The Coffee Drinker's Guide

In this episode we explore the part the often overlooked coffee grinder plays in brewing great coffee. I make the case for getting a grinder for the home and explain why, if you can afford it, it really should be a burr grinder. In this week’s FACQ answer we dig into how to look after your grinder to keep it in tip top condition.

Key features to look for when buying a burr grinder are:

• the evenness of the grinds it produces, 
• that it can grind a useful range of grind sizes
• a heavy duty motor to cope with the hardness of the beans.

Shout out to the podcast Happier in Hollywood who recommended The Coffee Drinker’s Guide on their show. You can check out that episode here and I also recommend listening to Happier in Hollywood to follow hosts Liz and Sarah as they navigate the world of show running and TV writing in the fundamentally insane world that is Hollywood. 

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If you’ve ever pondered the significance of the word ‘washed’ in a coffee’s description, you are not alone. In this episode we lift the lid on some ‘good to know’ coffee jargon that can have a profound effect on the flavour in your cup. This week’s FACQ poses an important question about the environmental impact of the washed coffee process.

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For most of our coffee drinking history we have habitually put additives - notably sugar, spices, milk and syrups - in our coffee to make it palatable to drink. But in the last 20 years or so this practice has become frowned upon by some people in Specialty Coffee who seem to be obsessed with making you drink coffee black. If you have ever wondered what the deal is with black coffee - or have been made to feel like an ignoramus simply by asking for the sugar and milk then this is the episode for you. This week’s FACQ takes a look at the use of flavoured syrups in coffee.

Check out the episode on coffee defects from Season 2 here:
Apple Podcasts
Spotify Podcast
On the Blue Sky Coffee website

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In this episode we tackle the question of how much coffee you need to use to brew a tasty cup and why the ubiquitous coffee scoop is not in fact the best tool for the job. It gets a bit technical as we get out the scales and get our heads around brew ratios so you may need to grab a biscuit to keep you going through this one! In this week's FACQ answer we dig into espresso brew ratios and what they actually mean in the cup.

How to use a brew ratio:
To work out how much coffee to use for each brew first measure the water your cafetière, coffee jug or if brewing by filter, your favourite cup, holds in millilitres. Divide that figure by the amount of water indicated in the brew ratio for your brewing method (see below) to get the amount of coffee you need to use in grammes. NB the coffee grounds will retain a little of the water, which is most noticeable when using the filter brewing method.

Example:
Using the brew ratio of 1:15 to brew 210ml (1 mug) of coffee you will need to use 14g of ground coffee, but to brew 600ml you will need 40g of ground coffee to achieve the same strength. If you use 600ml of water to brew 14g of ground coffee the brew ratio then would be 1:43 and the coffee will be horribly weak and over extracted.

The Specialty Coffee benchmark for a good extraction of coffee is:

• 55.5g of coffee per litre of water which is the brew ratio 1:18
• In other words: 1 gramme of coffee for every 18 millilitres of water used.

But this is not an absolute to be followed zealously.

Suggested brew ratios by brewing method:

• Cafetiere - between 1:12 to 1:15
• Cold Brew - to get a concentrate that you dilute: between 1:5 to 1:8; for a brew that you can drink undiluted use 1:12 to 1:15
• Clever dripper - 1:15
• Filter - 1:15 to 1:18
• Stovetop espresso/moka pot - 1:10 to 1:13
• Vacuum brewers - 1:15

These suggestions are intended as starting points. You can personalise to suit your taste by either adjusting the weight of coffee or the volume of water each time you brew until it tastes good to you - but not both at the same time!

Brew ratios for espresso shots:

• Ristretto - 1:1
• Espresso - 1:2
• Lungo - 1:3 to 1:4

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In this episode we’re exploring the topic of defective coffee beans which are beans with problems that make them taste bad. What exactly is defective coffee and how can you tell if you are unfortunate enough to be drinking a cup of it? All will be revealed along with the importance of defective beans in defining the quality of a coffee. This week’s FACQ asks the crucial question of how to avoid buying defective coffee.

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The word ‘acidity’ doesn’t sound particularly pleasing, especially as its so often associated with indigestion. So you might be surprised to discover that in the Specialty Coffee world acidity in coffee is both desirable and prized. In this episode we take a deep dive into acidity in coffee and find that it is about much more than just pH levels. That said, in this week’s FACQ we discover the actual pH of coffee and how it relates to other drinks. Is coffee more acidic than Coca Cola? Listen to find out!

The Academics of Acid in Coffee  is a readable article on coffee acidity by Five Senses Coffee in Australia. (https://fivesenses.com.au/blogs/news/academics-acid-coffee/)

Check out Season 1, Episode 1 on brewing water temperature and its influence on the acidity in coffee:
Apple Podcasts
Spotify Podcasts
On the Blue Sky Coffee website

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Buy my puzzle book 'Wordsearch For The Coffee Curious': amazon.com, amazon.co.uk

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Ever wondered about the significance of the word ‘Arabica’ on your coffee packet? In this episode we take a look at why Specialty Coffee is all about Arabica  and why Arabica coffee is so special. This week’s FACQ wonders where the plant came from in the first place and how it rose to dominate the coffee world. 

Check out the Robusta episode from Season 1 here:
Apple Podcasts
Spotify Podcast
On the Blue Sky Coffee website

Check out the coffee brewing equipment episode here:
Apple Podcasts
Spotify Podcast
On the Blue Sky Coffee website

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Buy my puzzle book 'Wordsearch For The Coffee Curious': amazon.com, amazon.co.uk

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Email: [email protected]
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Lusona website: https://www.lusonapub.co.uk

Did you know that the flavour of your coffee is influenced by the way that you brew it and especially the brewer that you use? Perhaps more mind blowing is that despite the many and various types of brewing kit available on the market there are actually only two basic methods of brewing coffee. This episode takes a look at the range of coffee brewing kit out there and how your choice of brewer may be affecting your coffee experience. This week’s FACQ tackles the question of the best way to brew coffee - and the answer may surprise you.

Coffee brewers by brewing method:

Immersion (the grounds are submerged in water)
Cafetiere, (also called a plunger or French press)
Cold brewers (e.g. the Toddy brewer)
Ibrik or cezve (also called Turkish coffee)

Percolation (water passes throughout the grounds)
Filter cone (also called drip or pour-over:  V60, Kalita Wave and Chemex)
Stovetop espresso brewer (also called moka pot or Bialetti) 
Espresso machines, including coffee pod machines

Hybrid brewers (these use immersion to extract the coffee then pass the liquid through a filter) 
Aeropress 
Clever dripper and Hario Switch brewer (basically the same thing but different brands)
Vacuum brewers (e.g. Siphon or Cona)

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Welcome to Season 2! This season we will be exploring various - potentially surprising - things that affect the flavour of your coffee. In this first episode of the new season we return to the topic of water. In Season 1, Episode 1, we covered the influence of the temperature of your brewing water on coffee extraction. This time it's all about the quality of the water that you brew with as the minerals, metals and salts in water not only affect its taste but also influence the extraction of the coffee too. This week’s FACQ tackles the best water for brewing coffee at home.

Check out Season 1, Episode 1 on brewing water temperature to complete the lowdown on brewing water:
Apple Podcasts
Spotify Podcasts
On the Blue Sky Coffee website

Bottled water:
Some numbers to use as a guide when buying bottled water to brew coffee with:

Magnesium levels of 3.5 - 8mg/l
Calcium levels of 12mg/l
Bicarbonate levels below 75mg/l. (Bicarbonate levels above this will flatten and mute fruit flavours, but increase the mouthfeel which is often seen as positive.)
pH: water that is slightly acidic, in the range of pH6 to pH7 produces coffees which have a bright, pleasing flavour.

Water filters:
Home water filter systems tend to focus on removing limescale and chlorine from the water but don't necessarily balance out the minerals in it, so may still produce poor tasting coffee. It may be worth trying out filter systems that add magnesium to the water as this can improve the coffee’s sweetness and balance.

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It's the season finale! In the last episode for this season we find out why that great coffee you just had was in fact a miracle in a cup. Discover just what had to go right all along the way from coffee bush to cup so that you could have a moment with your coffee. This week’s FACQ answers the frustrating question of why it is that when you find a good coffee it’s never there when you go back for it again.

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Buy my puzzle book 'Wordsearch For The Coffee Curious': amazon.com, amazon.co.uk

Get in touch!
Email: [email protected]
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Lusona website: https://www.lusonapub.co.uk