The Bootlegger's Guide to Brewing Coffee at Home

You did the hard part. You got your hands on good coffee. Now don't let a bad brew waste it.

Every method below comes down to the same four things: how much coffee, how much water, how hot the water is, and how fine you grind. Get those right and you'll get a great cup almost every time.

The Ground Rules

• Weigh it if you can. A cheap kitchen scale beats a scoop every time. If you don't have one, about 2 level tablespoons of coffee per 6 oz of water is a fair starting point.

• Start at about 1 gram of coffee for every 16 to 18 grams of water. That's the range the Specialty Coffee Association built its brewing standard around (55 grams of coffee per liter of water).

• Keep the water between 195°F and 205°F. That's just off the boil. Bring the kettle to a boil, then let it sit for about 30 seconds.

• Use filtered water. Coffee is about 98% water. If your tap water tastes off, so will your coffee.

• Grind right before you brew. Ground coffee goes stale fast. If you buy our Whole Bean, grind just before you brew.

Drip Coffee Maker

The everyday workhorse. Nothing wrong with that.

• Ratio: 1:16 to 1:17 (about 60 grams of coffee for a full 1-liter pot)

• Grind: medium, like coarse sand

• Tip: use a paper filter and pour the water into the reservoir, never straight onto the grounds. Drink it or move it to a thermal carafe once it's done. The longer it sits on the hot plate, the more it cooks and the more bitter it gets.

Pour-Over

The most control you'll get over a cup. Best for showing off what a single origin can do.

• Ratio: 1:16 (for example, 22 grams of coffee to 350 grams of water)

• Grind: medium-fine, like table salt

• Water: 200°F

• How:

  1. Rinse the paper filter with hot water and pour that water out.

  2. Add the coffee and pour about twice its weight in water to wet all the grounds. Wait 30 to 45 seconds. That's the bloom, where the fresh coffee releases its gas.

  3. Pour the rest slowly in small circles, keeping the water level steady.

  4. Aim for a total brew time of about 3 to 4 minutes.

• Tip: if it tastes sour, grind finer. If it tastes bitter, grind coarser.

French Press

Heavy body, bold flavor, no paper filter. Great with our darker roasts.

• Ratio: 1:15 (30 grams of coffee to 450 grams of water)

• Grind: coarse, like breadcrumbs or coarse sea salt

• Water: 195°F to 205°F

• How:

  1. Add the coffee, start a timer, and pour all the water over it.

  2. Put the lid on with the plunger pulled up, but don't press yet.

  3. At 4 minutes, press the plunger down slowly and steadily.

  4. Pour it all out right away. Coffee left sitting on the grounds keeps brewing and turns bitter.

• Tip: if the plunger is hard to push, your grind is too fine. For a cleaner cup, stir the crust at 4 minutes, skim off the foam, and wait a few more minutes before pressing.

Cold Brew

Smooth, low-bitterness, and made for Texas summers. It's a job for the fridge, not the stove.

• Ratio: 1:8 for a concentrate (100 grams of coffee to 800 grams of cold water)

• Grind: very coarse, the coarsest setting on most grinders

• How:

  1. Stir the coffee into cold, filtered water until every ground is wet.

  2. Cover and steep in the fridge for 12 to 24 hours. Start at about 16 hours.

  3. Strain through a fine mesh strainer, then through a paper filter for a cleaner glass.

  4. Mix the concentrate with equal parts water or milk and pour it over ice.

• Tip: don't steep it much past 24 hours. It starts tasting woody and bitter. Keep the concentrate sealed in the fridge and drink it within about a week.

Moka Pot

The stovetop answer to espresso. Strong, rich, and quick.

• Grind: fine, a little coarser than espresso

• How:

  1. Fill the bottom chamber with hot water up to the valve.

  2. Fill the basket with coffee and level it off. Don't pack it down.

  3. Screw it together and set it on medium heat with the lid open.

  4. When the coffee starts to sputter and turn pale, pull it off the heat and run the bottom under cold water to stop it.

• Tip: starting with hot water keeps the coffee from cooking on the stove and tasting burnt. Our Espresso Signature Blend is a natural fit here.

Quick Reference

Which Bag for Which Brewer?

• Pour-over: our medium roasts like Ethiopia, Colombia and Honduras, where the origin comes through clean.

• French press and cold brew: Brazil Dark Roast and Indonesia-Sumatra, which hold up with a full body.

• Moka pot: Espresso Signature Blend.

• Anything: Bourbon Barrel Aged Guatemala. Try it as cold brew and thank us later.

Brewing French press, cold brew or pour-over? Order Whole Bean and grind it yourself to the size above. It makes a bigger difference than any gadget.

Now go brew something worth sneaking.

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