Volcanos Coffee Bar and Roastery

Menu

For Starters

• Selecting Coffee
• Cupping Coffee

History

• Coffee History (Part 1)
• Coffee History (Part 2)

Life Cycle

• Growing (Part 1)
• Growing (Part 2)
• Sorting & Grading
• Semi-Washed Coffees
• Natural Processing

Proper Handeling

• Brewing
• Grinding
• Storing
• Roasting
• Roasting Espresso
• Green Coffee Storage

Coffee 101: Proper Handling

Brewing

Here is a basic comprehensive list of brewing tips that will help you to achieve the proper taste from your prized stash of Volcano’s coffee.

Standard Drip brewers

• Grind the coffee as fine as you can without creating clogs. If the coffee is ground to fine it will clog the filter and backup oozing over the filter basket. An artful mess is the inevitable end result.
• Keep the coffee maker clean, and rinse it with hot water before you brew.
• In filter and drip systems, try to brew less than the brewer's full capacity. If the pot is made to brew eight cups, the coffee will taste better if you brew the full eight.

The French press and (non-filter) drip percolators

• A medium to coarse grind is necessary. Too fine a grind in a French press will make the coffee very difficult to plunge (often resulting in breakage of the glass beaker due to pressing to hard). In percolators too fine a grind will produce a clog resulting in a bubbly grind-laden oozy mess

Brew Strength

• Don’t be afraid to use too much Volcano’s coffee. Good coffee still has a smooth taste when brewed strong. Most people are intimidated by strong brewed coffee because they are used to a lower standard of quality (despite the fancy packaging). The Volcano’s recommended ratio is as follows:
  • 2 level tablespoons or 1 standard coffee measure (Which is exactly 2 tablespoons per 6 ounce cup). The standard coffee mug is usually 8oz which means you can get away with overfilling the 2 tablespoon measurement. Coffee brewed strong reflects the true taste of the bean (or the roast in the case of very dark roasts), and you can enjoy the distinctive flavor more accurately.

General Tips

• Use fresh filtered water, as free of impurities and as possible.
• Brew coffee with hot water, as opposed to lukewarm or boiling water (cold-brewed coffees are exceptions). A temperature of 200° F is ideal, which means bringing the water to a boil and then waiting a minute or two before brewing. If you have done everything else right and you are in a rush, however, water that has just stopped boiling will not seriously damage a good, freshly ground coffee.
• Things not to do: Do not boil coffee; it cooks off all the delicate flavoring essence and leaves a bitter chemical taste. Try to avoid reheating coffee; it has a similar effect as boiling.