Jump to a brewing method:

• General Brewing Advice
• Espresso
• V60 Pour-Over
• AeroPress
• Stove Top (Moka Pot)
• Cafetière (French Press)

General Brewing Advice

• Grind fresh whenever possible: Whole beans stay fresher far longer than pre-ground coffee. For espresso, you'll get peak flavour and extraction from 7-14 days after roast date, giving the beans a chance to degas (release CO2 accumulated during roasting). For filter, this is 5-7 days. 
• Extraction happens in stages: First sour, then sweet, then bitter. If your brew tastes sour, this is what's known as "under extraction"; try grinding finer so the water gets time to extract those sweet flavours. If, on the other hand, it tastes too bitter, that's "over extraction"; try a coarser grind.   
• Suggested coffee-to-water ratios:
  • Cafetière: 12–15g (around 4-5 heaped teaspoons) per 250ml
  • Filter: 14–15g per 250ml
  • Espresso: 17–20g for a 35–40g liquid yield
• Water temperature: 94–96°C for light/washed coffees; 91–93°C for dark/natural/decaf.
• Use soft water: Water quality significantly affects flavour.

Espresso Brewing Guide

1. Use the correct dose for your portafilter or machine.
2. Grind your coffee, give the portafilter a couple of taps on the side, and tamp firmly and evenly. 
3. Extract for 25–30 seconds to get 35-40g of liquid coffee. If in that time you get less (over extraction) or more (under extraction), see General Brewing Advice tips above for what to do next.
4. Add milk if desired for:
   • Flat white – 140ml
   • Cappuccino – 160ml
   • Latte – 180ml
5. Clean your portafilter straight away.

V60 Pour-Over Guide

1. Place a paper filter in your V60 over your cup or carafe. 
2. Rinse the filter with hot water if using a brown, non-bleached filter (no need to rinse white, bleached filters as it won't impact flavour).
3. Add 15g of coffee and level the bed.
4. Pour 45g water to "bloom" and wait 30–60 seconds; this will help extraction. As a general rule, the closer to the roast date and/or the lighter the roast, the longer the bloom required.
5. Slowly pour up to 150g and wait 10 seconds, before doing three more pours with 10 seconds in between each, up to 250g.
6. Swirl gently to finish and expect a total brew time of 2.5 - 4 minutes (will vary depending on bloom duration, and slightly longer if decaf).

AeroPress Guide

1. Place a paper filter and set up your AeroPress over a mug.
2. Add 15g of coffee.
3. Pour 200g hot water and stir gently 3–4 times.
4. After 2 minutes, give it a gentle swirl and wait for another 20-30 seconds.
5. Press down gently, it should take around 30 seconds. Pressing should not take too much effort; if it does, try grinding a bit coarser. If the opposite happens and there's no resistance, try with a finer grind.

Stove Top (Moka Pot) Guide

1. Fill the base with hot (not boiling) water just below the valve. The less water you add, the more concentrated your drink will be.
2. Add 30-35g of coffee to the basket of a 3-cup Moka Pot.
3. Use a medium-fine grind. Give the basket a little tap on the side, level the coffee bed, but don’t tamp.
4. Heat on a low-to-medium heat with the lid open, watch out for the coffee starting to brew and reduce the heat to the lowest setting. 
5. Remove from heat as soon as gurgling starts, and cool under water to stop the brewing.

Cafetière (French Press) Guide

1. Add 30g coffee to your cafetiére for two people.
2. Pour in 500ml of hot water. Stir gently.
3. Let steep for 4 minutes.
4. Skim the top foam-grounds, stir gently, and let steep 4 more minutes.
5. Plunge slowly and serve immediately or transfer to a separate carafe.