Brew Guide

A handy guide for the brew-it-yourselfer.

Once those beautiful Cravens beans leave the bag, the rest of the journey is in your capable hands. You're juggling a lot of variables — water temperature, grind, water-to-coffee ratio, method and time — so let’s make this easy. See what sounds good and put our years of coffee-making experience to the test.

Brew Guides

Single Cup Pour-Over

What to expect: A complex, flavorful, and evenly extracted cup that brings out the best of each origin's flavors

Recommended coffee: Light to medium roast, with sweet, citrusy, and floral notes – one that can be enjoyed thoroughly on its own

Method:

Note: Equipment-wise, we like the Hario brand V60 ceramic pour over dripper

Place paper filter in the cone and moisten with water off the boil
Portion 1oz (30 grams) of Auto Drip ground coffee into the moist filter
Slowly and gently pour water over the grounds until all grounds are saturated
Let the grounds "bloom" for 45 seconds
Slow pour water over the coffee in a circular motion (without making contact with the side of the filter), slow-counting to 15 seconds while pouring
At your discretion, cary the water-to-coffee ratio to meet your taste preference

Drip Coffee Maker

What to expect: A smooth, clean, mellow cup

Recommended coffee: Light to medium roast, with intense, sweet, and acidic flavor to come through the milder, low-extraction brewing method

Method:

Drip brewers spray water heated to 180°F over ground coffee for around 5 minutes. The amount of water and grounds depends on your volume, machine and preference. Follow the maker’s instructions, and if you don’t get what you like, feel free to experiment a bit

Espresso Machine

What to expect: Sharp, intense flavor — a highly extracted shot to mix with milk or water

Recommended coffee: Medium to dark roast with toasted, nutty, chocolate, or woody flavor that minimizes acidity (which is pronounced in espresso) and pairs well with milk

Method:

Add finely ground coffee into the machine part with a handle (portafilter)
Tamp grounds down with 30 pounds of pressure (use pressure tamper if possible)
The machine will quickly (25 seconds at 130 psi) pump hot water (195°F) through the grounds to extract a shot
Add hot water, ice, milk, flavor, or whatever you prefer to enjoy your espresso drink

The French Press

What to expect: Heavy body, syrupy texture and consistency

Recommended coffee: Similar to espresso: medium to dark roast with nutty/chocolate, toasted, or even spicy flavor with a heavier body produced by steeping the grounds for longer period of time and extracting the oils from darker roasted beans

Method:

Start with a coarse grind
Add ground coffee to the bottom of the french press to taste/strength preference
Saturate with water just off the boil – fill to desired amount and strength preference
Let steep for 5 minutes
Break crust with a spoon
Push the grounds to the bottom with the plunger
Pour and enjoy!

Cold Brew

What to expect: Creamy, syrupy, high-caffeine concentrate to mix 50/50 with water or milk, or pour over ice to balance

Recommended coffee:

Medium to dark roast: the toasted flavors and oils from a longer roast time are brought out by the 10-16 hour steeping process
Light roast: if you enjoy sweetness and floral/crisp flavors, a light roasted cold brew can be delicious due to the subdued acidity from the steeping process and syrupy consistency

Method:

There are a variety of perfectly good cold brew units out there. We’re fond of the Toddy® brand, known for its simplicity, efficiency and quality results. Whichever system you choose, simply follow the instructions and enjoy your fresh-made cold brew just how you like it!