Cafetière or French Press
A simple brew guide for the common cafetière, or French Press as they are also known.
What you will need:
A cafetière, a kettle, freshly roasted coffee (coarsely ground), a grinder, weighing scales and a timer/stopwatch.
Method:
(Please note that this is based on using a cafetière with a 250ml capacity.)
1. First boil water in the kettle and then preheat the cafetière by adding some hot water.
2. Use the grinder to grind the coffee quite coarsely, (you can request to have your coffee beans ground on our website),
3. Discard the hot water from the now warm cafetière.
4. Use the weighing scales to add 16g of coffee to every 250ml of water i.e. 16g for 250ml, 32g for 500ml etc.
5. Pour the full 250ml of boiling water onto the coffee grounds gently and slowly. Try to make sure that the water soaks all of the coffee grounds as you pour. You want to avoid a patch of dry grounds floating on the top.
6. Stir to make sure the coffee and water are fully incorporated, put the lid onto the cafetière and set your timer for 4 minutes.
7. Gently press the plunger down, you shouldn’t feel too much resistance – if
9. Serve into mugs or cups. Serving the coffee immediately, rather than leaving it sat in the pot will reduce the amount of coffee fines in the bottom of your cup.
Note: 16g per 250ml is our recommendation, if you prefer a stronger cup then you can add more, and conversely add less for a much milder one.
Espresso
A simple brew guide for the common espresso machine
What you will need:
An espresso machine, freshly roasted coffee (finely ground) and a tamper.
Method:
1. Use the grinder to grind the coffee finely, (you can request to have your coffee beans ground on our website),
2. Fill your portafilter basket to the top with coffee grounds - this will be around 14-18g, depending on your machine
3. Using a tamper, apply even pressure to the coffee grounds - don’t push too hard, just ensure it’s level (if the coffee grounds are too compacted, the water won’t pass through)
4. Place your portafilter into the espresso machine’s group head
5. Start the water flowing by pushing the button, or by switching on your espresso machine. If your espresso machine has an automatic timer, don’t use it! You’ll get a better extracted shot of espresso if you keep an eye on it yourself.
6. The water should pour slowly, turning from dark brown to a pale blonde colour and thinning while it does so - that’s when you should stop the water. This will be between 25 and 30 seconds, making 40-50ml of espresso.
Pro-tip: Coffee’s flowing slowly, or not at all? Either use a little less coffee, if using pre-ground coffee, or use a coarser grind if you’re doing it yourself. Flowing too fast? Just do the opposite!
Moka Pot
A simple brew guide for the common Moka Pot
What you will need:
A Moka Pot, freshly roasted coffee, grinder
Method:
1. Boil water separately in a coffee kettle. Pro tip: If you will be using an electric stovetop or hotplate to heat your Moka Pot, it’s a good idea to start heating the element while the water is boiling so it is heated in time.
2. Use a coffee grinder and grind enough coffee to fill the filter basket evenly but don’t pack the grounds down. (The grind required for a Moka Pot is coarser than espresso). Brush away any loose grounds that are around the edges of the filter basket.
3. Set the basket aside.
4. Fill the bottom water chamber of the Moka Pot up with hot water to, up to the indicator line or just below the steam nozzle.
5. Assemble the entire pot and make sure it is screwed together properly - carefully place the filter basket chamber filled with ground coffee on top of the bottom chamber. The bottom chamber will be very hot from the boiling water so we recommend holding the bottom of the Moka Pot with a towel. Keep the Moka Pot upright during this process and avoid over-tightening the chambers.
6. Place on a heat source at medium heat and let sit. Leave the lid up so you can see what’s happening - you should see water gurgling slowly and evenly into the chamber, as is forced up through the ground coffee. Do not boil the water, heat just enough to force up through the coffee. If it rushes through too fast, you may have the heat too high.
7. Once you see the coffee initially make its way to the upper chamber, turn the heat down to about 50% of the original temperature.
8. Remove the pot from your heat source when the coffee reaches the bottom of the spout or all the water is spent. This should take between 4 and 5 minutes. Pro tip: Wrap the bottom of the Moka Pot in a cold towel, which will stop the extraction process and result in a sweeter, more full-bodied brew.
9. Once there is no more coffee being released, pour the coffee into espresso cups. Avoid leaving any excess coffee in the Moka Pot as it will become bitter if left for too long.