Really Good Coffee

I ran an espresso bar in Seattle for three and a half years. Six days a week behind the machine. And if there was one thing that separated a good shift from a great one, it wasn't the beans — it was the grind. Adjusting the grinder is an art form. Especially when there are twenty people at the bar and the line isn't getting shorter. That's where I want to start. Not with equipment specs. … [Read more...]

The Optimal Espresso Brewing Temperature — And Why It Matters More Than You Think Temperature is the variable most home espresso setups get wrong — not because people don't care, but because most machines don't give you control over it. That's a problem. Because in espresso, temperature isn't a minor detail. A difference of two or three degrees can change everything in the cup. The Target … [Read more...]

There are a lot of ways to brew coffee. Most of them require equipment, paper filters, precision pour technique, or some combination of all three. The French press requires almost none of that. Hot water, coarse grounds, four minutes, and a press. That's it. And yet when it's done right, the cup it produces is exceptional — full-bodied, rich, and more expressive of the actual character of the … [Read more...]

What Is Tamping — And Why It Makes or Breaks Your Espresso Tamping is the step most home baristas get wrong. Not because it's complicated. Because it looks simple. You press the coffee down in the portafilter. How hard can it be? Harder than it looks. And more important than most people realize. What Tamping Actually Is When you grind espresso, the grounds go into a small metal basket … [Read more...]

Light Roast vs Dark Roast Coffee — What Actually Matters Most coffee drinkers have a preference. Fewer know why. The light vs. dark roast question comes up constantly — at the cafe counter, in the coffee aisle, in online forums where people argue about it like it's a moral issue. Here's what's actually going on, and why your preference isn't wrong — it's personal. What Roasting Actually … [Read more...]

How to Make an Americano Making an Americano is a straight forward process. You mix espresso with hot water. There are several variations, but from a barista's standpoint, it's a very simple drink to make. There are some nuances. Basically: Either you add hot water to espresso shots or You add espresso to hot water. Here's How To Make an Americano fill a cup about … [Read more...]

How to Make a Latte A latte is an espresso drink made with steamed milk and shots of freshly extracted espresso. A quality espresso cafe will produce lattes that look like the images on this page. But the reality is many of the lattes you see in the espresso world will not. We explain why. This is beginning to change but primarily in areas with a well established coffee culture. You Can … [Read more...]

Lucky Goat Coffee Lucky Goat is a coffee company with headquarters and a roasting operation in Tallahassee. Their website shows 6 locations although we have only personally visited the Capital Circle location. The First Leg of our Round Trip Coffee Florida to Texas Trip On the first leg of our round-trip-coffee-florIda-to-texas, we arrived In Tallahassee, Florida really worn out. We … [Read more...]