Proper coffee brewing

Yes, you can be proper with your coffee brewing methods. It’s not as simple as set and forget, but it doesn’t have to be difficult! We use a kitchen scale, a measuring cup and a Baratza Virtuoso+ grinder, but you can get away with pre-ground coffee and a drip brewer- just make sure you get your proportions right!

If you’re going to use an automatic drip brewer, be consistent with your proportions. We would suggest about 2oz of coffee per 4 cups of water. Most store bought coffee comes ground to this brew method, but if you’re grinding it at home, it should be slightly finer than medium (18 on the Baratza). It may seem like a lot of coffee but you’ll notice the difference in taste (and you won’t have to hit that BOLD button that comes on your machine).

If you have a Keurig or single cup brewer and a cup that allows you to fill it up with grounds, grind this coffee at a finer level (12 on the Baratza) and fill the cup with the desired amount, proportioned to your yield.

Now lets get fancy. Are you an at-home barista? I think I’m almost there, but I can claim that title until I make coffee drinks that aren’t just coffee and water. But what can I say? I’m a purist at heart.

Hario (single cup pour-over)

18g coffee, ground at a medium-fine level (15 on the Baratza)

300mL of hot water

Chemex (pour-over)

45g coffee, ground at a medium level (20 on the Baratza)

750mL of hot water

Moka Pot

The suggested proportions for this can be a bit outrageous. We like to wing it, and in-fact the Moka pot kind of has it’s measurements built in. We fill the reservoir with warm/hottish water up to the valve. The amount varies depending on the size you have. Then grind your coffee at a fine level (12 on the Baratza) and fill up the coffee “basket.” That’s it! The art of this brew method is proper heating of the water. You want to add the coffee already hottish so that it steeps the coffee at an even level. Place the pot over a low heat source (we prefer gas flame). If your pot starts sputtering, the flame is too high and you’ll scorch your coffee. If should be a constant, controlled flow. Oh! Leave the lid open while you brew so you can observe.

French Press

38g coffee, ground coarse (28 on the Baratza)

500mL of water

Aeropress (quick, easy espresso!)

15g coffee, ground finely (12 on the Baratza)

150mL of water

For a less-strong, quick cup use 11g to 150mL. They also make larger Aeropress now so scale that up with however much you’d like to brew!

Espresso

Espresso is an art in itself and probably requires it’s own post, for now stick to this:

1:2 ratio of coffee to water.

Grind your coffee to a super fine level (8 on the Baratza) and for as much coffee you use, your cup should weigh double that. You can calibrate your machine accordingly. If you’re using 18g of coffee, your cup should yield 36g of espresso.

NOW you can be proper with your coffee brewing methods 🙂 Check out our store for some delicious coffee to brew at home!