When it comes to the holiday season, people get laser-focused on gift-giving. What do you choose for someone whose heart beats to the rhythm of a coffee grinder or for your friends and family that would never wake up if not for our favorite beverage? First and foremost, the gift of choice is going to be high-quality coffee beans. Coffee…
Espresso has been around for over 100 years now and its popularity only appears to be increasing. According to the National Coffee Association of America, the consumption of espresso-based beverages has gone up by 50% in the past eight years. There’s also a burgeoning market for home espresso hobbyists, who are willing to spend significant sums of money on their…
Coffee is part of a complex family tree. Thanks to agricultural intervention, producers and researchers have added even more branches to a never-ending genealogy of coffee varieties and coffee cultivars. Biologically speaking, it all starts with the Rubiaceae shrub family, from which we get the Coffea genus. The most common coffee species that people drink every day are Coffea arabica…
How to Roast Coffee Beans I started out in coffee in the mid-2010s as a barista at the only third wave cafe in my area. My first job roasting was a couple years later with Strange Brew Cafe + Roaster in Palos Hills, IL. We started a roasting program out of both necessity and curiosity. I learned as much as…
In this post we explore the exciting possibility of growing coffee in the comfort of your own home. Yes, you read that correctly – you can have your very own coffee plant flourishing within your four walls! You probably don't have the acreage to have a robust coffee harvest and this will definitely be a years-long project if you want…
How to Make Big Batch Cold Brew Coffee The sun is out. The weather is warm. It’s time to swap out those steaming mugs of filter coffee for a refreshing glass of cold brew on the rocks. Cold brew coffee is one of the easiest beverages to prepare in a big batch for serving summer customers or chugging it all…
Coffee filters come in many shapes, sizes, and materials. There are nearly as many types of coffee filters as there are coffee brewing devices. So many, in fact, it can be overwhelming to filter through all the options. We’ve compiled this handy guide to determine what type of coffee filter is the best for your brewing method. That way, you…
Grilled Coffee Aboard the Coffee Caboose! Taylor Kirkman and Steven Leganski, owners of SW Grilled Coffee, are making their mark on the Phoenix coffee roasting scene with their mobile coffee bar and grill-roasted coffee business. In addition to maximizing flavor, the entrepreneurs are also dedicated to energy efficiency. In every step, they are trying to minimize waste and contribute to…
Arabica and robusta coffee beans by Igor Ushakov | Getty Images Arabica vs Robusta, what's the difference? How do they taste? While Arabica and Robusta coffee beans account for around 99% of the world’s coffee production and consumption, it doesn't stop there. Both Arabica and Robusta are species of the Rubiaceae family under the Coffea genus. However, new species are…