Coffee basics: Why whole bean is better
Freshness is key. Buying our high quality specialty whole bean is the first step; freshly grinding before you brew your cup of joe is ideal. We always recommend buying whole bean, freshly ground coffee, as it has an impact on flavor. A fresh brew of Klatch Coffee is best represented with our whole bean coffee. This allows you to capture freshness and essential oils from beans by grinding right before you brew with any brewing method. Learn more about why brewing from freshly ground coffee is best.
Fresh, Whole Bean Coffee is Best
We recommend buying whole bean to limit exposure to air (oxidation). Pre-ground coffee is exposed to oxygen and ages the coffee, which impacts the experience of taste and flavor notes.
With pre-ground coffee, you’re stuck with brewing with the set grind. You're not able to experiment with changing the grind size. Making small changes to the grind size will enhance your coffee’s flavor. The balance of coffee grind to water will give you a great brew.
The Size of the Grind Matters
The size of the grind will influence the flow of the water because adjusting the flow of the water (this is also why you should add a gooseneck kettle to your coffee gear) will allow you to customize any of the parameters like bloom time and brewing water temperature. If it's slow, grind finer; if it flows too slow, make the grinder coarser.
This will bring out different flavor nuances of your coffee such as - floral, fruity, earthy and so on. Experimenting is always the best way to find the best cup of coffee you will brew. Your flavor notes will differ from grind size and the brewing device you use.
Experimenting with Grind Size
When freshly grinding your coffee beans, you can adjust the grind size, which determines brewing speed.
· Fine grind (small grounds) extract fast.
· Corse grind (large grounds) extract slow.
By making tiny, one-by-one changes to your grind size each time you make coffee, you can slowly make your coffee taste better and bring out different flavor notes.
Bitter taste: Bitterness means you extracted too much from the grounds. By grinding your beans at a coarser setting, you can reduce the total extraction, bringing back a balanced flavor.
Sour taste: Sourness comes from under extraction—basically, your grounds didn’t brew enough. By using a finer grind size, you can increase the speed of extraction to extract more.
Keep Your Coffee in a One-Way Valve Bag
Klatch Coffee bags have a one-way valve for degassing; they are designed to allow pressure to be released from an airtight package while not allowing external atmosphere to enter the package with a re-sealable pocket zipper.
Oxidation as a fact of life, you need to take preventive measures. Oxidation begins when newly-roasted beans are exposed to the air, this impacts the taste (unwanted bitterness) and the aroma of your coffee.
Oxidation
From the time that coffee is roasted, the clock starts - its biological clock. The coffee beans are now intermittently exposed to oxygen.
"Coffee is a highly elusive product – as soon as it is roasted, it already starts to evolve, change and lose its freshness. Research on coffee freshness focuses on two fields related to changes that occur during storage: the chemical changes to coffee aroma and physical changes related to degassing. Both can be linked to loss of freshness." via SCA (Specialty Coffee Association) Coffee Freshness Handbook.
Impact on taste, flavor
“Coffee that is old will taste like….
or,
"You can tell coffee is old because…”
Coffee that is old is not balanced in flavor.
Coffee that is old is not bright in flavor.
Klatch Coffee is a 'roast to order' Roaster
Klatch Coffee is a ‘roast to order', coffee roaster. We roast and bag the same day to ensure the least exposure to oxygen. This is delivered to you with freshness and goodness so that you enjoy each brew's 'peak of flavor'. Remember that coffee needs time to rest before use, so the window of delivery works out great.
Roast Date Tips
via Todd Goldsworthy:
Look at the roast date on the bag:
Brewed coffee ideal: 4 days - 12 days off roast
Espresso ideal: 6 days - 14 days off roast
Our 'roast to order' is to ensure high quality coffee is freshly brewed.
Read More...
Roasted To Order: Why It Matters
It's in the Grind: Now to pick the perfect grinder