As some of you may know, Megann and I met when we were baristas, so we both make a mighty fine cup o’ joe. That means we also know more about coffee than the average bear. Here are a few things you may or may not know about that amazing smelling cup of sunshine!
1). The lighter the roast, the more caffeine it has. Most people think the opposite, because if it tastes so strong it made your nose hairs curl, it must be chocked full of caffeine! How it works, however, is that the more you roast the beans, the more caffeine you cook out of it. Think veggies… the more you cook them, the less nutritional they are. So if you drink the darkest they have, do it because you enjoy the flavor, not because you want the extra caffeine, because the light breakfast blend will actually give you more get up and go!
2). Espresso explained! Espresso beans are pretty much a really dark roasted coffee bean. (Some espresso beans are worth it, but don’t fret over buying the most expensive you can find!) The main difference is the grind. You know that super fine grind setting on your coffee grinder? That is the espresso setting. At home, fill your filter basket with your very finely ground coffee, give it a light shake back and forth to even it, press down with your tamper (thingy that you press down over the coffee) to even it out more, then really press it down without twisting. (This is called ‘tamping.’ Just to let you know how hard, you are technically supposed to use 20-40 lbs of pressure, depending on the ‘expert’ you ask). Use really clean water (explained in the next point) and brew away! Your shot should take about 25-30 seconds to come out of the machine. If it has a little layer of reddish/goldish brown on top (called crema), you will know you are on track! You will want to drink it really quickly or make your drink right away, because the longer you let it sit out, the more bitter it will become.
3). The cleaner the water, the cleaner the coffee taste. Ever wonder why you brew the same coffee as your favorite spot, but it doesn’t taste *quite* the same? They use very, very filtered water so that all you taste is the coffee flavor. Give it a try!
4). To keep your coffee fresh, don’t keep it in the freezer! Moisture kills it. Keep it in an air tight container in a room temperature location where no light can get to it and your coffee will stay fresh the longest!
If you have any other coffee questions, shoot it to us and we will do our best to answer!
