Coffee Brewing Tips

You’ve got some amazing single-origin speciality coffee waiting to be brewed. Here are our some brewing tips on how to get the best tasting coffee, whatever gear you’re using. We’re keeping it simple and focusing on the basics because when you have coffee this good you just need to let it shine!

There are a few things you might want to have on hand.

  • A digital scale: Measure your coffee and water separately or simply place your equipment on the scale making sure to zero it out before adding the coffee and water.

  • Water: The ideal water is filtered, to remove chlorine and hardness where needed, to between 80-180mg/litre. For sustainability at home, try the BWT filter jug (it adds a little Magnesium to bring out the best in your coffee). Tap water is okay too but scale and chlorine in the water do mute the flavours of the coffee and build up limescale which increases maintenance and reduces the life of equipment. Waitrose essential or Volvic are also good choices.

  • A timer: on your phone, watch or a standard kitchen timer will help you be consistent with your brewing

  • Coffee grinder: We offer our coffee whole bean or ground to espresso, moka pot, cafetière or filter. If you’ve chosen whole bean, make sure to check the recommended grind size to match the brewing technique.

  • Storage: We recommend sealing the bag with the inbuilt lock on the bag and simply storing it in your freezer. This will keep the coffee fresher for longer. You can use it straight from your freezer.


Cafetière / French Press

Coffee recommendation: Castillo Medium Roast

Measurements: Approximately 1 rounded tbsp of medium ground coffee (7g) to 120ml of water per serving.

  • Grind beans on medium setting, like white sugar in texture

  • Add ground coffee to cafetière and gently poor water just off the boil into canister, being careful to saturate all the grounds. It’s helpful to place your cafetière on a scale to accurately measure water as it’s being added

  • Stir grounds and water for slightly stronger brew

  • Place plunger on top of canister, set timer for 4-5 minutes then plunge

  • Pour & enjoy!


Drip Coffee Brewer

Coffee recommendation: seasonal offer or the Castillo light

Measurements: Ratio of 6g per 100ml, so a standard 2 cup is 18g and 300ml of water.

  • Grind beans on medium fine/course setting, like fine white sand

  • Line the funnel with filter paper and rinse to remove the ‘papery’ taste

  • Add ground coffee to the filter, making sure the coffee bed is flat

  • Add water to coffee grounds in 5 stages stages, covering all the grounds with each pour. For a 300ml brew

    • Stage 1: start a timer, pour 60ml of water starting from the centre and moving out in a circular motion. Let it rest for 30 seconds

    • Stage 2-5: pour 60ml of water with each pour, adding the water just before the water drains from the surface. Remove the brewer after the dripping has finished. 

  • Tips:

    • It is easiest to use a digital scale to brew onto – 1ml of water = 1g of water

    • A 300ml brew will take about 3 minutes, if it takes longer, grind the coffee a bit coarser, if it is shorter than 2 minutes, grind a bit finer

    • Stir before drinking

    • Check out Matt Winton’s winning brewer’s cup recipe on the Hario Youtube channel for the 5 pour method 


Moka Pot

Coffee recommendation: seasonal offer or the Castillo medium roast

Measurements: Approximately 2 1/2 tbsp of ground coffee (15g) to fill a 4 cup moka pot.

  • Grind beans on fine setting, similar to fine sand

  • Fill canister with boiling water up to valve level (the pressure release valve on the side)

  • Place filter basket in canister and and fill to the top with ground coffee. It should be level and just below the top of the filter

  • Screw top to bottom canister

  • Place on stove top on low-medium heat

  • Watch for coffee coming out of the spout and then remove from heat 

  • Pour & enjoy! 


Aeropress

Coffee recommendation: seasonal offer or the Castillo light

Measurements: 15-18g of ground beans to 250ml of water.

  • Grind beans on fine setting, similar to fine sand 

  • Place Aeropress filter paper into the filter holder and screw onto the base of the Aeropress

  • Add grinds to Aeropress and place onto a jug or cup big enough to hold the coffee, but also with space for the filter holder

  • Add twice the amount of water (30-36ml) just off the boil, allow grinds to bloom (expand) – stir to increase saturation

  • Wait :30 seconds and then add remainder of water and brew for 45 seconds

  • Insert the plunger and plunge over 45 seconds

  • Pour & enjoy! 


Espresso Machine

Coffee recommendation: Try this with the espresso roast honey process or the Castillo medium

Measurements: 7-10g of ground coffee for a single espresso serve.

  • Preheat machine to ensure it’s hot and ready to use. Ideally, purge machine by running it briefly without portafilter to clear any only remnants

  • Grind beans on fine setting, like wholewheat flour

  • Pack and tamp the coffee firmly into the portafilter - size vary so use enough grounds to leave just a bit of room at the top after tamping 

  • Brush off any excess from the top of the filter before attaching the portafilter to group head of themachine

  • Pull shot, hold for approximately 20-30 seconds until you’ve reached about 60-90ml of espress coffee per serving

  • Of course, espresso machines are different and it’s important to experiment with grind size, grams and length of shot to get a cup that best suits your taste! 

  • Steam milk to the desired texture and foam volume for any of the usual café menu drinks like a flat white, cappuccino or macchiato


Refillable Pods

Coffee recommendation: Honey Espresso Roast or House Castillo Medium

Grind: espresso (extra fine) or fine (moka pot)

In a capsule you have the opportujity to test the grind and dose size that works best for you.

If you find that the extraction is too fast, test a finer grind and make sure you have a larger does of coffee in the capsule, pack it to the top. If too slow, try a coarser grind (probably not more than a fine grind) and/or a lower dose.

The other important requirement for capsule coffee is a darker roast. This increases solubility of the coffee which is necessary over shorter extraction times.   

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