The Reading Room

Office coffee has a bad reputation, but the burnt break-room pot is easy to beat. Simple ways to drink better coffee at your desk.

http://www.pcfastlane.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/starbucks-via-ready-brew.jpg" width="480" height="357" /> Let me be first to clarify: I did not buy this coffee, it was given to me  about a month ago when I went to visit my parents. Ever since I have heard about the Via...

Coffee acidity is the bright, lively quality behind a fresh cup. What it means, what creates it, and how to dial in the level you like.

Christmas is probably long due but I still haven’t got one present for myself. So I went ahead and indulged myself with something that I had my eye on for a very very long time. Though very likely, I would...

The decaf coffee process removes caffeine before roasting. How the chemical-free Swiss Water and CO2 methods work, and why the method matters.

Flavored coffee is regular roasted coffee with flavor compounds added to the beans after roasting. The 5 most popular flavors , vanilla, hazelnut, caramel, cinnamon, and chocolate , each pair with different roast levels and brewing methods. This guide covers how flavored coffee is made, how to buy quality versions, and how to brew them correctly.

Sumatra coffee is processed differently from every other origin in the world. Wet-hulled processing , called Giling Basah , produces the earthy, full-bodied, low-acid flavor that makes Sumatra unlike any African or Latin American coffee. This guide covers where it grows, how it is processed, and what the cup tastes like.

Well, I have become quite interest in decaf recently due to the knowledge of my wife become pregnant. While we are both uncertain of any ill effects that caffeine may or may not have on the impact of a growing...

Day one of brewing with the Hario for my wife.   I blogged the other day about the gift of a Hario V60 as a gift that I admired and had a good cup of coffee from.  Today it was...

The wrong espresso cup kills crema, drops temperature, and changes how the shot tastes. Here is exactly what size, material, and shape to look for — and why each one matters more than you think.

Coffee grind size makes or breaks a cup. See how to match coarse, medium, and fine grinds to French press, drip, and espresso.

Great coffee wins on substance, not gimmicks. The four fundamentals that separate a memorable cup from a forgettable one, from bean to brew.

 Most bad coffee at home comes from 5 fixable mistakes: stale beans, wrong grind size, wrong water temperature, wrong coffee-to-water ratio, and a dirty brewer. Each one degrades your cup in a specific way. Fix all 5 and the same coffee tastes significantly better without buying anything new.

Coffee blends mix beans for balance and consistency, while single-origin shows one place's character. How they differ and which fits your mornings.

Coffee in general is a pretty subjective, mainly because it's food so some people are going to like different flavors than others. There are some types of flavors in coffee that are generally liked by all people who drink like...

  I have been blogging in the past about using the La Pavoni Lever espresso machine to prepare espresso as well as milk drinks. However, I never really make a video or describe my approach to using this machine. Despite...

 Learning how to brew AeroPress coffee takes under 2 minutes. This step-by-step guide covers ratio, grind, water temp, and the standard method.

Bringing in the new year coffee style.  I am thrilled that with the new year only a few hours away I was still pulling shots of espresso!  I normally quit drinking coffee at about 3 pm and my wife quits...

If you think a coffee bean has an easy go of it, you might want to watch a fun fast-paced video on the production of some Kenyan beans. Produced by a Norwegian roaster with Charles Mingus jazz fusion music in...

Water for coffee makes up almost the whole cup, so quality matters. Tap vs filtered vs bottled, the right minerals, and easy ways to improve it.