Healthy Food & Snacks

Brewing French press coffee at home is easy to do and will produce incredible results. Once you start using this method, you will be hooked on its simplicity of preparation and depth of flavor.

Step 1 – Buy coffee.

Because the French press method is inexpensive, you can afford to buy some quality beans. Find a great roaster near you – like JJ Bean in Vancouver or Phil and Sebastian in Calgary – to buy coffee in ½ pound or one pound bags.

I’ll assume that most people don’t have a coffee grinder, so ask them to grind it for a French press. The size of the ground coffee particles should look similar to sand or kosher salt. If you have a grinder (I highly recommend this one) you should grind the beans while you boil the water in step 3.

Step 2 – Measure the coffee.

If your press came with a scoop, perfect. If not, you can just use a regular tablespoon (not a gigantic soup spoon) to do the measurements. Here’s the ratio to use:

- two rounded tablespoons of coffee for 8 ounces of water.

That means if you are using a 3 cup press, you will use 3 rounded tablespoons of coffee, or about 8 for an 8 cup press. You can adjust the amount based on your personal taste, but this is a good guideline.

Scoop the appropriate amount of coffee into the bottom of a clean, dry French press.

Step 3 – Pour the water.

Use water that is just off the boil. Once it stops bubbling, it is ready to be poured into the press.

Pour reasonably quickly while moving in a swirling motion to ensure all the coffee becomes saturated. At this point, there may be some brown foam forming on top – that’s good. This foam is called bloom, and is simply emulsified coffee oils. Pour to within about an inch and a half from the top. read more »

Some time ago I was invited to a coffee roasting business in a mid west state of the USA, to partake as instructor in a coffee ‘Jam’ session for baristas, cafe owners and any one interested in coffee.

My role during this event was to focus on the basics of extraction whilst others would train in other aspects of espresso coffee making. What began as a basic exercise soon turned out to be a very different affair for the recipients (who were predominantly cafe owners) because what they really needed was re-training in their mental outlook on what constitutes good business sense.

You see, it is very easy to be trained in the A to Z of coffee making. There are thousands of ex-baristas out there plying their skills in the area of espresso training, and whilst some subtle cultural and quality differences exist, in general, it is not difficult for a prospective cafe owner to find a course or two on the subject. Unfortunately, what cafe owners require is training in a way of thinking which will allow them to create simple procedures designed to maximise the profitability of their business. Training in how to make espresso coffees is but one very small part of the equation, not the equation itself.

What do I mean by this?

cafe owners are NOT baristas. Whilst the both groups certainly need to know the most they can learn about the product which lends its name to the type of business, for the latter it stops there, and for the former it is just the beginning.

Running/owning a business requires owners to go far beyond the basics in order to create a business with a noticeable point of difference to the end consumer. And it is not one thing which will get you there, but rather a combination of many small points of differences which combine to create a huge point of difference in the mind of the end consumer. All too often in my consultancy work I come across cafe owners obsessed with the coffee making but not the institution they operate. For example, out of over 500 businesses I have personally coached, less than 10 revealed that they bothered to put together a business plan. Fewer than a dozen had a regular training plan in place for staff, and only half a dozen could tell me their financial position immediately, at the push of a button. Yet, well over 200 knew their coffee better than they knew their business. read more »

For years I have enjoyed the pleasure of Blue Mountain Coffee. Known worldwide for it’s outstanding aroma and flavor. My mother likes to say, “You can stay from miles, yes miles, and smell the Blue Mountain Coffee aroma”. I believe what she says is true, as I remember as a child being awaken by its pleasant aroma. Oh what an aroma! Oh what a flavor!

Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee Beans, its name derived from where it’s grown on Jamaica’s Blue Mountain, which stands approximately 7400 ft high. Amongst the thick forest, the rainfall, and the mountain’s mist, makes it perfect for the growth of the world’s finest coffee. Only fifteen percent of the coffee grown in Jamaica is authentic Blue Mountain Coffee. This coffee is guaranteed to be 100% true Jamaican Blue.

How can one resist having this coffee? This has been one of Jamaica’s best selling souvenirs (if you want to call it that). You’ve got to try it.

First order Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee. When your order arrives, go ahead and start brewing a pot. After it has been brewed and you have poured a cup, instead of using the creamer and sweetener, try something a little different. Try using coconut cream. You may like it. How’s that? Uhm, Good, right? You have never experienced coffee, until you sip on a cup of blue mountain coffee with coconut cream.