Trying to understand how to better appreciate coffee

Trying to understand how to better appreciate coffee

Brewing at Home and on the Road with Justin Pierce

In this series, we ask coffee professionals how they like to drink their coffee while at home and when traveling. BY TANYA NANETTISENIOR ONLINE CORRESPONDENT Feature photo courtesy of Justin Pierce Coffee professionals tend to spend most of their days brewing coffee. Baristas brew coffee behind the bar for their customers. Roasters brew it to […]


Test Drive: The Linea Micra Espresso Machine from La Marzocco

Ready to find out how La Marzocco’s Linea Micra measures up? Read on for our full Test Drive review!  BY VASILEIA FANARIOTISENIOR ONLINE CORRESPONDENT Photos courtesy of Vasileia Fanarioti  The Linea Micra espresso machine by La Marzocco is the newest addition to their impressive line of home espresso machines. I was lucky to get my […]


10 Minutes With Keith Hawkins of the Color of Coffee Collective

We dive into everything you need to know about the Color of Coffee Collective’s mission, initiatives, and the upcoming second edition of the Symposium Experience.  BY VASILEIA FANARIOTISENIOR ONLINE CORRESPONDENT Photos courtesy of Keith Hawkins  Today at Barista Magazine Online, we sit down for a chat with Keith Hawkins, a passionate entrepreneur and advocate for […]


Congrats to the Top-Ranking Qualifiers at U.S. CoffeeChamps Denver

Dozens of coffee professionals competed at qualifiers this weekend in Colorado for coveted spots at the U.S. Coffee Championships next month. BY J. MARIE CARLANBARISTA MAGAZINE ONLINE Cover photo by J. Marie Carlan For competitive coffee professionals in the USA, the U.S. Coffee Championships are the place to be. Over the weekend, the second USCC […]

Trying to understand how to better appreciate coffee

Ukraine’s Soloway Coffee Opens First US Shop in Chicago

A specialty coffee roasting company based in western Ukraine called Soloway Coffee (Instagram link) this week opened its first location in the United States. Beans roasted in Ternopil, Ukraine, using…


Why it’s easier for wealthier producers to grow specialty coffee

It takes money – and sometimes a lot – to grow specialty coffee. Producers not only need to continuously maintain and improve quality and yields, but they also have to invest back into their farms. Whether it’s replacing equipment and machinery or planting more resilient varieties, producers need to turn a profit to operate their […]


Playing Leaderboard, the Arcade-Inspired Coffee Game

We sat down to try the newest version of the game—a fun opportunity to learn more about coffee while vying for cool coffee prizes.  BY TANYA NANETTISENIOR ONLINE CORRESPONDENT Photos by Tanya Nanetti I’ve never been much into video games, except for the classic arcade games of my youth.   Growing up in the ‘80s meant […]


Playing Leaderboard, the Arcade-Inspired Coffee Game

We sat down to try the newest version of the game—a fun opportunity to learn more about coffee while vying for cool coffee prizes.  BY TANYA NANETTISENIOR ONLINE CORRESPONDENT Photos by Tanya Nanetti I’ve never been much into video games, except for the classic arcade games of my youth.   Growing up in the ‘80s meant […]

Trying to understand how to better appreciate coffee

An In-Depth Look at Gruppo Cimbali’s Coffee Technician Wheel

The Coffee Technician Wheel is a new tool that helps technicians understand the complexity of coffee extraction. BY VASILEIA FANARIOTISENIOR ONLINE CORRESPONDENT Photos courtesy of Edgardo Ferrero and Espresso Academy Coffee technicians are responsible for a complex set of tasks related to the production and extraction of coffee. They manage customer requests and need to […]


Brewing at Home and on the Road with Wilford Lamastus Jr.

We talk to the multi-time Panama Brewers Cup champion about his brewing preferences. BY TANYA NANETTISENIOR ONLINE CORRESPONDENT Photos courtesy of Wilford Lamastus Coffee professionals tend to spend most of their days brewing coffee. It can be an espresso shot pulled for a customer or a cupping to check out a new roaster to choose […]


Girlsplaining Workshop Unites Women in Coffee in Quito, Ecuador

Meet Camila Khalifé, the brains behind Girlsplaining, a unique coffee learning experience with an emphasis on creating space for women in the industry. BY JORDAN BUCHANANSPECIAL TO BARISTA MAGAZINE Photos courtesy of Camila Khalifé Men may hold most of the positions of authority and teaching roles within the specialty-coffee industry, but Camila Khalifé, the owner […]


Serving Coffee in the Epicenter

The Turkish specialty-coffee community is coming together to support earthquake relief. BY MICHAEL BUTTERWORTHSPECIAL TO BARISTA MAGAZINE ONLINE When Niji Coffee went live on Instagram,…

Trying to understand how to better appreciate coffee

Trying to understand how to better appreciate coffee

minimum dose size?

Jan 31, 2024 |

I use the Hario switch to brew my coffee and am trying to reduce my caffeine consumption. Hence I would like to brew smaller cups of coffee. I am currently using 10g of coffee with 160g of water. (1:16 Ratio) I am wondering if there is a minimum amount of coffee...

Trying to understand how to better appreciate coffee

This is more of a rant than advice, so apologies in advance.

My way of having coffee recently has been to go to my nearby Winco, take a pound of vanilla flavored beans, use their in-store grinder for the coarsest setting, and take it home.

Not ideal to grind a whole bunch at once, but I am an embarassing novice, sorry.

I boil water in an electric kettle, use Ikea's glass teapot with the mesh infuser, put about 1.5 tsp of the super coarse coffee in the infuser, then pour 14oz of boiling water through it, and let it sit for about 5 minutes. I'll then pour out the coffee infused water into my mug and enjoy. The coffee feels just light for me, and the vanilla flavor is something I really enjoy.

To try and improve my coffee experience, I ordered a cuisinart grind & brew single serve coffee maker, to have every cup of coffee freshly ground. I saw the reviews and was concerned because, the coffee maker will always grind the same amount of coffee, and I can adjust the strength based on how many ounces of water to serve (8, 10 or 12 oz). The youtuber whose review I saw said that he prefers 8oz, and 12oz is just too watery. I tried the 12oz, and was reeling from how strong this was compared to what I was used to. The vanilla favor is all but gone, and while the coffee's flavor itself is not bad, the experience is bitter (pun intended) partly from the shock of how unexpectedly strong it was.

Before I consider switching to my old ways and returning the coffee maker, I wanted to understand something first. I have one 14oz mug of coffee a day, which I start my morning with. I'd like to appreciate proper coffee and understand a bit better, and was wondering if in my previous way, the priority in the vanilla flavoring and much lighter strength was stopping me from appreciating what proper coffee could be, and the single serve coffee maker is actually pointing me in the right direction, I just need better quality coffee? Of course, if this presumption is wrong, then I suppose purchasing a small grinder and ginding a small amount everyday is another way to go. However, I'd need guidance on which direction is more advisable. To note, my wife hardly drinks coffee, so it's about one serving a day of coffee in the household, which means spending $$$ on coffee related equipment is a relatively harder decision for me.

Thanks for reading this far. Again, apologies if reading this post was not what you wanted, and I'd be happy to hear your opinions.

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Trying to understand how to better appreciate coffee

Perfect Little Beans

Chinmey Hill Coffee uses specialty-grade beans with zero primary defects (such as black beans or sour beans) and less than five secondary defects (such as broken beans). This is important because primary defects will greatly affect the taste of the coffee. Having zero defects allows the coffee to be the most optimal flavor.

Window for Optimal Flavor

Chimney Hill Coffee ships our coffee the same day it was roasted, so you will receive it before it enters the window of optimal flavor.  This means you’ll never miss the opportunity to enjoy the coffee’s peak flavor.

Coffee Ratings

Coffee undergoes many scoring processes by professionals who achieved their Q Grader certification. Coffee is first graded when it’s green. If there are defects the coffee is determined to be “not-specialty grade”. For those coffees that pass green grading, they are sample roasted and cupped. (Cupping is the official term for critically tasting and scoring coffees. The official cupping form is standard worldwide, and where the 100-point scoring system comes from.) A coffee’s dry fragrance, wet aroma, flavor, aftertaste, body, acidity, balance, and overall impression are taken into consideration while uniformity issues and defects, will lower the overall score.

Specialty Coffee

Specialty coffee, coined by Erna Knutsen in 1974, refers to a coffee that receives a quality grading score of 80 percent or higher. While “premium” or “gourmet” seem like they’re synonymous with “specialty,” they simply are marketing terms with no defined standards. Specialty coffees are grown in specific and ideal micro-climates, and have distinctive and unique flavor profiles, with little to no defects.

Third-Wave Coffee

We’re currently in the third wave of coffee. The first wave of American coffee put pre-ground, vacuum-sealed cans in kitchens across America. The second wave started with the late ‘60s introduction of Peet’s coffee (by Alfred Peet) through the proliferation of Starbucks. The third wave of coffee focuses on origin transparency, nuanced flavors, and artisan roasting. The term “third wave” is synonymous with specialty coffee.

Trying to understand how to better appreciate coffee

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