How to Brew the Best Coffee

“It all counts: the bean, the roast, and the barista”, by Sherri Johns.

Follow these tips to a great cup of coffee!
Buy your coffee locally and often! Buy only 2 weeks of fresh roasted coffee at a time.  Coffee is a food and like all foods it goes bad.  Coffee only stays fresh for about 8-12 weeks after it is roasted. Any longer, it turns acidic and gathers an aftertaste and bite – it turns sour.  If coffee tastes bad, it is!  It’s almost impossible for large coffee manufacturers and distribution companies to get coffee on the grocery shelves within 8 weeks.  In fact, their beans are usually 6 months to a year old, and it does not matter what kind of seal bags are used.  Buy your coffee locally and freshly roasted.

Store coffee in an air-tight container – NEVER, NEVER in the refrigerator or freezer. Fresh beans are degassing.  When they are put in a cold environment, the gases fall back on the beans and ruin the coffee.  Remember back in the day when our mothers/grandmothers had flour, sugar, coffee and tea in canisters on the kitchen counter?  They were right!

It’s the Bean, the Roast and the Barista – it all counts!

How to Brew Coffee

Grind the coffee right before you brew.   The grind is important – makes a big difference.  If you love coffee, get a good grinder.
Brew only one pot, or however much you are going to drink, at a time.
Don’t keep coffee on the heating plate! It creates a chemical taste in the coffee.  If there is coffee left over, store it in a thermos to maintain freshness.
2 rounded Tablespoon of coffee to 6 ounces of water.  Measure your water!!!!

How to Make a French Press

The French Press is a great way to make a powerful cup of coffee quickly and simply at home.
Use course grind coffee. The recommended serving is 2 rounded tablespoons coffee per 6 oz. of water or 2 flat tablespoons per 5 oz. water.
Use filtered or bottle water.  If bottle, we recommend Fiji.
The water should be just off the boiling point. To do this, after the water boils, use it to warm your cup and measure the water in a glass measuring cup (not plastic) before pouring into the French Press.  It should be the perfect temperature by then.
Pour so all of the coffee is wet.  Quickly stir with a wooden utensil (chop sticks/spoon), not metal, to settle the fresh beans.  (A metal stirrer will give the coffee a metallic taste.)
Let stand 4-5 minutes depending on how strong you like it.
Push the plunger down slowly.
Enjoy a fabulous Sommo cup!