Knowledgebase Archive
All Posts in the KnowledgebaseHow Do Ion Exchange Water Filters Work?
We all know that hard water is the enemy of good coffee – it can make coffee taste heavy, chalky, and dull, and will wreak havoc with your equipment too. Ion exchange water filters are the most common method for reducing hardness in water – they’re relatively cheap, and the most basic versions can even…
Why Does Cold Brew Taste Different?
Why Does Cold Brew Taste Different? Cold brewed coffee tastes quite different to the same coffee brewed hot, then chilled. It tastes considerably less acidic, with more ‘brown’ flavours (on the spectrum from chocolate to rubber), and generally few of the complex...
Do you Have any Recommendations for the Maintenance of Cloth Filters?
Do you have any recommendations for the maintenance of cloth filters? If you’ve ever used cloth filters, then you’ve probably experienced this: your first few brews are fantastic - full bodied, with a distinctive silky mouthfeel, but great clarity. The next day, the...
Is it More Environmentally Friendly to Switch my Espresso Machine off Overnight?
An answer to the question of how to be greener in managing you espresso machines energy consumption.
How is it that coffee still tastes sweet, even though in scientific literature we’re told all — or almost all — the sugars have been caramelised.
How is it that coffee still tastes sweet, even though in scientific literature we're told all — or almost all — the sugars have been caramelised. Is the literature wrong? Green coffee contains as much as 9% sucrose (A. Farah) as well as numerous polysaccharides...
Why Can Coffee Dry Your Mouth?
The dry feeling in the mouth that you can sometimes get after drinking coffee is properly called ‘astringency’. This is a dry, sandy feeling on the tongue — the same feeling that you get from drinking strong black tea, or from eating an unripe banana. While astringency is the sensation we’re interested in here, it’s worth noting…
Which Material for Filter Cones is Best at Keeping the Heat in Your Brew?
Glass, Steel, Ceramic? The short answer is: plastic cones are best. They absorb heat from the brew water less quickly, absorb less heat overall, and lose that heat to the air more slowly. But to really understand why, we need to delve into a little...
A BH Protocol for Measuring Grind Retention
Measuring Grind Retention All grinder designs take a little time to dispense the coffee they have ground. In lesson B1 2.04 of the Barista One course and certification, we suggested a protocol for measuring grind retention. We liked it so much that we decided...
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