How can I a brew a good cup of coffee? Answer
Why is the correct grind so important? Answer
White, Brown or Gold?Answer
How should I store coffee?Answer
How is coffee decaffeinated?Answer

Does the size of the teapot matter? Answer
Can you brew loose tea in your mug as you do when using tea bags ? Answer
What is the easiest way to brew loose tea?Answer
How long does tea stay fresh?Answer
How much dry tea will be needed when I make a mug or pot of tea?Answer
How hot should the water be?
How long do I steep the tea?

HOW CAN I BREW A GOOD CUP OF COFFEE?

Well the answer is in four basic steps.
First, use freshly roasted coffee to insure that the flavor is the finest and freshest. Secondly, grind your coffee for the correct brewing method (more on this later).Third, make sure that your water tastes good. Remember that your cup of coffee is 98% water, so if your water isn’t the best tasting, consider using filtered or bottled water to improve your cup. And last, use the correct amount of coffee. Most people use much too little coffee to get the proper extraction of the flavor. The recommended measure is 2 level Tablespoons for each 6 ounces of water. Yes, that seems like a lot, but this is the measure that we use to brew our coffees that we serve each day in our stores. Try it for a few pots. You may need to adjust it slightly, but we think you’ll find that this improves your cup tremendously.

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WHY IS THE CORRECT GRIND SO IMPORTANT?

Some people think that if they grind their coffee finer than needed for their brewing method that they can use less coffee. WRONG! If you use a grind that is too fine for your brewing method, the water will pass through too slowly and your coffee will taste bitter. Conversely, is you use a grind that is too coarse, the water will pass through the grinds too quickly and you’ll wind up with weak, watery cup. There are six grinds that you should know. Coarse, Percolator, Auto Drip or Drip, Fine, Espresso and Turkish.

COARSE GRIND is the largest grind and is used primarily for French Press coffee makers. PERCULATOR GRIND is, of course, for perculators as well as the correct grind for Chemex coffee brewers. DRIP or AUTO DRIP GRIND is the most common grind and is best used for any automatic drip coffee maker with a flat bottom filter. FINE GRIND is used for automatic drip coffee makers with a cone shaped filter unless you use a cone shaped metal filter, in which case you must use a Drip Grind. ESPRESSO GRIND is reserved for espresso machines in which you need the finest grind to obtain the best espresso. (Just a note for those using espresso machines: always use a coffee that is a darker roast specifically for espresso in order to get the full coffee flavor that is needed to stand up to the large amount of milk used in making cappuccinos, lattes, mochas and all your other favorite drinks. If you wish to have a flavored cappuccine or latte, we recommend that you use one of the many syrups made for these drinks.) If you’re using a blad grinder at home, use the following guidelines: For French Press, 6 seconds; For flat bottom drip coffee maker, 10 seconds; for gold cone filter, 15 seconds; for paper cone filter, 25 seconds. For an espresso machine, it is best to let us grind your coffee for you or use a burr grinder set between 2 & 4.

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WHITE, BROWN OR GOLD?

The big debate.....white, brown or gold filters. Which to use? Most people who prefer to think
environmentally prefer to use the brown paper filters, which are simply the white paper filters, unbleached. In years past, white paper filters were whitened using chemicals which some people felt left an aftertaste to their coffee. Today, most white paper filters are whitened with oxygen, which is much more friendly to the environment and imparts no taste from the filter. In the end, it’s just a personal preference as to which you use. Gold filters became popular as people saw these as a way to save the environment and money by having a permanent filter. Metal coffee filters, however, pass all the acids and solids that paper filters hold back. In addition, they actually cost you money. One pound of coffee ground “fine” for use with a cone shaped paper filter will yield 90 cups of coffee. The same pound of coffee ground drip for a cone shaped metal filter will yield 60 cups. You do the math!

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HOW SHOULD I STORE COFFEE?

The best way to store coffee, whole bean or ground, is in a closed, air tight package in the freezer. Coffee will not actually freeze, so it will be ready for use as you take it from the freezer. Do not store your coffee in the refrigerator, as it will absorb odors from other foods. You can also store your coffee in the pantry as long as it’s in an airtight container or bag. But most importantly, don’t keep your coffee for too long. As soon as coffee is roasted and ground it begins to exhale carbon dioxide and exchanges it for oxygen. Oxygen is what stales coffee. While it takes a long time for coffee to actually become bad, or rancid, it does
loose taste over time, so our recommendation is that you only buy enough coffee to last a month at a time. The freshest coffee makes the best cup.

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HOW IS COFFEE DECAFFINATED?

There are three ways to decaffinate coffee. The first, and original, is with Methylene Choride a chemical which is also used for dry cleaning. The FDA has labeled this process as G.R.A.S. (generally regarded as safe) but it’s certainly not our favorite method. All of our coffees are decaffeinated with a SWISS WATER PROCESS. This method takes the green, unroasted coffee and passes pure water over it. The process removes 99.9% of the caffeine without the use of any chemicals. The finished result is a cup of coffee that tastes as good as regular, caffeinated coffee.

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Does the size of the teapot matter? A teapot should be rounded for efficient distribution of heat; dense in composition to retain heat; and of a size appropriate for the amount of tea you are brewing.

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Can you brew loose tea right in your mug as you do when using teabags? Yes, very easily and efficiently. You can buy an infuser system by Chatsford or teeli. You'll want a mug with a relatively small opening to put your infuser into. Cover during the brew process; remove the infuser and rap it over your wastebasket for a very tidy cleanup.

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What is the easiest way to brew loose tea? If you are used to tea bags you may want to load paper filters (yes, empty tea bags) with loose tea and place in your pot, mug or cup. Pour in the water, steep, and toss out the bag.

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How long does tea stay fresh? Black tea, Oolong and White teas will hold their freshness upwards from a year, with black tea having the longest shelf life. Green tea on the other hand has a much smaller window of freshness, upwards of 3 months. Many green teas are rolled into pellets or pearl sized balls to increase their shelf life. If your tea seems to have lost some of its tastiness, use a little more tea per cup.

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How much dry tea will be needed when I make a mug or pot of tea? The rule of thumb is one level teaspoonful for each 6 oz measure of water. If the leaf is large or bulky, it is necessary to use more. Experiment for yourself. If you use too much tea the cup will seem over done.

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How hot should the water be? Use fresh water for the oxygen content. Warm the steeping vessel with hot water before steeping. Bring water to a boil. For Black tea and Oolong pour the boiling water over the leaves. For green tea let the water cool down a bit before pouring it over the leaves. Experiment to find your best outcomes.

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How long do I steep the tea? Again you should experiments for the specific tea you want to steep. You can start with 4 - 5 minutes for black tea, 4 minutes for oolong, and 3 minutes for green.

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