quiet on the set

Charles House, a Shepherd University graduate, has crammed his gear into our diminutive space in order to film what it is we do. The beauty of how we make your coffee is that, other than espresso (which takes an outlay of money and practice, but is possible) everything we do, you can too. We don't use multi-thousand dollar machines or even the ubiquitous airpot brewers. Nope, we use ceramic and glass cones, aeropresses, and french presses to do our dirty work.

We use these simple devices to illustrate how splendid coffee can be had from humble methods with just a little practice and a knowledge of the basics, and also to reinforce that our customers can have great coffee at home and in our shop.
The videos Charles made today take the viewer through the brewing of coffee using an aeropress, french press, pour-over cone (Hario V60) , siphon pot, and we filmed the making of a latte just to show off. The first steps in each method are the same, weigh (if you're not weighing your dose of coffee it just won't be consistent and inconsistency is the hobgoblin of good coffee) your coffee beans and use the ratio of 2 grams of beans for every ounce of  beverage you want (i.e. 24 grams of coffee beans for a 12 ounce cup of coffee). The exception is the aeropress which uses a smaller amount of coffee beans, finely ground, a short steep time, and the result is a coffee concentrate; more on that in the video. Grind the coffee beans prior to brewing; pre-ground goes stale quicker, and we are shooting for splendidness. If using paper filters always rinse the filters to remove any paper taste. Use water that is just off boil for better extraction, and once again use a scale to measure volume as you brew your coffee.
Brewing by the cup ensures freshness, requires care and fastidiousness on the part of your barista, allows about three (3) minutes to chat with said barista about the coffee, the latest celebrity/politician/sports star gaff, or gossip about the neighbors, and allows you to chose which coffee you will be drinking. Not to mention, when done correctly, tastes better than any cup of coffee you may have pumped out of an airpot in any coffee shop. If you think that this is all too much, I tender this graph I stumbled across last year and think it is a good argument. Thanks to http://www.dearcoffeeiloveyou.com for the good work.