Coffee Journal — Brewing Tips

Time & Temperature = 'Flavorful' Coffee

Posted by Justin Smay on

When you're brewing 'Flavorful' Coffee, two of the biggest improvements you can make are in controlling Time & Temperature. We've talked about this in previous Journal Entries, but its worth looking over again. Brewing GREAT coffee at home - coffee that tastes like it does at the café - is difficult PRIMARILY because of the temperature that brewers like Mr Coffee & Keurig achieve. (Coffee should be brewed around 200 Degrees Fahrenheit; Home Brewers typically max out around 185F.) It is possible to work around these brewing limitations at home by simply using more coffee or grinding SLIGHTLY finer. This will add...

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Brewing A Proper Coffee

Posted by Justin Smay on

During the Holidays, everyone enjoys WOWing their guests with delicious dinners, desserts AND COFFEE! To be a coffee-brewing-genius, you should learn a little bit about the "science" involved. In the end, knowing will help you make a really nice brew without much difficulty. Ratio: Start at 1oz Coffee PER 16oz Water. If you're brewing on an automatic brewer at home, the lower temperature (anything under 200F) isn't going to extract as easily, so add about 10% more Coffee. If you're using a French Press and can control the temperature, feel free to lessen your coffee measure by 10% or so,...

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Keeping Flavorful Coffee Fresh - Storage

Posted by Justin Smay on

We get this question ALL the time, and sometimes end up in long discussions about the myriad theories and methods people have come up with or learned over the years. If you're curious, perhaps interested in coming up with your own new method, there are 3 important factors: Oxygen, Temperature, & Light. Overall, one of the best things to remember when taking care of your coffee is this: Coffee is in its healthiest form in the cherry, on the tree. Each step in processing and preparing is, in essence, destroying the bean. 1a) Drying 1b) Hulling, Wet Processing, Drying 2)...

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Cold Brewing Your Coffee

Posted by Justin Smay on

Welcome to warmer weather! We know you’re all looking for refreshing new ways to enjoy your Gerhart Flavorful Coffee this Spring.  Here’s our original guide for your Springtime Brewing Pleasure.   First, FIRST, RATIOS: When brewing coffee traditionally, with hot water, it’s best to use between 1.75-2.25 of coffee (BY WEIGHT, not volume) for every 32 oz of water. Adjust the amount of coffee, and the grind, for your brewing method and equipment. When you cold-brew your coffee, the cool water is going to get less flavor out of each particle, so you’ll want to use a bit more coffee. You...

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