Despite the period of rapid growth and progression that the specialty coffee industry has been enjoying around the world as of late, much about our industry and our product remains esoteric to the general public. To a person that has lived their entire life thinking that the pre-ground powder in a can at the grocery store brewed through a $20 auto-dripper is the extent of what coffee has to offer (and whose palate has likely adapted to now genuinely enjoy these products),
There are four important questions that help a barista come to understand their role in the world of the coffee house. Who is your guest? Why do they come to your shop? What makes a good cup of coffee? Why is any of this important? Understanding these answers are central to being an impactful barista, not just a coffee shop employee.
Below you will learn the best practices essential to making great tasting pour-over drip coffee using a Chemex. If you want to learn more about coffee extraction and gain an in-depth understanding of every primary coffee brewing method, check out our Coffee Education Program for a complete list of upcoming coffee classes and barista training workshops.
ABOUT THE BREW METHOD:
Combining elegance and efficient design, the Chemex functions as one self-contained brewing,
By now, for coffee professionals and café owners, there is a better than likely chance they’ve heard the phrase “Coffee is 98% water.” Does this really mean anything? If so, what action does it illicit from people?
As the Specialty Coffee representative for a commercial water treatment manufacturer, I work with café owners, coffee roasters, coffee equipment manufacturers, equipment distributors, service techs and baristas every day. Without question, the single largest problem I find across all of these groups is the negative side effects that water has on their equipment and coffee.
In many popular coffee regions around the United States, iced coffee is treated as an afterthought. In a lot of cases it is even looked down upon by baristas and coffee purists. The reason? “Iced coffee is bitter, and just plain tastes bad.” But why? Could it be that baristas only focus their attention in the direction of traditional hot brewing methods? What if the same level of though and care were put into iced coffee?