Coffee Explanations

QUESTION: Why is a cup of coffee 6 ounces instead of 8 ounces? I’m sitting here looking at my measuring cup and it clearly says 8 ounces, so I don’t get it. – Devin E.  

ANSWER: Though the standard liquid measuring cup is measured at eight ounces, the customary us cup of coffee, as well as tea, is always six fl oz instead of eight. This two ounce difference can cause a lot of confusion when it comes to accurate measurements for how much ground coffee to add when brewing. For the best results, the most common recommendation for coffee brewing is one to two tablespoons for every six ounces of coffee. The simple question is, how much coffee should you use for an eight ounce serving or for other different sizes to ensure you make the perfect cup of coffee?

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by Erin Marissa Russell

As coffee lovers we are always curious about how a particular brewing method will affect our cup of joe. My question was, how the pour-over method of brewing fits in with other preparation methods when it comes to the caffeine content of the resulting brew. Not only does pour over coffee have a higher caffeine content than your usual cup of coffee prepared with automatic coffee makers (an average of 95 milligrams of caffeine)—it even contains more than most shots of espresso (which range from 80 to 185 mg of caffeine). That means your pour-over coffee has up to twice as much caffeine as a single shot of espresso. Keep in mind that a regular cup of coffee has more caffeine than an espresso shot in general though.

However, that’s quite a range from the lowest to the highest end. It may help to keep in mind that the average cup of pour over coffee contains 145 mg of caffeine. Let’s see what else there is to know about the relationship between caffeine and your cup of pour over coffee.

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Super automatic espresso / coffee makers have a bean topper located on the top, designed for storing whichever beans you choose and feeding them right into the machine when you make a coffee or espresso drink.

Even though other bean types can be prepared conveniently, oily beans do not work well with super automatic coffee makers, as they often stick to its different parts, which eventually may spoil it.

Most super automatic machines warn you in the instructions to avoid oily beans. And if you’ve tried to use them anyway, you might have noticed that they get caught in the hopper and the grinder makes a high pitched whirring sound that indicates not enough beans made it into the grinding area. So with this in mind, you should be careful when choosing coffee beans, as many “espresso roasts” can be oily.  

So as much as you might like your favorite coffee that tends to have oily beans, you need to avoid them so they don’t clog up your automatic espresso machines over time.

Here’s more information on why oily beans are bad for your automatic espresso machines and why you should avoid them.

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by Erin Marissa Russell

Ready to learn about the difference between ristretto versus a long shot? Both these espresso drinks are slightly altered versions of a standard espresso shot. We’re ready to give you the breakdown of exactly what goes into a ristretto and a long shot, as well as how they differ.

In short, a ristretto uses less water than a single shot of espresso while a long shot uses more water. That means the flavor of a ristretto is more concentrated than a single shot, while the flavor of a long shot is gentler and more diluted.

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by Erin Marissa Russell

We call them coffee beans, but are the beans we get our coffee from actually legumes? The short answer is no. But if they aren’t legumes, what are coffee beans? Keep reading for a total breakdown explaining everything you need to know about coffee beans.

What we call a coffee bean is actually the seed inside a fruit called a coffee cherry. The fruits are red or purple, and interestingly, the seeds inside don’t really resemble beans. Even though they don’t look a lot like legumes, they’ve earned the nickname through common use, so lots of people believe that coffee beans are legumes despite the fact that they are fruit seeds. The only thing coffee beans have in common with real legumes is their shape and size. 

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by Erin Marissa Russell

Are you wondering about whether coffee will hydrate you? If you’re like us, you’ve heard conflicting information. Yes, coffee’s main ingredient is water, but what about the diuretic properties of caffeine? We’re ready to explain how coffee affects hydration, so just keep reading to find out more.

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by Erin Marissa Russell

Ready to find out everything you need to know about Italian macchiato coffee? Coffee on its own is simple, but when you start getting into espresso drinks, it can be harder to know the difference between macchiato and mocha or cappuccino and americano. We’ll tell you exactly what an Italian macchiato is and also tell you how to make one.

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