’s ground coffee at Costco for the first time. It's too fine for Chemex (although usable) so next time I plan to buy whole beans and grind them at the store (sorry, coffee aficionados).

I live in the Bay Area and the machines say San Francisco Bay Coffee. Does anyone know what setting I should use for Chemex?

I tend to go with a coarse grind for my Chemex, but ultimately, it should depend on the flow through rate and your desired extraction. It will always be fresher and more consistent if you grind it yourself and tune the grind to your brewing style. I dialed mine in by taste and timing, starting with the brewing recipe from George Howell Coffee.


Taste of coffee that has not rested long enough There is a lot of speculation about how long to allow coffee to rest after roasting prior to cupping, see this post and this post, and it has been discussed at length at home barista and other places too. But how would you describe the flavor of coffee that has not had adequate resting time? From experience with a particular bean generally roasted to City it seems that the flavor is tainted at 2 days. It is a much cleaner cup after 3-4 days. But I have trouble describing that particular flavor in SCAA terms other than "taint". It seems to be vaguely salty + a lot of something else very destinctive that I can not describe. I would like to be able to detect and describe that flavor when I move to another bean and profile to be able to better know whether the profile/batch was a dud or I need to recup in a few days.

To me, the more likely result of insufficient "rest time" is a lack of flavor. It tastes like coffee, but without enough depth of flavor. In that case, I will simply let it rest for two days, then try the coffee again. Usually there is a noticeable improvement.

In some cases, the flavor will not improve with more rest. That means that I did not roast the bean far enough. So I make a note to roast a bit longer (10 to 15 seconds) next time.