Pre-Launch Espro Press Win! - Lucky me :)

I was picked from @esproblog on Twitter to recieve a pre-launch Espro Press! It was a contest over labor day and I was quite surprised to get the notification. This press pot is due in stores within the next month.

The Espro Press has been in development by the team at Espro for a while. You may know of Espro from their other popular products, the Calibrated Tamper or the Toroid Milk Pitcher. They focus on quality products so I can hardly wait to be able to get my hands on the Espro Press and give it a go.

Once I get this in from Canada I'll do a full review and video showing the press pot. Cheers!


From Espro:

How it works

The espro press is a precision coffee brewer. It preserves all of the freshly brewed flavours and aromas by micro-filtering twice with a unique metal filter. This micro-filter keeps grounds out of your cup, and lets the aromatic oils in.

Why is there a double filter? Why must it come apart for cleaning?

The double filter allows for staged filtering - a slightly more coarse filter in the lower (basket-shaped) filter separates the majority of the grinds from the dissolved solid. The upper (disk-shaped) filter completes the job, with a much finer mesh than in any other press. The result is the ultra-clean coffee, with cleanliness of a vacuum-brewer and the ease-of-operation of a french-press!

Home Roasting in the Behmor 1600 - Ethiopia Amaro Gayo

In this video I show you the roasting process of some Green Ethiopia Amaro Gayo coffee beans in the Behmor 1600 roaster. Take a look see just how easy and fun home coffee roasting is! This was my 10th roast in the Behmor and I'm having a great time and loads of success with it so far.

Kona Cloud Coffee Medium Roast Review

This was to be my first experience of 100% Hawaiian Kona so when I was told some was being sent for my review I was excited to receive it. While waiting for my shipment to arrive from FedEx I did a little background research on Kona Cloud Coffee Estates and found that it’s a company born out of a passion and love for both Hawaii and coffee by owner James Ameika.

Kona Cloud started by finding a plot of land in Kona and planting coffee trees in 1997 and had its first harvest in 2000. Their business plan is to grow their Kona beans in Hawaii and then ship those green beans to their roasting facility in Jonesboro Arkansas. This keeps their costs down and provides us with freshly roasted 100% Hawaiian Kona stateside.

Once I received the coffee I first noticed it was packaged in the best zip-loc degassing valve bag for freshness. The beans were beautiful and opening the bag I was enveloped with an amazing aroma.

I decided I wanted to try this Medium Roast as three different brewing methods. First in the Yama Vacuum Brewer, secondly in the Clever Coffee Dripper and finally as a shot of espresso. Each method I was met with success. The medium roast is still a bold cup of coffee and I was pleased with the chocolate notes that came through while maintaining a fruity undertone. The sweet body of this brew was a remarkable experience to say the least. Both the vac pot and full immersion brew techniques delivered a beautiful extraction from these beans. I was also very impressed with the crema I got when I tried it as a shot of espresso.

Although I could tell these beans were fresh from the bloom I got when making my brew, I wish Kona Cloud would roast date their bags so people know just how fresh it is. Kona Cloud Medium Roast is available for $12.50 a half pound. If you’re looking to try some Kona, give this family run business a try. The love they put into these beans is very evident!

Have a Hario V60 Pour Over!

Continuing the exploration of different brewing methods brings me to the pour over drip method. There are several options in the category of pour over but I’ve found the best results using the Hario V60. Hario products come from Japan and are of very high quality. Hario in Japanese means “The king of glass” and they sure are! All the items I’ve handled are made of very durable glass and ceramic.

So how does a Hario V60 with a big hole in the bottom make a good cup of coffee? Well with the Hario V60 it’s all about the pour. Controlled pouring allows for full extraction of the coffee beans. You’re essentially coaxing the goodness out of the beans from the very first pour. I’ll explain in more detail when I give some brewing tips.

Along with the big hole, The Hario V60 also has a pattern of curved ridges that assist in the flow of water during the extraction process. The filter used with the Hario is also a bit different in that it is a full cone shape with a point to direct the flow of coffee leaving the filter.

This is a method of brewing I use every morning with my first cup of coffee. I find the hands on approach exciting and a good way to wake me up. It delivers an amazing cup of java that is sure to please.

Some method tips on using the Hario V60:

1. Start to boil your water. (Filtered water recommended) I boil more then I need to have plenty for rinsing and extraction.
2. As always … Start with fresh roasted beans! I measure out 26 grams of coffee (about 2 of the Hario scoops) and place it in the grinder until my water is ready.
3. As the water approaches boil I place my filter in the Hario V60 and rinse it with the hot water. This gets rid of any paper taste which can really ruin any single cup brewing method quickly!
4. Grind the beans. I grind a little finer then normal drip. Place in your wet filter.
5. You want to end up with about 14oz. of coffee with this amount of coffee so measure it out from your hot water and place it in something you can pour from.
6. Bloom your coffee! Yes bloom! This means wetting your beans with the smallest amount of water to get the extraction process started. You should see bubbling as gas escaping if you have fresh coffee. Let this sit for 30-45 seconds.
7. Water just off the boil around 201 – 205ºF should be used in the following method:
• Pour slowly in the center in a circular motion
• Do not hit the edge of the coffee as this will disturb the extraction of the coffee allowing water to run down the inside of the Hario V60 into your container of extracted coffee
• Do not fill above the line of the coffee with water
• Stream your water in a slow controlled circular stream - The Hario V60 Buono Drip Kettle will make this a breeze!
8. Enjoy the efforts of your work with a great cup of coffee. Total time should only be about 2-3 minutes.

Here are a few pictures from a recent brewing. Cheers!Tom

French Press Brewing Method

In my opinion the best coffee comes from a method using a full immersion technique. There are a few options out there, but today I'm going to talk about the French Press also known as a Press Pot.

So what is full immersion? It's basically a method in which your freshly ground coffee is in direct contact with the heated water for a given time to perfectly extract the brew.

The French Press provides a method of blending your coffee and water with a "press" mesh filter to plunge the grounds to the bottom and stop the extraction. It's a pretty simple process that produces an amazing cup of coffee. After my first burr grinder, my French Press was the second serious piece of coffee equipment I purchased and I've never looked back.

Brewing with a French Press is pretty easy. Using these steps and tips will result in a rich and robust cup of coffee like you have never had before.

1. Use freshly roasted whole bean coffee
2. Grind the beans to a medium to course grind
3. Use 2 tablespoons per 6oz. cup of coffee you are making
4. Use water just off the boil about 195°-205°
5. After adding your water to the coffee give it a quick stir with ac hopstick to ensure there are no dry air pockets of coffee and to start the coffee blooming process more efficiency
6. Normal brew time could be anywhere from 3-5 minutes depending on the coffee and your taste preferences. Test out a few methods and note your taste results and make needed changes on yournext brew.

All in all the French Press is winner for making great coffee with pretty basic equipment. It's great at home or even while camping since you just need to add coffee and boiled water. You may notice some coffee "sludge" at the bottom of your cup when finishing. I enjoy this last sip! If you don't, just know to skip it. You can also try grinding coarser the next time but a small bit of this is to be expected with this brewing method.

Single Cup Brewing with a Keurig

If you read my first blog post you know I spoke about automatic drip brewers as a way of coffee extraction. Another option in this method is a single cup brewer. The Keurig system does use some pressure during the brewing and therefore it’s a bit different then a normal drip method. You actually can end up with a small amount of crema on top!

I have the Keurig B60 Special Edition Brewing System and it’s proved to a hit with my family. Over the Christmas holiday everyone loved being able to choose their own coffee, tea or cocoa. Some wanted a bold brew and some wanted a flavored coffee. Choice and easy clean up are the true benefit of a Keurig.

The machine is sturdy and built to last but let me say Keurig customer service is top notch should you have any questions or problems.

The B60 has a few great features I wanted to highlight:

• Variable Brewing Temperature

• Auto on/off timer so it’s ready for you when you wake up and no need to remember to shut it off before you run out the door for work
• 3 Brew Sizes 6 oz, 8 oz, 10 oz – although the same amount of coffee isused for each so you need to find what flavor/strength setting works for you

The K-Cup selection available is amazing these days. And though I do prefer to use fresh ground coffee, these K-Cups stay pretty fresh as they are ground then sealed air tight and not opened until used by the machine. Saying that, I did a review of the Keurig My K-Cup Reusable Filter Basket which I tell about how you can use your own freshly ground coffee bought through ROASTe in your Keurig! I love doing this and honestly it’s usually what I do when using the machine. The family picks from the selection of K-Cups I have on hand most of the time.

After the holiday season was over both my parents and sister bought a Keurig. I think that says they enjoyed using mine! If you’re looking for fast single cup brew method I would not hesitate in purchasing a Keurig.

Exploring my brewing methods of the bean : Automatic Drip

Over the years I've expanded my knowledge of coffee and have explored both various blends from many roasters and with that several different brewing methods.

My initial thoughts for this blog post were to discuss the various brewing methods I have tried to date and then explore those I have yet to. I hope you find it useful and feel free to leave comments.

First and most common would be automatic drip. It's the "gold standard" in coffee preparation for many yet in my opinion it has contributed to people enjoying bad coffee in the US. The combination of stale ground coffee used by many and poor temperature control for brewing are the areas that cause me to say this method one of my least favorite to date. I do have a Cuisinart Brew Central that I use for larger gatherings and it does a nice job with fresh beans.

It's not a secret that an automatic drip machine is very convenient for everyday use. If you're someone who likes the convenience here are a few tips to better coffee in an auto drip machine.

1. Use fresh beans and grind to brew. I recently reviewed a nice Maui Red by Armeno Coffee as a suggestion.
2. Use the proper grind and dose. You may need to play with these variables with a new machine to find what works for you.
3. Rinse your paper filter with hot water to remove the paper taste before adding your freshly ground coffee. Better yet buy a permanent mesh filter appropriate to your machine and avoid this step.
4. If you're someone who drinks from a pot of coffee over several hours, consider one with a thermal carafe. These do not have heating elements at the bottom of the pot to keep the coffee warm. Over time warmers deteriorate the flavors of the coffee so using a thermal carafe eliminates this problem and keeps your coffee warm and in an oxygen free environment for the freshest taste. Be sure to pre-warm your carafe with hot water before brewing to keep your brewed coffee hot for the longest possible.
5. Use filtered water. Coffee is mostly water so start with the good stuff!
6. Use fresh beans ... Did I say that already?

In my upcoming posts I will explore other methods such as the French Press, Aeropress, Pour Over, Moka Pot, Vacuum/ Siphon brewing, Cold Brewing and Espresso Machines!

Cheers!

Tom