Getting the best from your coffee

I’m a big believer in quality coffee and if you’re buying decent fresh coffee, you want to make sure you are getting the best from it.

One of the most important things is storage. Your coffee, whether it’s beans or ready ground, should be kept in an airtight container in a cool dark cupboard, NOT in the fridge or the freezer. The reason for this is because coffee is porous, so whether it’s beans or ready ground, it will absorb any moisture and any odours in your fridge, so if you have anything that’s spicy, cheese, onions, garlic, anything with a smell to it , it will spoil your coffee.

Also avoid sunlight and heat. If your container sweats, the coffee will absorb the moisture and your coffee will be no good, so store in a dry cupboard away from your cooker.

When you make your coffee, don’t use boiling water or milk as it will burn the coffee and give it a bitter taste. The milk should be heated to around 155ºf or 68ºc. and the water once boiled, should be left for a couple of minutes so the temperature is about 185ºf or 85ºc. If you have to wait 20 minutes for your coffee to cool down before you can drink it, you’ve made it too hot and the flavour will be impaired. It’s easier to control the water temperature, but if you’re not too sure how hot your milk is, you can buy milk thermometers which will help.

If you’re lucky enough to be able to grind your own coffee, only grind small quantities at a time. Ready ground coffee has a lot less shelf life than beans so just grind enough for about a week, that way your coffee will be fresh.

Also make sure you have the right grind for the equipment. If your coffee is ground too fine, it will over extract, meaning it will taste bitter because the water takes too long to pass through the coffee. If you’re using an Espresso machine, It should take around 23 – 25 seconds to extract. If it’s too coarse, you will leave all the flavour behind because the water passes through too quickly and you will be left with a cup of coloured water.

We have lots more hints and tips about coffee, but always happy to answer your questions if you can’t find it here. Give us a call on 07894274876 or drop us an email [email protected]