Brewing Guides

Below are some of the ways we love to enjoy our coffee. Each different brewing method carries its own distinct set of flavors that bring out the excellent nature of good coffee. Experiment with all to find out your favorites!

Pour Over

A fantastic way to experience coffee! This brewing method really puts you in control and allows you to sense your coffee as you prepare it. The use of paper filters limits the amount of coffee oils that make it into your cup, so pourover coffee tends to have a clean, crisp flavor. We could type out our instructions, but there's honestly no better method than what the folks at Blue Bottle Coffee use! I'll include the steps here and you can head over to their site if you want to see more. The coffee ratio is just about 1:16 if you want to scale this recipe at all.

• 38g coffee freshly ground to a medium-fine grind (slightly more coarse than table salt)
• 600g water, slightly cooler than boiling, ideally in a gooseneck kettle

1. Add a filter to your pourover dripper and wet it with hot water.
2. Add ground coffee and tap gently on the dripper to level the grounds.
3. "Bloom" the coffee. Slowly pour in a spiral starting at the outside of the dripper working inward. Keep steady, and stop pouring when the scale you're working on hits ~60g. Shoot for 15 seconds for this pour and then rest for 30 seconds.
4. Pour again, this time starting in the center and making sure to pour all the way to the edge of the coffee. This time add about 90g water over 20-30 seconds and rest for about a minute.
5. Repeat this step 2x as the coffee drips through the filter.
6. Pour and enjoy!

Aeropress

We love the Aeropress for it's simplicity and consistency. You can use it anywhere and get a fantastic cup of coffee! It's a perfect mix of french press and pourover, and uses a paper filter to limit the coffee oil that ends up in your cup. Our preferred brew for Aeropress includes:

• 16-18g coffee freshly ground to a medium-fine grind (slightly more coarse than table salt)
• 210g water, slightly cooler than boiling

1. Place the plunger about 3/4" into the Aeropress and place the whole device on a flat surface with the opening facing up. We use the "inverted" brewing method.
2. Add coffee grounds to Aeropress and shake to level.
3. Start timer, add half the water and stir to saturate the grounds
4. Add the rest of the water and stir
5. At 2:00, twist the cap onto the Aeropress (don't forget the filter!), flip over onto your mug, and press down slowly. Don't rush this part or you might find yourself covered in hot coffee!
6. Enjoy!

Espresso

For espresso, we recommend a fine grind and a 18g dose. We use a double basket at Lennox Coffee and have had great results. Always dial in your grind to ensure that your shots are pulling consistently. We shoot for a 25-27 second extraction that ends up at about 40g of liquid espresso, and have found that our Lighter roasts really shine in this capacity!

As pretentious as it sounds, using a scale to weigh the input and output when pulling shots really does help deliver consistent, delicious results. If you don't have a scale or a setup that works this way, though, don't sweat it! Take your time to dial it in and pull shots that taste good to you.

French Press

The coffee ratio we like for French Press is 1:12. This makes a bold cup of coffee. Note that French Press will always be an oilier cup, as there is no filter to remove those coffee oils.

• 30g coffee freshly ground to a very coarse grind (like breadcrumbs)
• 350g (12oz) water, slightly cooler than boiling, ideally in a gooseneck kettle

1. Add coffee to French Press.
2. Add twice as much water as coffee to press, and stir. Wait 30 seconds for coffee to bloom.
3. Pour remaining water and top with the lid.
4. Wait 4 minutes.
5. Plunge the press down gently.
6. Pour and enjoy! Note: don't let coffee sit in the press with the grounds, as it will become over-extracted and bitter.