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Tag: manual brewing (Page 2 of 6)

3 Things I Learned From a Year of Writing About Coffee

Tomorrow is November 11, 2015, which marks the one year anniversary of my very first blog post “Getting Started- Drip Brewing 101.” In honor of this milestone, I thought it would be an appropriate time to write a bit about what a year of writing about coffee has brought about.

A summary of the year by the numbers:

3 Things I Learned from a Year of Writing about Coffee

The Best Way to Learn Something Is to Teach it

I have heard the old adage, “The best way to learn something is to teach it to someone else” countless times in my life. However, I have never been as acutely aware of it’s impact until I tried to explain a few coffee concepts on the blog.

For me, the most obvious example of this would have to be three articles I wrote in succession at the beginning of the year (Green Coffee Explained, Coffee Origins- How Geography Relates to Taste and Understanding and Selecting a Great Roasted Coffee). My goal was to write a brief article about each subject as a resource I could point people towards as well as a building block for future discussions.

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Manual Brewing: Coffee Glossary

Dictionary Cover PageIt seems that quite often, when I open up my Twitter account, I am greeted by some obscure hashtag featuring a #somethingday. There is donut day, a national (and international) coffee day and even a blame someone else day.

Today is dictionary day which celebrates the life work of Noah Webster, father of the modern dictionary. In the spirit of learning new words, I thought I would try my hand at lexicography and make a short glossary of manual brewing terms for reference.

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Brewing Coffee Manually College Edition – 6 Tips to Get You Started

The summer days are starting to dwindle and for a large selection of the population the “endless summer” is starting to be numbered. The number of days are rapidly turning from double to single digits. Start saying goodbye to your friends, It’s almost time for college to start back up again.

In your excitement, checklists and packing guides, don’t forget about coffee. You will be leaving the shelter of the carefully (or maybe haphazardly) curated coffee selection of your parent’s house and striking out on your own. Are you prepared to navigate the oft turbulent waters of the college coffee environment?

If you don’t want to be stuck with the mediocre-at-best dorm coffee or shell out two bucks each morning at the trendy cafe for their drip coffee, it helps to have a plan. Manual brewing is a great way to ensure you will have great coffee at an affordable price. Here are six tips for getting the most out of your college (coffee) experience.

If you are new to the blog or manual brewing there are basically four items you will need in order to brew a great cup of coffee in your dorm or apartment: Fresh roasted coffee, a coffee grinder, a manual brewer and an electric kettle or hot water source. Feel free to check out my Start Here page for more links and resources on brewing coffee.

Buy Good Coffee

It should come as no surprise that a quality fresh-roasted coffee is at the top of the list. I recommend finding a business that roasts locally and trying out their offerings. It is fun to get involved in the local community and a local roaster or coffee shop can be a great resource for a lot of coffee related things.

A great bag of coffee could run upwards of 15 dollars for a twelve ounce package but don’t let this deter you. That twelve ounce bag of coffee contains roughly 24 single cups of coffee (.5 ounces per 8 fluid ounces). A quality cup of coffee at 63 cents a cup is a bargain. What does the coffee at your dorm or coffee stand cost? What about a can of Coke from the vending machines?

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