Koffee Rite

Specializing in single origin/micro lot coffees.

[koffeerite]

Keep in mind when you grind...

It is important to use the correct grind for your preferred method of extraction.

Grind size affects the extraction rate because it affects surface area. Beans that are coarsely ground have less surface area than the same amount of finely ground beans.

Whether course or fine, a uniform grind size is much better than a nonuniform size because the extraction rate of the oils and acids in the coffee will be consistent. You won't have large pieces that under-extract and small pieces that over-extract. It's for this reason that you'll want to get yourself a quality burr grinder (as opposed to a blade grinder).

Burr Grinder good.....

Blade grinder not so good....

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What's in a Cup?

Now that you understand how to brew a great cup of koffee, let's talk about what's going on in that cup you love so much.

Most people know that different brew methods produce different cups. But why this is the case is not so obvious. The answer is chemistry, which divides the world into soluble and insoluble compounds.

Soluble particles are extracted from the koffee grounds and contribute to the clarity of flavor and aroma, while insoluble particles primarily contribute to the body of koffee. A koffee's body (light, medium, or full) describes its thickness (or mouth feel) due to the amount of dissolved and suspended solids and oils extracted from the koffee grounds. Koffee's body may range from thin and watery to thick and creamy. 

Since a roasted koffee bean is made up of both soluble and insoluble particles, the way you balance those during the extraction process determines the resulting character of your cup.

Do you prefer a rich and gritty, full bodied koffee? You'd probably like the french press. If you like a cleaner, lighter cup that can highlight the citrus notes from South American koffee or the berry notes in an African koffee for example, you might like to try a pour over. 

Everyone's preferences vary, but once you select your method you can further fine tune your koffee by adjusting some variables which we will discuss in the next posts. 

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How to Make Great Koffee: Five Simple Principles

1. Buy good koffee beans: Buy whole beans, roasted within the past two weeks. For clarity of taste try a lighter roast. With some darker roasts you're missing out on a range of subtle flavors that get destroyed with over roasting.

2. Grind your koffee just before brewing: Koffee has many delicate flavor compounds that deteriorate when exposed to oxygen. The number one thing you can do to improve your koffee flavor at home is to grind your koffee just before you brew it.

3. Store your koffee properly: Generally with roasted koffee you should only buy what you can consume in a week or less. Beans should be kept in an airtight container and away from sunlight. A major point of debate in the koffee world is whether or not to freeze your koffee. We fall somewhere in between. If it's going to be more than two weeks before brewing, we say go ahead and freeze the koffee if you like but the most important part is to make sure the container is airtight.

4. Use the right proportion of coffee to water: A major error people make is not using enough koffee. We like to use two heaping tablespoons or about 20g of koffee for a 6-8oz cup. This makes a fairly strong cup so you can start with this ratio and adjust it from there depending on what you like. 

5. Focus on technique: No matter what your preferred method of extraction is, brewing great koffee is about precision and consistency. Each brewing method has its own techniques, so practicing your method over and over will lead to improvements in your koffee making abilities. 

  It's not rocket science: There's probably more than a hundred ways to make great koffee and you don't have to have fancy equipment. Learn how to select, and handle your koffee. Use the correct grind for the brewing method. Learn the correct water to koffee ratio, and practice with your equipment regularly to improve your techniques. 

In the following posts we will describe ways to dial in your flavor and brew method preferences. 

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This is our new koffee roaster made by a company in Washington state. It takes about 15 minutes to roast 2 lbs of green koffee. 

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People all over the world enjoy their Koffee with a K…

Bulgarian: kafe Chinese (Mandarin): kafei Danish: kaffe (pronounced kah-FEY) Esperanto: kafo Filipino/Tagalog: kape German: der Kaffee Greek: kafés (pronounced ka-FACE) Hebrew: ka-feh Icelandic: kaffii Indonesian: kopi

Japanese: koohii Korean: keopi or ko-pyi Latvian: kafija (pronounced ka-fee-ya) Lithuanian: kava Macedonian: kafe Norwegian: kaffe Polish: kawa (pronounced kava) Russian: kofe (pronounced koe-fee)

Swahili: kahawa Turkish: kahve (pronounced kah-VEY) Ukrainian: kavy or kava Yiddish: kave

[koffeerite]

Kof·fee Rite

noun \kaw-feeˈrīt\ : A ceremonial act or practice that is customary among groups of individuals who love coffee.