Notes on coffee, the objects it is made with, and what we will not sell you.
The number on the box is not a lie. It is a measurement of something that never happens while you are making coffee. Fifteen bar, eighteen bar, twe...
Read the setupYou pull a shot that tastes good on its own. Sweet at the front, a little bright, nothing harsh about it. Then you add hot water and the drink that...
Read the setupA grind chart is the most requested document in home coffee and the least useful one you will ever be handed. Every chart speaks in words. Medium-f...
Read the setupThe glass jar on the counter is the most photographed object in home coffee and one of the worst performing. It was chosen because you can see the ...
Read the setupBuying coffee in small amounts costs more per kilogram and forces you to think about it every fortnight. Buying a large bag costs less and guarante...
Read the setupAsk which clay holds heat better and you will get an answer with real physics behind it and no numbers attached. Earthenware retains, porcelain let...
Read the setupThe slow part of the early coffee trade was not the sea. A ship under sail could work the Red Sea, round the Cape and reach a French port inside a ...
Read the setupPour a good mineral water next to your tap water and taste them side by side. The bottle usually wins, and it wins for reasons you can name. It is ...
Read the setupThe advice sounds responsible, which is most of the reason it survives. One glass of water for every cup of coffee, because the coffee does not cou...
Read the setupA pour-over made by hand costs about eleven minutes: two or three to boil, one to grind, three to four of actual pouring, then fetching the filter,...
Read the setupThe buy-it-for-life pitch asks you to pay up front for a promise the object cannot keep on its own. A mug is a brittle solid with a thin glass skin...
Read the setupCupping costs you an hour, six matching bowls and the willingness to make coffee you would not choose to drink. The brew it produces is deliberatel...
Read the setup