The Reading Room

Cafe au Lait Recipe: How to Make the French Classic

A traditional French cafe au lait recipe: slow-drip a light roast, then stir in warm milk. Learn cafe noir, cafe noisette, and the New Orleans chicory twist.

Caffe Latte Recipe: How to Make a Latte at Home

A simple caffe latte recipe: pull a shot of espresso, steam and froth 6 ounces of milk, and pour. Make the coffee-shop classic at home in 5 easy steps.

How to Choose an Espresso Machine: Buyer's Guide

How to choose an espresso machine for your home. Compare manual, semi-automatic, and super-automatic machines by budget, skill level, and cup quality.

Turkish coffee: How-to Guide
Partake in this ancient coffee-making tradition if you enjoy a thick, frothy cup. Need: Ibrik Coffee nerd options: Turkish coffee grinder, scale, timer, thermometer Recipe basics: Brew time: 1-2 minutesTemperature: Almost boilingGrind setting: Extra fineRatio:  5 g of coffee (1...
How to Use a Siphon Coffee Maker: Step-by-Step Brew Guide

Siphon coffee uses vapor pressure and vacuum to brew a clean, rich cup. Follow this step-by-step guide to master the siphon coffee maker at home.

How to Brew Pour-Over Coffee: A Complete Step-by-Step Guide

How to brew pour-over coffee step by step. Equipment, grind size, water temperature, pouring technique, troubleshooting, and the best beans for pour-over.

How to Use a Moka Pot: Step-by-Step Brewing Guide

A moka pot brews strong, espresso-style coffee on your stovetop in 5 minutes. Here is the exact grind size, water level, heat setting, and five steps to a clean, bold cup with no bitterness.

How to Make French Press Coffee: Easy Brewing Guide
French press coffee takes four minutes and produces a rich, full-bodied cup that most drip machines cannot match. Add coarse ground coffee, pour hot water, steep for four minutes, press slowly, pour immediately. Every detail below comes from the Blackout...
Italian Cappuccino Recipe: The Classic Rule of Thirds

An Italian cappuccino recipe built on the rule of thirds: equal parts espresso, steamed milk, and thick foam. Learn the four M's and how to froth silky microfoam.

How to Make Espresso at Home: A Beginner's Guide

Making espresso at home comes down to five variables: dose, grind, distribution, tamp, and extraction. Get these right and every shot improves. Here is where to start.

Cold-brewed coffee: How-to Guide
Because sometimes we don’t want our coffee hot. What follows is an easy way to make smooth, potent coffee concentrate. If you prefer cold coffee with the flavor profile (and increased acidity) of hot coffee, please see the “for further exploration”...
How to Use a Clever Coffee Dripper: Step-by-Step Guide

The Clever Coffee Dripper combines full immersion steeping with paper filtration. The result is a full-bodied, clean cup with no sediment and almost no technique required. Here is the exact recipe.

Eva Solo Café Solo: How-to Guide
Think of this as a French press minus the plunge, yielding a cleaner cup with less sediment thanks to the innovative pour-through filter assembly. Need: Eva Solo Café Solo Coffee nerd options:Grinder, pourover kettle, scale, timer, thermometer Recipe basics: Brew...
How to Use an AeroPress: Traditional and Inverted Guide

AeroPress coffee takes 2 minutes and produces a smooth, concentrated, low-acid cup. This guide covers both the traditional and inverted methods with exact ratios, grind sizes, and step-by-step instructions.

The Basics of Blending Coffee
Coffee Blending Basics Coffee blending lets you combine beans from different origins to create a cup that matches your personal taste. Learning the basics of coffee tasting can help you identify the flavors you want in a blend. Whether you...
What Does Arabica Coffee Mean? Everything You Need to Know

What Arabica coffee means: how it differs from Robusta, where it grows, flavor characteristics, popular varietals, and why specialty coffee is almost always Arabica.

How to Store Coffee at Home
When it comes to freshness, coffee is a remarkably volatile product. Once your beans have been roasted, they rapidly lose the flavor qualities that make coffee so enjoyable. Storing coffee properly can help preserve its freshness, extending shelf life significantly....
Coffees of the World Overview
If you like an Ethiopian Harrar, are you likely to enjoy a Costa Rican Tarrazu? Are you trying to choose a coffee gift for a friend but unsure about whether she would prefer a Brazil Santos or a Tanzanian Peaberry?...
What Does Coffee Taste Like? Flavor Profiles Explained

What does coffee taste like beyond bitter? A guide to coffee flavor profiles covering sweetness, acidity, body, tasting notes by origin, roast level, and processing.

 

Coffee Drinks
Have you ever stood at the counter in a coffee shop staring at the chalked menu and wondering if you should order a macchiato, a lungo or a breve? You’re not alone. Given the considerable variety of espresso drinks available...
What Affects Coffee Quality Before You Brew: 8 Key Factors

 Coffee quality is determined long before water touches the grounds. From species and soil to shade and harvest method, here are the 8 factors that separate outstanding coffee from average.