Brewing Guide
Brewing coffee at home can be an enjoyable and rewarding experience, but it can also be a bit daunting if you're not sure where to start. With so many different brewing methods and variables to consider, it can be overwhelming to know how to make a great cup of coffee. Whether you're a beginner or an experienced coffee lover, this guide will help you brew a delicious cup of coffee that's tailored to your tastes. So grab your favorite mug and let's get brewing!
- Place the V60 funnel directly onto a cup or serving jug
- Insert a paper filter and rinse thoroughly with hot water from your kettle. This will wash away any paper taste and warm your cup
- Weigh-in medium-ground coffee. Start with 17g of coffee per 250 ml of water. (Use more coffee for a stronger coffee, and adjust the ratio for a bigger yield).
- Take a kettle just off the boil and slowly pour it around 30ml in a circular motion, all over the grinds. This allows the coffee to ‘bloom’ (where trapped gas escapes). Leave to bubble for 30 seconds
- Slowly pour a further 70-100ml over the grinds, leave to drain through.
- Repeat twice more until you’ve used the allocated water.
Tip: The grinds need to be fine enough to extract maximum flavour as the water passes through, but not so fine the water takes too long and over extracts. If it is too slow try a coarser grind.
- Place the plunger 1cm into the cylinder and invert/turn upside down (with rubber pointing up)
- Add 15g of medium or medium-fine coffee (approximately 1 scoop), 20g if you want something stronger
- Pour 30ml of hot water over the grinds and let the coffee bloom for 30 seconds
- Slowly add water until the chamber is full. Stir
- Rinse filter paper to remove any paper flavour, place in plastic mesh lid and screw onto cylinder
- Push down gently until you remove any trapped air
- Turn AeroPress the correct way up and place it onto a cup
- Plunge
- Thoroughly warm the cafetiere with hot water
- Add coarse ground coffee. Start with 75g of coffee per litre of water - this works out to roughly 2 heaped dessert spoons per mug.
- Slowly pour required amount of hot water over the coffee, ensuring all the grinds get wet. Leave for 3-4 mins.
- A thick crust of coffee will have formed at the top. Gently break this with a spoon, pushing the coffee down. Scoop up any leftover bits and remove.
- Leave for a further 2-3 minutes to allow the coffee to gradually settle at the bottom, then plunge
- Ensure the moka pot is thoroughly clean. A buildup of coffee oils can affect taste.
- Fill the bottom section with hot water, up to the two metal studs on the side. Using cold water will cause the coffee to get hot from the stove before it has any contact with the water
- Fill the basket with finely ground coffee (slightly coarser than espresso grind) Do not tamper (compact) the coffee. The Moka pot does not generate enough pressure to cope with compacted coffee.
- Place onto the heat source and keep the lid open so you can observe the flow of brewed coffee.
- The first bit of brewed coffee to trickle out of the spout will be the strongest. Once the flow goes clear extraction is complete. Remove from the heat and run cold water over the bottom section, or wrap in a wet cloth. This stops extraction and prevents you from getting bitter coffee.
All filter machines are different, so here are some general tips:
- Grind: There are two options: if the basket where you put the coffee has a flat base, use a medium grind. If it is cone-shaped, use a finer grind, as this design encourages gravity to pull the water through more quickly.
- Water: Use filtered water where possible. This will make a massive difference, especially if you live in a hard water area.
- Cleaning: Regularly clean using a de-scaler to remove build-up of limescale from the water tank. Wash the basket between uses to remove coffee oils.
- Consistency: Try and be consistent with how much coffee and water you use each time. 60-70g of coffee per litre of water is a good starting point.
- Time: Don’t leave the coffee too long. After 30 minutes, the coffee being warmed in the jug will start to spoil.
Here is a simple way of making it for yourself at home. As a guide, use a water to ground coffee ratio of around 8:1:
- Place 100g of coarsely ground coffee in a cafetiere.
- Pour over 800ml of room temperature water and stir.
- Cover and leave in the fridge overnight.
- Slowly plunge, effectively filtering the coffee is key here.
- Add ground coffee to the upper cylindrical cup of the filter.
- Tamp the grounds lightly with the press disc to form a uniform layer. Please take care not to tamp too hard.
- With the press disc remaining in place, fix the upper cup on top of the bottom chamber.
- Pour your boiled water into the upper cup and cover it with the lid.
- Let the coffee decoction drip slowly from the top chamber to the bottom.
Final Cup
- In a small cup/traditional Deborah, add 30 ml of the above decoction.
- Slowly add 60 ml of boiling hot milk, pouring from as far away as possible to create bubbles.
- Coffee is typically served after pouring back and forth between the Deborah and a tumbler.