Fundamentals

...The world of speciality coffee, where there’s so much terminology, so many definitions, and so many descriptors that you often won’t come across when purchasing any other type of food or drink product...

...If you’re just getting into coffee in a serious way then it’s important to understand the role freshness plays in coffee beans and how such a factor can be misleading, especially when shopping for coffee at the supermarkets or large stores...

...Here we’re focussing on espresso coffee, which is arguably the fiddliest brew method to get right with grind size being one of the most crucial determining factors - amongst other things of course. However, if you get the grind size right then you’re most of the way there...

...Why does it really matter if the cup is pre-warmed? Well, you can certainly be forgiven for asking this question and here we’re going to pull back the veil as to why this is a good practice to get into...

...How can you make your beans themselves last longer and retain all that lovely flavour? Well there are plenty of theories out there and plenty of ‘hacks’ but we’re going to wade through all the conjecture and provide you with the definitive answer. The simple answer is freeze them...

...Espresso machines, especially those found at coffee shops can cost thousands, even tens of thousands of pounds and that’s simply not practical for the everyday person looking to make a nice latte at home. This is where Sage comes in....

...Not all coffee grinders are made equal. You have blade grinders which slice the coffee - not recommended as they don’t produce consistent grounds, and then you have burr grinders which grind the coffee between plates in a circular motion which is less abrasive and creates much more consistent grounds...

...The ‘SL’ name is derived from the Scott Laboratories research programme that was operating in Kenya in the 1920’s and 30’s...The original and most sought-after SL variety that was discovered during this study was the SL28 variety...