OUR TIPS FOR BREWING AND STORING SUPERB COFFEE:

Water

Excellent coffee requires excellent water — there's no way around it. Use filtered water, not distilled, spring water, or Artesian well water. Minerals are important for coffee flavor (and health), so reverse osmosis water, while filtered, will not yield optimum results.

Temperature

Coffee likes to be brewed with temperatures ranging from 195° to 205° Fahrenheit. You can achieve this temperature range on your stove by bringing water to a boil and letting it rest for two minutes without heat. Do not use boiling water — it will cook the precious nuances out of your beans.

Grind

For best results grinding, we recommend a conical burr grinder which allows you to adjust your ground for different brewing preparations and will not overheat your grounds with a whirling blade. As a general rule, coffee should be ground finer for quick extractions like Espresso and more coarsely for a slower extraction like the French Press or the very popular auto drip method. Measure your coffee before putting it into the grinder and only grind as much as you need per brew. Once the coffee is ground, its flavor will immediately begin to deteriorate.

Strength

A general rule of thumb for the full expression of your coffee is 2 level tablespoons per 6 fluid ounces of water. If you like a weaker or stronger cup, adjust the amount of coffee you use, not the grind of your coffee. A grind that is too fine under a long extraction period will taste bitter and over-extracted, while a grind that is too coarse will taste weak and diluted. Remember that the full expression of the coffee will become most evident as the coffee reaches lukewarm temperatures, so drink slowly and appreciate your brew as it cools off. If it is too strong, or too weak, this is when you will taste it most.

Storage

Freshness is insanely important! Buy only a week's supply of Kickapoo Coffee at a time and store it in a dark, cool, dry place (like a kitchen cupboard). Our coffee cans are ideal storage vessels, so don't hesitate to take them back to the bulk bin and fill them up, time and time again.

The only time that storing coffee in a freezer is appropriate is when you have more than a few weeks' supply.

For those of you that use a French Press, here are our recommendations:

The first step is to start with a very clean French Press — coffee oils are insidious and will make your brew bitter if you brew on top of them. Now take your hot water (195° to 205°F) and pour just enough to wet your medium-coarse grounds (2 tablespoons per 6 fluid ounces). This is called a pre-infusion and the coffee will look a bit like mud at the bottom of your beaker. After one minute, fill the rest of the French Press, leaving enough room at the top to fully close the plunger without cramping your coffee on the top. Now wait patiently for an additional 4-5 minutes. (Coarser grinds require more time.) Finally, plunge the coffee down very slowly, taking at least 20 seconds to do so.

This should get you off to a good start. The trick is to brew intentionally — tasting, adjusting the grind, or the brew time, until you hit it just right.