Once the vacuum seal is broken, store the coffee in an airtight container at room temperature and away from light, odors, and moisture. Coffee stored under these ideal conditions, should taste superb for 5 days and maintain good flavor for up to two weeks. Coffee in vacuum sealed packaging will taste great up to 1 month. Please do not refrigerate or freeze coffee.
Use cold, fresh filtered or mineral water; avoid tap, softened, or distilled water. Water temperature is important as well. The best temperatures are between 195 and 205 degrees for drip, and 203.5 degrees for espresso. Do not allow water to over-boil. Check automatic brewers occasionally - if it does not reach 195 degrees, you may get a result of watery, bitter coffee.
Each brewing method requires its own grind. We recommend a little trial & error to find the perfect one. Too fine a grind will cause over-extraction and bitterness, while too coarse a grind will make your coffee watery. Every day use of coffee grinders will cause the mills and blades to dull. This will drastically affect the flavor. It is necessary for the coffee to be ground uniformly in order to achieve the best flavor. Check the mills and blades of your grinder regularly and have them sharpened or replaced every 6 months.
We recommend using two heaping tablespoons for each 10 ounces of water. Do not be afraid to try using more or less coffee to achieve the flavor that suits your individual taste.
Oxygen attacks hot coffee and causes its acids and oils to become bitter and stale in 20 minutes. An airtight thermos will keep the coffee hot for several hours and preserve the flavor for at least 40 minutes.
Rinse pot with warm water. Add coarsely ground coffee (two heaping tablespoons per 10 ounces of water). Bring fresh cold water to a boil and pour over coffee, stir vigorously. Let coffee steep for four minutes. Push the plunger down and serve. If the press is too difficult to plunge, the coffee is ground too fine.
Urth Caffè's tip for preparing excellent drip coffee is using the finest grind possible for your drip method. For flat bottom automatic drip coffeemakers, use an exceptionally fine grind. For a Melitta or cone filter, use a fine grind as well, but one just slightly coarser than the flat bottom method. Gold or nylon filters will require an even coarser grind due to the small holes in the filter. We recommend experimenting with grind size and coffee quantity to find the perfect balance for your coffeemaker. If the grind is too fine, you might see coffee grounds or oily spots in your cup, and if too coarse a grind, all you may see is the bottom of your cup.
With espresso, the grind is very crucial. Using a fine grind, a 1 oz shot takes approximately 25 seconds to brew. It should flow out of the port-a-filter like maple syrup, and have a thick, dark reddish-brown crema. If the liquid flowing from the filter starts to turn white, this means it's burning, and you should stop immediately. Properly made espresso is strong & smooth, and never bitter, almost like fine liquor. If your espresso pours fast and watery, try a finer grind, adding more coffee, or packing it harder. If your espresso drips out too slowly, try a coarser grind, or using less coffee. Espresso coffee should be ground only at the time of preparation.
