Hints
Storage
A major key to excellent coffee is freshness. Oxygen is the
staling agent for coffee, so in order to maintain our standards
of freshness, we package all of our coffee beans in one-way
valve bags immediately after they are removed from the roaster.
By using the valve-bags, the beans remain as fresh as the day
they were roasted for up to6 months. Hints for storing coffee
at home
We recommend storing unused coffee fresh in airtight containers
in a cool and dry place. Glass is good because it doesn't
retain odours or oils from previous usage. Otherwise a plastic
snap-lock bag with the air squeezed out is ideal.
Keep coffee away from the following:
- Extreme temperatures (too hot or too cold)
- Light
- Moisture
- Strong odours (coffee attracts and absorbs foreign odours)
Do not freeze or refrigerate coffee.
Purchase your beans fresh and use them within two weeks for
peak taste.
We recommend you purchase coffee weekly and then grind the
beans immediately before brewing because ground coffee rapidly
loses its flavour, no matter how it is stored. Whole beans
stay fresh longer than ground coffee. However, it is recommended
that coffee be ground nearest to the time of brewing. Be sure
that the coffee is fresh at the start.
Brewing
The enjoyment of coffee is a sensual and subjective experience.
There are many ways to brew a satisfying cup of coffee, but
the secret to the perfect cup is to remember one thing above
all else -- brew coffee to suit your own taste. If the results
aren't what you expected, try again. Make the grind more or
less coarse; use more or less water; purchase and evaluate a
variety of coffees.
All we can recommend here are a few basic ground rules to
put you on the right track before you begin to experiment
with brewing times and blends.
The art of brewing great coffee
Use nothing but the best quality Arabica
coffee beans.
Gloria Jean's only use carefully selected Arabica beans from
the world over. Use freshly roasted coffee that has been properly
stored away from air and moisture.
Use a clean coffee brewer.
Built-up resins and oily deposits can make your coffee taste
bitter, so your equipment must be cleaned regularly. Cleaning
agents are available at Gloria Jean's.
Use fresh ground coffee.
As often as possible, buy your favourite Gloria Jean's coffee
in small quantities. Grind it just before brewing as we do
at Gloria Jean's Coffees to ensure maximum freshness (ground
coffee loses flavour and body quickly).
Match your grind to your brewing system.
It is essential that your coffee beans are correctly ground
to match your coffee maker. In general, the longer that coffee
and water spend in contact during the brewing process, the
coarser the grind you should use. For example, for a plunger
the grind should be coarse, as the brewing time is four minutes.
An espresso machine only takes a few seconds to brew, so it
requires a much finer grind.
Always use fresh, cold water heated to just off
the boil.
Bottled or filtered water is best and don't use softened or
distilled water as they will affect the flavour of the coffee.
For the perfect water temperature, bring the water to a boil
and let it cool a few seconds. Water any cooler will not capture
the full flavour of the beans. Boiling or reheating coffee
literally boils away flavour.
Use the right proportion of coffee to water.
We recommend starting with one rounded tablespoon(10g)of ground
coffee for each 180ml of water. Adjust the amount of coffee
to suit your taste.
Drink the coffee freshly brewed.
If you brew more than you can drink right away, pour the extra
brewed coffee into a thermal container. It can last for up
to an hour without seriously changing the taste. Plunger coffee
becomes over extracted and cold by the time the second cup
is poured. Drip coffee gets bitter and flat if it sits too
long on a hotplate. Never reheat cold coffee.
Evaluate coffee by taste.
If it's too rich, or too light, adjust the grind or amount
of water used until you have a perfect brew -- the one that
pleases you.
|
