People take coffee very seriously. I know from conversations with partners, friends and work colleagues that if you screw up someone’s coffee it could ruin their whole day. Whether you have never had a cup of coffee in your life or you know your liberica from your excelsa, we want to delve into the world of coffee to make sure you know enough to impress your coffee loving friends and to put you on the path to making better coffees.
When it comes to beans there are four main varieties. Liberica and Excelsa are not that popular. The majority of people drink either arabica or robusta. Arabica tends to be a little bit sweeter and reminds you a little of wine. Robusta has a stronger overall flavor with a peanutty aftertaste. While that may seem easy, that is just your entry level knowledge. From there, there are the considerations of country and brand and people can be quite picky when it comes to both.
After you choose your bean you should get them freshly roasted and if you can grind them at home. Beans ground at home are always better. Coffee aficionados say that grinding your own beans gives a fresher taste and of course if you are experimenting with different brewing techniques you may want to try different sized grindings.
The simplest thing to get wrong and the most important thing to get right, is the coffee to water ratio. Everyone generally likes their coffee differently. Some drink strong coffee, some drink weak coffee and it is important that you know how you like it and how the important people in your life like it. To start with go for 2 tablespoons of coffee to 250 ml of water then you can add more coffee if you would like it stronger or put in slightly less.
There are many ways to brew your coffee and everyone swears they have the best method. If you go with a very standard coffee machine you have very little control over the process. This means that most coffee snobs are very unimpressed with this approach. If this is your approach, keep it quiet.
The french press is well respected in coffee land. It is an entry level choice to being a coffee snob. If you have a french press it means you do more work but have a lot of control. It doesn’t guarantee a good cup of coffee every time so you need to know what you are doing. If you choose the right bean, water temperature and brew time it will be delicious.
We hope that you learned a little bit more about coffee in this crash course. We are just trying to get you into the game, it is your job to perfect it. Become an exceptional coffee maker and you will be loved in your office and home. Become too good and people will plague you for coffee relentlessly. Use your newfound knowledge wisely.
