Brewing | Sweet Maria's Coffee Library

Why I Travel with an Aeropress

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Water boils a little too easily at 3650 meters. That's where I am in the photo, after a rainy night at Chennak camp in the Simien Mountains, Ethiopia. Given the fact that any coffee would taste pretty bad brewed at low temeratures, the Aeropress did a pretty good job at making an decent cup.

Brewing

Oh So Clever

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Last Friday, Oct 26th, I participated in a brewing event at the SCAA headquarters in Long Beach, CA. There were 7 stations/brew methods and 2 coffees. The coffees were a Costa Rica from the Helsar mill roasted by Verve Coffee Roasters and a Washed Ethiopia Yukro from Portola Coffee lab. The brew methods were: Chemex with Able Kone filter, Press Pot, Aeropress with paper filter, Hario V60, Clever, Fetco batch brewer, and Espresso.

Brewing

March/April 2012: Electric Coffee Brewers/ Using Taste to Determine Roast Level

Date:

Fri, 2012-03-02

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Electric Coffee Brewers

Jan-Feb 2012: The Maintenance Issue

Date:

Mon, 2012-01-16

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With the holidays over, we finally have time to stop and take a breath at the Sweet Maria’s warehouse. As I stand on the cusp of the new year assessing and strategizing, I can’t help but notice the yellow stains inside my stainless steel mug.

Using Smell to Determine Degree of Roast

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There are subtle aroma shifts that occur as coffee is roasted and you will quickly become aware of the noticeable differences. At lighter roast levels you can detect delicate aromas as steam escapes the bean, but as you go darker this steam turns to smoke as you begin to incinerate the sugars and volatile organic compounds locked inside.

Here are differences in aroma you’ll notice while roasting:

Single Cup Coffee Filter

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Brewing

Pour Over Party Part 1: Bonmac, Kone, Kantan and Kantan's Clone

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We wanted to see the differences between the Kantan single cup filter/brewer and it's clone. Also, we too the chance to try out the new improved Kone by comparing it it against a Bonmac.

Brewing

Pour Over Party Part 2: The Results

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Check out the results of the comparison of the coffee that resulted from our test between the Kantan, the Kantan clone, a bonmac and a Kone.

Brewing

August 2011: Cold Brew Experimentation

Date:

Mon, 2011-08-15

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A French Press Moment

Who would have imagined five years ago that a coffee wonk who announced proudly “I make coffee in a French Press!” (or perhaps even more so, a “Cafetiere” or “Melior”) would be so unfashionable these days. With SF coffeehouses all switching en masse from French Press brewing to pour-over techniques, who would think the method you use for making a good cup of coffee would be so trendy? Maybe next you will need to consider whether your apparel matches your brewer.

Brewing

April 2011: Clever/Technivorm Comparison; New Look for Sweet Maria's Library

Date:

Mon, 2011-04-11

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Are Clever Coffee Drippers good because they are an inexpensive way to make coffee? Do Technivorm brewers make good coffee because they cost almost $300? After all, don’t both brewers infuse water with ground coffee? We thought it would be interesting to compare what the two brewers do well and expose their differences, especially since there is such a wide disparity in their price.

Using an Aeropress

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Using an Aeropress

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Publication Date:

Thu, 2009-01-01

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AeroPress comes with some good instructions. If you did not receive them in your AeroPress box....

Brewing

Stovetop Vacuum Brew Pictorial (Yama, Bodum Santos)

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Stovetop Vacuum Brew Pictorial (Yama, Bodum Santos)

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Publication Date:

Fri, 2010-01-01

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The Yama Vacuum Brewer is a stovetop model from Japan that resembles the long-gone Silex and Cory glass models....

Brewing

Brewing Coffee (A framework..) General Brewing Information Sheet

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Brewing Coffee (A framework..) General Brewing Information Sheet

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Publication Date:

Fri, 2010-01-01

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When you brew coffee, hot water acts as a solvent, washing the soluble solids out of the coffee grinds and into the brew.

Roasted Coffee Storage

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Roasted Coffee Storage

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Publication Date:

Fri, 2010-01-01

Summary:

Freshly roasted coffee should be treated like fresh bakery goods or produce.