We make every effort to ensure that the roasted coffee you receive is consistent, fresh, and capable of producing an excellent cup. There is a lot you can do to realize the full potential of our coffee, or any coffee for that matter. Here are just a few tips.

Freshness
While heat sealed foil bags can maintain the quality of whole bean coffee for quite some time, coffee tastes best when consumed within 7 to 10 days of roasting. Roastmasters also agree that freshly roasted coffee needs a day or two after roasting to reach it's full potential. Try to purchase your coffee weekly. Store the beans in a cool dry place. The enemies of coffee are extreme temperatures (hot or cold), air, light, moisture, and strong odors. It is important to note that the flavor "oils" in roasted coffee are not actually oils, but delicate, volatile water-soluble substances that will be diluted by the moisture and odors present in every refrigerator. Storing coffee in your freezer is only recommended for whole bean coffee which you do not intend to use within one week. Seal the beans in an air tight freezer bag and once you remove them from the freezer do not put them back. Taking beans in and out of the freezer will cause moisture to condense on the beans. Be sure to thaw the beans before openning the freezer bag, grinding, and brewing.

Grind
How and when you grind your coffee can have a profound impact on the brewed cup. To get the best cup you should grind your coffee immediately before brewing. The loss in flavor is noticable an hour after coffee is ground. How fine you grind your coffee varies depending upon your brewing technique. As a general rule, the faster the brew method the finer the grind. For example, espresso brews in less than thirty seconds and should be ground very fine. In a French press, coffee should steep for about four minutes so the grind should be course. A drip falls in between. If the coffee is ground too fine you will end up with a bitter cup; on the other hand if it is too course your cup will be watery and less robust. To maintain the optimal brewing speed you will need to adjust the grind daily to compensate for changes in temperature and humidity. A grind that works well on a cold dry day will not work well on a hot humid day. Although inexpensive rotary blade grinders work well for course grinds, you will get a far more consistent grind with a burr-type grinder. This is particularly important when you need a very fine grind for espresso.

Brewing
As brewed coffee is made up mostly of water it is important to use clean, filtered water. Very few things can ruin a great cup of coffee as quickly as poor water. Ideally you should brew with water between 195°F and 200°F. If it is too hot the cup will be bitter, too cool and your coffee will taste sour. The ratio of water to coffee should be 0.25 lbs (approx 1-1/3^rd cups for an average roast) of ground coffee for each 64 fl-oz of water (the average 12-cup brewer). If you prefer to have the coffee lighter, add hot water to the brewed cup. Adding more water to the brewer will produce a lighter cup but it will also result in over-extraction and give you a bitter tasting brew.

Serving
We strongly recommend the use of thermal carafes for brewed coffee. Keeping coffee on a warmer for as little as 20 minutes makes a cup of coffee taste bitter. Thermal carafes are reasonably inexpensive and can keep your coffee hot for up to two hours without destroying the flavor.