You often ask me what differs African arabica from American arabica, how to grind coffee so it matches a specific brewing method or which roasting level will be the best for you.  So, this article will contatin some information, that can help you answering these questionns.

Arabica or robusta?

There are 2 different variations of coffee that are cultivated worldwide: arabica and robusta. The first of the two is considered a higher quality than the second. Arabica accounts for about 70% of world's coffee cultivation and robusta around 30%. Robusta is sometimes added into mixes of other variatons of coffee to make them "stronger", but it's not necessary. In Single Origin roastery, we only offer arabicas.

What's different between coffees from different world regions?

Both arabica and robusta have their own variations. The most popular method of dividing coffees is by originating country and region. Coffee is cultivated in so called coffee bean belt defined between the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn. Arabica has lots of variations, but coffees cultivated in same regions have some similar features:

- Africa – coffees from this continent are slightly acidic (but they are not sour - you don't need to worry!), they have citrus fruit notes and are rather delicate. I highly recommend Ethiopian arabicas from Sidamo and Yirgacheffe regions - these are the great coffee classics, which are worth a try.

- Central and South America – American coffees are low acidic, have nut and chocolate notes. Their flavor and aroma are considered as "classic coffee". Brazilian arabica „Santos” is very popular, but there are equally great coffees coming from small New World's countries, e.g. Costa Rica Tarrazu.

- Asia – Mostly Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and India. Asian coffees are very low acidic, have "ground/earthy" and "forest" notes. Even though novice coffee drinkers often don’t like their "muffled" character, they have many admirers.

How important is fresh roast?

Coffee is a long term product. Most of big producers determine coffees expiration period for 2 years. However, there is a huge quality gap between coffee roasted a week ago and coffee roasted a year ago. It can be compared to bread. Most of you, probably, like bread straight from the bakery - fragrant, crunchy, just fresh. The same bread can be eaton 2 or 3 days later, but will it still be the same?

It's similar with coffee - you should drink it in 4 weeks after roasting, during this time it will taste the best. Single Origin roastery doesn't roast coffee to store it for later - every kilogram of coffee is roasted for a specific customer.

Coffee roasting types:

1. Unroasted coffee, raw green beans.
2. Light (New England)
3. Medium (American)
4. Medium dark (Vienna)
5. Dark (French or Italian)

In roasteries, raw, green coffee beans undergo thermal treatment (even 250°C), thanks to that we can extract their flavor and aroma. Raw coffee beans have only a several dozen aroma-flavor compounds and their roasted counterparts above 700! Every variation of arabica, depending on many factors, has a roasting level, that enables to unleash the specific coffee beans potential.

General rule is that, the more delicate roasting level, the more noticeable natural flavor notes of specific coffee are.

Stronger roasting levels minimalize acidity, but at the same time make different coffee beans more similar to each other. Single Origin roastery allows every coffee lover to experiment with roasting levels. However, if coffee roasting levels are still a mystery to you, rely on our recommendation

Buy ground coffee or grind it yourself?

Of course grind it yourself! Whole bean coffee can keep it's high quality for a long time, but ground coffee loses it's flavor and aroma quick. Grinding coffee just before brewing is the easiest method to make your coffee even 50% higher quality.

If you have a coffee maker with built-in grinder, then you don't have to worry and if you brew your coffee in a different way, you should consider buying a coffee grinder and grind your coffee beans yourself. It's worth to remember that different brewing methods need different grinding levels:

• fine – for espresso machines.
• medium – for percolators, drippers, filters and AeroPress.
• coarse – for French press and jugs.

At Single Origin we offer grinding coffee for you - we are aware that not everyone has a grinder or wants to do it by him/herself. But I will always encourage you to grind coffee yourself, because it's the easiest method of improving it's quality.

French press, also known as press pot or coffee press, is one of the simplest devices for home coffee making. If you use high quality, fresh roasted and ground just before brewing coffee beans, you will gain the highest quality black coffee, which you won't have to be ashamed of, even in front of elegant guests.

In my previous articles I wrote about making coffee with classic devices like Bialetti percolator, Chemex, or Aeropress (which is known for roughly 10 years, but it's already considered a classic). The last one remaining is the "French press". This name is most popular in the USA and Canada, in France it's called "cafetière à piston" , in Italy (where it originated from) "caffettiera a stantuffo" and in Great Britain, Australia and New Zealand it's just "coffee plunger".

As I already told, it originated from Italy. It was designed by Attilio Calimani in 1929. At first, it didn't  get much attention. In 1950s another Italian designer, Faliero Bondanini, modified the original device, and found a company which would produce it. It was a French... clarinet factory - Martin SA, which popularized in Europe. The name "French press" comes from the company's origination country.

Later, French press, could be found in other companies offers as well, e.g. English Household Articles and Danish Bodum (which is famous for it's highest quality French presses). The modern French press consists of a narrow cylindrical beaker, usually made of glass or clear plastic, equipped with a metal or plastic lid and plunger that fits tightly in the cylinder and has a fine stainless steel wire or nylon mesh filter. The simplicity of French press is what makes it so popular all over the world.

How to make a coffee using French Press?

Obviously, you need coffee. I always encourage to buy coffee from reliable sources, as coffee loses it's qualities with time. Would you like to eat bread baked 2 weeks ago? Or sweets that have already seen their best moments? The answer is obvious. Why, then would you buy a coffee roasted half a year ago?

I encourage you to read coffee's labels. Even in reputable deli shops, you can find coffees like Illy, Pellini or Lavazza roasted 1 year ago! Although coffee is a long term product and can be storaged for quite a long time (most companies use 2-year expiration period), but there is a gigantic quality gap between coffee roasted 2 or 3 weeks ago and coffee roasted a year ago. Ok, let's assume that you have good quality coffee. Now, you have to grind it. Of course, you can buy ground coffee, but I will again encourage you to buy a grinder and do it yourself. Grinding coffee right before brewing is the easiest method of increasing it's quality even by 50%.

In case of French press, coffee should be coarsely ground, because extraction takes around 4 minutes. For 1 liter of water, you should use around 60-70 g of coffee. You pour it into the press, mix it and wait for 4 minutes. If the grinding level is correct, the time of 4 minutes will result in the best quality coffee. After this time, you should mix it again and put the plunger with lid on the cylinder. Now, it's time for the most enjoyable part: gently press the piston to separate the grounds and hold them at the bottom of the beaker. Try to do it as gently as you can, so you don't scratch the gasket and stop the dregs from getting into the drink.

That's it! Your coffee is ready. You should instantly pour it into mugs/cups and don't leave any amount in the press, as it will get bitter if it keeps in touch with the dregs.

It looks like a chemical laboratory installation element, James Bond makes his coffee in it and Illinois Institute of Technology (USA) considered it as „one of the best designed modern times items”. What is it? It's a Chemex coffee maker!

Glass jug with top widening neck and wooden handle fastened with a leather strap - a very simple, yet so charming and timeless device, that New York city's Musem of Modern Art presents it at the permanent exhibition. Chemex was designed in 1941 by dr Peter Schlumbohm and is produced in a small Chicopee city in state of Massachusetts by Chemex Corporation till this day.

Chemex is a pour-over style coffeemaker - it doesn't use pressure (like Bialetti percolator and AeroPress do). It's so called „drip”, which means a method where water flows through grinded coffee placed in the filter and liquify into the container. Using the appropriately grinded coffee and good paper filter, make the water „collect” only the best properties of the coffee and under the influence of gravity flows down to the container from where it can be poured into cups.

How to use a Chemex coffee maker?

1. Put the paper filter into the top side of Chemex. Boil water and pour it through the filter. This will get rid of papery taste and heat the jug, so the coffee won't cool down by touching with cold glass. Repeal the filter a bit and pour the water out.
2. Grind your coffee! Of course you can use pre-grinded coffee, but I always recommend investing into your own coffee grinder. Using fresh grinded coffee gives the coffee at least +50% quality and taste. Grinding for Chemex shouldn't be either too fine (like for pressure coffee maker) or too coarse (e.g. for French Press). After a few tries, you will find the ideal grinding level.
3. Put the coffee into the filter and pour with water (it shouldn't be scalding, so wait half a minute after the boiling). Pour the water so it barely covers grinded coffee. Wait a moment and slowly add more water. This can take a while, you shouldn'y hurry. 
4. At the end take the filter out and pour the coffee into cups/glasses/mugs. All done!
5. How much coffee? How much water? It's always hard for me to answer these questions. Everyone has their own taste. Coffee from Chemex is quite delicate, so someone who likes stronger „black” coffee should use more coffee and less water.  I think that in the case of coffee/water proportions, everyone should experiment and find what they like best.

Produced since 1970s, Chemex has become an icon in modern books and movies. Ian Fleming, the author of James Bond novels, in his book called „From Russia, with Love” describes agent 007 making a coffee with the use of Chemex. Chemex is also used by Rosemary from Roman Polański's movie „Rosemary's Baby”, Don Draper from popular tv series „Mad Men” and I also noticed that it was used in last years blockbuster „Interstellar” and I can see it everyday in my kitchen and I sincerely recommend you to buy one!

AeroPress is a device I discovered almost half a year ago. I heard about it earlier, but I wasn't convinced that such inconspicuous tool can make a good coffee. During that time I had a chance to talk with people who are very familiar with coffee and have access to excellent espresso machines (Polands former baristas champion and a manager of Polish department in a big sized company producing automatic espresso machines). In both cases when I asked "What coffee do you drink at home, sir?" I got the same answer: "At home? Recently, I'am using an AeroPress". These answers convinced me to use an AeroPress. I thought that, if people who have access to espresso machines worth a few hundreds or thousands euros, use a device worth 20€ at home, there has to be something more to it.

I owe you a few explanations. What exactly is an AeroPress? It's a very simple looking and easy to use coffee brewer invented in 2005 by an American named Alan Adler. It consists of a polycarbonate cylinder, ended with a detachable sieve where you put a paper filter on one side, and a gap for the piston with a rubber seal on the other side. In the photos you can see that it's a really simple thing. And that simplicity is its biggest advantage. By using an AeroPress you can make a coffee quickly and without the need of some special skills (however, you can get better at it, there actually are world championships at making coffee in an AeroPress) and it's a really good coffee!

Well then, let's make a coffee! Besides AeroPress, we'll of course need some coffee beans. We should grind them just before brewing - this will make them the most aromatic. I encourage all of you to buy a high quality coffee grinder. A good grinder should cost between 30€ and 50€ and the coffee will be much better (I will make a separate article about coffee grinders and coffee grinding soon).

First thing we need to do is to place the piston with a rubber seal in the cylinder. Seal should be moisted with water, so it will move more smoothly. So, now we have a cylinder closed on the one side. We put ground coffee inside. The coffee I used a was medium roasted Yirgacheffe from Ethiopia. Now, we pour our coffee with water heated up to 80°C and mix it. After a while we pour more water and mix it again. At this moment coffee is brewing, this process takes around 1 minute (here you can experiment, you can brew it longer or shorter; everyone has their own methods of making a coffee in an AeroPress, but keep in mind that coffee grinding level affects that time).

While the coffee is brewing we put the paper filter in the sieve and pour hot water through it - this will get rid of "papery" flavor. We mix our coffee for the last time and close the sieve with filter on top of it. Next we turn everything by 180° and put it on a cup or a glass. Now we slowly press the piston down the cylinder. Coffee is being pushed by the air inside (hence the name „AeroPress") through the filter and our cup is being filled with black and aromatic coffee. When we hear a "hiss of air", we stop pushing the piston down. All done! AeroPress can be easily cleaned. Just get rid of the coffee grounds left and paper filter, and clean detached elements with water.

AeroPress is called an „espresso maker" by its producer. Actually, the coffee we make with AeroPress won't be the real classic espresso, because we can't gain the same pressure as in espresso machines. Anyway, I can't recall any better device for making black coffee. Even while making Caffè Americano using an espresso machine or while making a black coffee using a high quality automatic espresso machine, I didn't end up getting a better coffee than the one made in AeroPress. The simplicity of an AeroPress, the ability to freely experiment with the amount of water, coffee and its grinding level let you make a coffee that will always fit your taste. I highly recommend using an AeroPress!

Over 220 millions machines sold. Industrial design icon, presented in museums of modern art and design all over the world. One of the symbols of Italy. Bialetti percolator is a device produced for over 80 years. It allows to quickly and easily make a good coffee. 

Invented in 1933 in Italy. Inventor Luigi de Ponti patented percolators project, working for Alfonso Bialetti, industrialist producing kitchen equipment. At first sales were slow. Up to 1940 only 70 000 percolators were sold, but future years sales were constantly growing and elevated Bialetti comapny to the position of kitchen accessories producing leader. The most important factor that contributed to this success was the owners son - Renato, who in 1946 took control of the company.

He decided to reduce the amount of accessories that the company offered (Bialetti produced pots, pans, cutlery and any other kitchen equipment), he also initiated a large scale marketing company, including the still new television spots. „l'omino con i baffi", which means „short  man with mustache" became a symbol of the company. It's a caricature of Alfonso Bialetti, who keeps his hand rised with a gesture of extended finger, that translates „one espresso, please!". Soon after a highly advanced Omegna factory has been built, it was capable of satisfying the rapidly increasing demand. At the beginning of 21st century, the total sale of Moka Express percolators was estimated at over 220 millions copies.

Bialetti percolator is very easy to understand. It consists of three main elements: bottom water container, filter and top container, into which coffee is liquified. The water poured into bottom container should be hot (or at least very warm), thanks to that coffee won't be gradually heated, which is not good for it, but instead will immediately start brewing. Ground coffee is being put into the filter, that is then placed on the bottom container.

The coffee shouldn't be whipped or pressed - you can just level its surface and be sure that it's not on the edge, that is later pressed against the top container gasket. The last element is the top container. It's being tighten to two other elements of the percolator, after that you can put it on the burner. If you use hot water, as I do, the brewing will start very quickly and the coffee will liquify in the top container. 

What to look out for?

- amount of water: the safety valve located in the bottom container sets the maximum limit. It should never be poured with water!

- amount of coffee and its grinding level: the amount of coffee is up to you. I usually fill the whole filter, equally with the sieves edge. I don't press it, but gently level its surface. The important part is the grinding level: it can't be too finely grinded as it will clog the sieve. On the other side, too coarsely grinded coffee won't brew in the right way and will result in a very low quality coffee. The coffee should be grinded more coarsely than for pressure coffee machine, but more finely than for an AeroPress. If you have a grinder, you will find the right grinding level after a few tries

- turning of the burner: after the coffee starts to liquify in the top part of the percolator, the burner should be either turned of or the fire should be significantly reduced.

- induction hob - if you have it at home, the standard Moka Express won't work with it. You should choose a model, that is designed for induction hobs.

What will be the result?

Capacity of different Bialetti percolator models is determined by amount of espresso, e.g. 6 espresso. Basic espresso is 25 ml (I already wrote about it here), which means that the mentioned model can brew around 125 ml of coffee. Personally, I don't think that Bialetti is a good choice for making espresso, but it's great for making big black coffee. The brewing method conditions what coffee beans you should use to a certain extent. It's better if you use dark (Italian) roasted coffee as it will result in a classic, strong black coffee. The coffee I usually use for my Moka Express Brazilian Santos. It's a good arabica, which if dark roasted and brewed in a percolator, gives a slightly bitter, strong, nutty-chocolate notes. It's worth to mention that this kind of coffee also composes with milk very well, so if you don't consider yourself a grand conservative person and don't think that milk for coffee should only be heated with steam from the nozzle up to 68°C, then you can freely experiment with coffee from Moka Express.