10 COMMANDMENTS OF SPECIALTY COFFEE

by Jon Clark January 10, 2017

1. Always, always, always get freshly roasted coffee

You wouldn’t eat stale groceries, would you? So, why drink stale coffee? Your coffee should have a roast date on it if not, don’t buy it.

2. Know what you are drinking

Get to know your coffee, where it grew, what region and how was it processed? So take a moment and say hi to your coffee. Amazing people put it a ton of work to grow, export and roast your beans!

3. Store your coffee in whole beans

Coffee degases faster when it is ground. So keep it in a sealed container (mason jar) and keep it in whole beans until you are ready to brew.

4. Only grind what you will need

If you are making one cup then grind enough for that one cup. You should probably ask if anybody else wants a cup too though. Just because you are such a nice person… right?

5. Try different brewing ratios

It’s never set in stone, but I suggest you try a ratio of 30 g coffee to 500 ml water for pour over and 17 g to the brim of an Aeropress. Again, many people might agree or disagree with you or I. Their opinion doesn’t matter, yours does.

6. Rinse filters with hot water

You have probably heard it before, but this gets rid of the papery taste in filters. Rinse with hot water and pour it out.

7. Drink your coffee however you like

Who cares what others think? This is your cup and you should put your name on it!

Just know that normally coffee requires sugar, milk and/or cream because it is crappy to start with. Good coffee will be delicious black or not. Take this as my suggestion, but not as a rule. Enjoy it however you like.

8. Meet cortado, cappuchino, americano, and the rest of the gang.

The more you explore, the more you will find there is a ton of drinks and you will definitely hear or see them written up in cafes. Here is a great guide to get your stared.

9. If you want consistency, you got to measure consistently.

Believe it or not, making coffee is like developing a recipe. You measure the ratio of water to beans to grind size to days after roasting over and over again. This will help make your cup perfect, every single time.

10. Experiment

Be a mad scientist, try new brewing methods every day!

I use Chemex, Hario, Siphon, Kalita Wave and Aeropress depending on how I'm feeling that day. Do you have to? Of course not! But I am able to know what I like and how I like my coffee because I experiment. You should too!

Thanks for reading and happy brewing!