Coffee 101: An Epiphany

Like many recent graduates, I am currently honing my skills in the retail industry. Whilst the situation that I have found myself in is undoubtedly a sad reflection on the current state of the economic climate, it is not something that I like to dwell upon; after all, some people enjoy working in retail. As for me, I simply treat it as a means to an end. Admittedly, after standing around on my feet for hours at a time, subject to the petty whims of over-zealous customers and occasionally being treated as a second-class citizen, that end seems very far away indeed. Nevertheless, it isn't all bad. For instance, I like to think that after spending the past four months in such close proximity to others, as the other so to speak, I've become something of an amateur psychologist. Either way, I always look forward to my break, at which point I reconnect with the society I've been spectating all morning by ordering a drink and blending in to the background of a busy cafe. The resulting coffee is invariably disappointing, more token gesture than poor imitation, but the desire for a warm drink has always outweighed the aversion to an insipid taste. Until today, that is, for what I received this afternoon was quite literally the worst cup of "coffee" I have ever had the misfortune of sipping. Although it would be fair to say that my tastes have become somewhat refined since taking up coffee as a hobby, I imagine even the most ardent fan of the cheap instant variety would be repulsed by the terribly burnt, acidic swill that I was served, which neither a will of iron nor a tongue of stone could shake. This regrettable experience has led me to reconsider my own journey towards an understanding of what makes a good cup of coffee; the results of which I feel compelled to record lest my faith in my favourite drink is ruined forever.

It is true to say that I have always liked coffee... or so that is what I would have told myself a year and a half ago after having endured three years of university on a student budget. Of course, at the time I genuinely did like drinking the cheapest instant coffee that I could find and besides, as far as I was concerned there were far more important luxuries to spend my money on. And so it was an epiphanic awakening of sorts when, upon moving to a new house after graduating, my parents gave me a french press and a bag of pre-ground coffee. Just a single brew was all that was needed to convince me to ditch the jar of instant coffee stowed away in the kitchen cupboard and begin learning about "real" coffee. Although I am far from a connoisseur as of yet, I have come to learn that there are two factors of crucial importance to any one who wants to start brewing their own coffee.

Has Bean's wonderful Jailbreak Espresso Blend

Firstly, a cup of coffee can only ever be as good as the beans used to produce it. Once roasted, coffee beans begin to lose their intensity of flavour after just a few weeks. Furthermore, this process is dramatically increased once the beans are ground. By way of example, there is a very noticeable difference in taste between a cup of coffee brewed immediately after grinding the beans and one brewed just an hour or so afterwards. If we figure in the fact that store bought coffee is typically roasted and ground months before it even reaches the store shelves, it doesn't take an expert to realise that the flavour is seriously compromised. Therefore, the solution is to only buy freshly roasted whole-beans from a local coffee house. If this isn't possible then there are a number of excellent online coffee shops that roast to order. For instance, I recently bought a couple of batches of espresso blends from Has Bean, which arrived within a single day of being roasted. Needless to say, the resulting coffee is delicious.

The Presso espresso machine

Secondly, it will come as no surprise that grinding the beans immediately before use yields the best results. It also goes without saying that a grinder is required to grind the freshly roasted beans. However, it isn't quite as simple as blitzing the beans in a blender as there are a number of different types of brewing method that each require different sized coffee grounds. Personally, I mainly brew coffee using either my beloved french press or my Presso espresso machine. The former requires a coarse grind whilst the latter requires a much finer grind to allow the build up of pressure necessary for a good extraction. Which ever method is used, the grind is crucial to the success of the brew and as such it can take some trial and error before the optimum size is obtained.


Although my coffee odyssey has in many ways only just begun, by following these two foundations, that is to say, by making sure I only use freshly roasted beans ground as and when needed, I can at the very least produce a consistent cup of coffee each and every time. And I'm pleased to say that that cup of coffee, even at its very worst, is pure heaven in comparison to the swill that I will no longer be suffering at the mercy of during my work breaks.