I remember being asked this question by my soon to be employer. It was during an interview for a position within their coffee company. “What is Specialty Coffee?” To be honest, I had never heard the expression before. I think I answered something along the lines of “A coffee with caramel" in it”. After some research, I was quite embarrassed of my answer. Although I came from a management position within a well known Australian coffee franchise; Specialty Coffee was a complete mystery to me.

Very fruit forward with a delicious sweetness and boozy aroma, this Natural Costa Rican is beautiful brewed black. With notes of Apricot, Nougat and Orange, this coffee is wonderfully refreshing and complex. We’ve been using it as a filter and can’t wait to put it through Cold Brew. Enjoy.

If you’ve ever remembered having that perfect cordial to water ratio for your favorite glass in your cupboard, then Brew Ratios should make a lot of sense. You would also know that if you use too much or not enough cordial in water, then taste is definitely affected, sometimes for the worst. This is exactly the same for espresso.

Grind size, or how fine or coarse you grind your dose, is such a major variable in specialty coffee brewing. This largely affects flavour, mouthfeel, finish and taste in all brewing methods, especially home espresso. Let’s go through some of the basline key indicators that we should be aiming to start hitting with our brewing at home.