Freedom Press

Before I started working for Kaldi's a little over a year ago, I really liked coffee. I worked in a few cafes here and there, had some pre-ground drip in the morning, and a nice, over extracted americano in the afternoon. What a delicious beverage, one that also kept me awake (for the most part), and something about it was always intriguing to me. Little did I know there were people inhaling coffee from a spoon, talking about body, acidity, roast level, varietal, and region. Now I too am one of those people, and can safely say that I really, really love coffee. You say you love coffee too?

The best way to dive into specialty coffee is by finding a quality cafe and visiting with some knowledgeable baristas. But what if you live somewhere that doesn't have any specialty cafes? Home brewing is the answer! Here you are free to brew and experiment in any way you like. All you need is some high quality, fresh roasted coffee (like Kaldi's!), fresh filtered water, gram scale, a coffee grinder, and a brewing device. This morning I felt like a french press of some Counter Culture Kenya...

First, you'll want to decide how much you're going to be brewing. A general rule of thumb is about 12g of coffee to 6oz of water. For my personal taste I use about 11g to 6oz when brewing with a french press. Now you'll want to weigh your coffee and water to the proper brewing ratios. This is what your trusty gram scale is for (get one with an ounces mode too!)

Now that everything is weighed and the water is boiling it's time to grind that coffee. It is important to grind to a consistent particle size. The more variance in particle size, the bigger variance in extraction time between particles and this will result in an inconsistent brew. I will be using the Capresso Infinity burr grinder, which grinds pretty darn consistent. Below is some coarsely ground coffee for our french press. The particles are pretty big, perfect for our steeping brew method.

The time has come to brew, take that boiling water off the stove and let it cool just a bit until it's around 203 degrees or so. Dump the freshly ground coffee into the press pot, start that timer and pour the water over the grounds. Be sure to soak all of the coffee. A proper french press takes 4 - 5 minutes to brew depending on your personal taste and grind size. The finer the grind, the shorter the steep time. This is something I will be experimenting with in future posts. After about 45 seconds to a minute you want to break and stir the "bloom" of coffee on the top of your press pot.

Now all we have to do is wait. After the brew time is up just push down on the plunger of the press slowly. If you encounter any resistance pull back up a bit then down slowly again. Serve and enjoy!

What a delicious and complex coffee. Delicate floral notes in the nose along with toasted caramel and vanilla. A fair body with modest acidity that doesn't over power like some other African coffees. A slightly tart acidity with a savory mouthfeel reminiscent of blackberry and blackcurrant. For a single lot Kenya it is much more balanced than I expected, a very remarkable coffee. Highly recommended!