If you’re looking for a better cup of coffee, we’ve got a couple of tips. And the first (and most important!) is making sure you’re drinking the good stuff. Signing up to a flexible plan with us means fresh coffee, delivered - not to mention a free V60 brewing kit, if you’re a new customer!
Start off with world-class coffee, and easy-to-use equipment, and you can’t go far wrong. Beyond that, it comes down to technique… so here’s our top tips:
Weigh your coffee, measure your water
Coffee brewing is part art, part science. A lot of it comes down to personal preference, but careful measurements mean you can always get great results - over and over again. Like baking a cake, if you get the quantities wrong then it’s going to come out flat and tasteless. But whether you add lemon zest or vanilla essence is really up to you.
If you weigh your coffee grounds and water, you can find a ratio that works for you - changing it slightly each time, until you hit upon that perfect cup. And keep the water temperature around 93°C/200°F, which is roughly 30 seconds off the boil, for optimum extraction time.
Don’t keep coffee in the fridge
It might seem counterintuitive, but coffee shouldn’t live in the fridge. The change in temperature, as you take it out and put it back in, will cause the quality to deteriorate - meaning a less flavourful end result.
Stability is the best bet. Use an air-tight container, and store in a dark, cool cupboard. Or if you’ve signed up to a Pact Coffee plan, keep it in the resealable bags we send it in!
Freshness is your friend
Freshness is everything. Think of coffee like a loaf of bread. If it’s fresh from the oven (or coffee roaster!) then nothing else compares - the flavours are at their very best. But in the same way bread goes stale, so does coffee. It won’t go fuzzy and blue, like your granary loaf, but the flavour won’t be the same.
If you’re using the free V60 we sent when you signed up to a Pact Plan, look out for those tale-tell bubbles as you brew - that’s carbon dioxide escaping, which indicates freshness!
Get the grind size right
If your coffee isn’t ground to the right size for your brewing equipment, you’re going to have a bad time. Forget the ‘omnigrinds’ you see on supermarket shelves - different methods means the coffee extracts at different speeds, so you need a grind size that works for that.
If you’re ordering from Pact Coffee then choose coarse for cafétiere, medium for V60, medium-fine for stovetop or AeroPress, and fine for most espresso machines - though if you’re not sure which to choose, get in touch with our Customer Champions for some personalised advice.
Keep it clean (your brewing tools, that is)
Keeping the baking analogy going, you wouldn’t use a mixing bowl with old cookie dough mouldering on the sides. So keep your brewing equipment clean! Rinse out your cafétiere, V60, or AeroPress or flush out your espresso machine.
And if you’re using a paper filter, say if you’re using the free V60 we’ve sent you, make sure to rinse it first - this gets rid of any papery taste!
Create your coffee plan now, and get a free V60 brew kit!
T&Cs: You’ll receive a free V60 Brew Kit when you sign up to a recurring Pact Plan, valid for new Pact Coffee customers only. Offer is limited to one per person. You can cancel your Pact Plan at any time. If you have any questions, call 0203 095 3975 or email ahoy@pactcoffee.com.
