Brewing a Great Cup of Coffee

Respecting the Bean:

    The most important step to brewing a great cup of coffee is in the bean. Choose coffee that has been freshly roasted buy a quality roaster (ie- rarely found at the supermarket). Quality roasters know the importance of ripe beans, this is where fair trade is an assurance.

    If you must buy larger quantities, then store batches (1-2 weeks worth) coffee in sealed mason jars in the freezer. Do not store in an unsealed container as coffee is ruined by air and light and will take on odors in the freezer.

    When you remove a coffee batch from the freezer or open a fresh bag of coffee that will be used soon after, move it to an air tight, opaque container. If the coffee is in an environmentally friendly bag... it should be immediately be moved to proper storage.

The Grind:

    It is very important to grind the coffee as close to brewing time as possible. Burr grinders are the best as they produce a consistent grind and usually have "grind choices" to help you choose the correct size for your coffee maker. If you use a blade type grinder 15-20sec should be fine for drip coffee makers. For french press ~11-15 sec will due. Be sure to follow the directions that come with your grinder as all grinders are a little different and not following them could produce the wrong grind.

    If you are unable to grind your own coffee, we suggest you have the roaster grind it for you (Faircoffee.com has grind selections on each coffee). Do not buy pre-ground coffee from the store as the beans have usually been exposed to air for a long time... and since it is ground the coffee degrades at an accelerated rate. Proper storage is pivotal for ground coffee.

The Water

    We strongly suggest filtered water for making coffee. The difference is very noticeable. At Faircoffee.com we use water filtered through a reverse osmosis system to brew our coffee. Any filtered water will be better than tap water; bottled water is also a good option.

The Brew

    To brew coffee we suggest 2 heaping tablespoons of coffee per cup of coffee desired. Using less coffee will over extract the beans and make your coffee more bitter. If you like your coffee more mild brew coffee the same way and add water after brewing to your liking, then you can enjoy the full richness of your coffee beans.

     For coffee in a french press follow the suggestions above. Boil the correct amount of water, add to the ground beans, and stir. After 5 min push the plunger down to separate the coffee beans from the brew.

    Those using a drip coffee maker should be sure to remove the coffee from the heat as soon as it is done brewing, Continued heating will cause the coffee to become bitter.  We recommend using a coffee maker with a thermal carafe (not all carafe coffee makers are created equal).

Enjoy!