Coffee Explanations

by Matt Gibson

When trying out single origin coffees from roasteries and coffee farms from all over the world, you will no doubt run into quite a few Colombian and Ethiopean roasts along the way. Colombia and coffee are practically synonymous, and many people around the world think of coffee when they think of the country of Colombia. That is because Colombia is one of the top three coffee producing countries in the world, and has been in the top three for several decades. 

Ethiopia is considered the birthplace of coffee, and thousands of different varieties of coffee grow there in the wild. Ethiopia is the only country where coffee grows in the wild, which is why the coffee from Ethiopia has such a wide diversity in flavor and style.

Read more

QUESTION: How long does coffee stay fresh after it is brewed? I brew a pot at home and want to know how long the coffee will stay good for me to drink throughout the day. — Sam B.

ANSWER: How long your coffee stays fresh depends on factors like how you store the coffee. That said, coffee is at its freshest immediately after it’s brewed, and a pot is only considered “fresh” for 30 minutes or so sitting on the counter. So if you like to drink coffee over the course of a day, it’s better to brew it multiple times in smaller amounts when you’re ready to drink some than to brew a giant pot and just leave it on the burner or in the carafe.

How long it is safe to drink is another question. Coffee brewed up to 12 hours ago and stored on the counter may not taste fresh, but it is safe to drink. In this article, we’ll discuss the different ways to store your brewed coffee and how long each method keeps coffee fresh.

Here’s where I’m also going to backtrack a little bit. If you’re currently leaving a pot of coffee on the burner all morning and drinking a cup six hours later and it tastes fine to you, then it might not be worth the trouble of brewing a fresh pot each time. But if you are the kind of person who likes high quality coffee, you’ll probably be able to taste the difference and it might be worth the hassle.

Read more

QUESTION: How long is roasted coffee considered fresh? Does it make a difference if it’s an opened bag or not? – Nico K. 

ANSWER: The key to getting the freshest cup of coffee is to buy beans that have a very recent date printed on them for when they were roasted so that you know exactly when the beans you purchase will be at their freshest. Coffee beans come into their prime freshness just three days after roasting. If you want truly fresh coffee, the window to brew it after the roast date is actually pretty small. Most sources will tell you that coffee beans are considered fresh for five to seven weeks after they are roasted. However, coffee aficionados will probably argue that the window is really more like two to three weeks maximum, and that coffee beans will begin to lose their flavor after just two and a half to three weeks time. 

Read more

QUESTION: How much coffee do I use for 8 cups of water? I don’t want watery coffee, but I don’t want to waste it either or make it gross. – Sharla F. 

ANSWER: To make eight cups of coffee, we recommend using 14 to 18 tablespoons of ground coffee, using six ounces of water per cup. If you have a kitchen scale and like to use exact measurements when making your coffee, use 72 grams of ground coffee and 40 ounces of water to make an eight cup carafe of joe. 

Read more