Coffee Brewing Guide

Coffee Brewing

At Jorsek, we're as serious about our coffee as we are about DITA. In this guide, you'll learn to hand brew coffee using Jorsek's four preferred methods. Each method produces significantly different tasting notes.
We recommend using the Hario V-60 if you're drinking the Jorsek custom blend, available from Fifth Frame Brewing.
Note: Be sure that whatever coffee you use is from a specialty coffee roaster to ensure the most flavorful and unique cup of coffee. We're happy to recommend our favorite coffee roasters. Contact your easyDITA representative for recommendations.

Jorsek Blend Coffee

The Jorsek blend has Pradera (Columbian) and Kossa Rada (Ethiopian) in a 60/40 ratio, which means the coffee has the rich cocoa finish from the Pradera, while not minimizing the citrus-punch from the Kossa Rada.

We worked with the head roaster from Fifth Frame Brewing to create our own unique in-house coffee. The goal with the Jorsek blend was to accommodate all our employees' coffee preferences. Our team has a broad range of taste preferences, and we think the Jorsek blend has something for everyone.

Hario V-60

Use the Hario V-60 for a balanced cup of coffee that neither highlights nor restricts the presentation of a coffee's flavor notes.

The Hario V-60 is our preferred in-office brewing method, for a couple of reasons:

First, the V-60 handles the Jorsek blend very well.

Secondly, the V-60 is a single cup brewing method, and we all have slightly different preferences for our coffee. The V-60 lets us all make our own cups of coffee with our own slight tweaks to the brewing recipe and brewing method.

Brewing with the V-60

Use the V-60 for a classic, pour-over cup of coffee.

We recommend having a gooseneck kettle for more precise control during brewing, a demitasse spoon for stirring, a kitchen scale, and a timer. We also recommend your water temperature be between 197 and 204 degrees Fahrenheit.
  1. With your cup on the kitchen scale, place V-60 directly onto your cup.
  2. Place a size one or two paper filter into the V-60.
  3. Rinse the filter with hot water.
    Rinsing the filter removes excess paper particles that can have noticeable effects on the flavor notes of the coffee.
  4. Place 21 grams of ground coffee into the filter.
    Note: Be sure to tare the scale to 0 grams before starting to pour hot water into the coffee grounds.
  5. Start the timer and quickly pour 50 grams of hot water into the coffee grounds.
  6. Gently stir the coffee, ensuring all coffee is wet, and let "bloom" for 30 seconds.
    Letting the coffee bloom for 30 seconds helps release excess carbon dioxide, which negatively affects flavor.
  7. After 30 seconds, slowly pour water evenly over the coffee grounds.
  8. Pour until total weight is 340 grams of coffee at 2:30 minutes.
  9. Gently stir, and then let coffee draw-down (flow through the coffee grounds and into the cup) until 3:00 minutes.
Enjoy!

Chemex: Six Cup

Use the six cup Chemex to highlight the floral and fruity flavors of a coffee, and for sharing.

We recommend using the Chemex for coffees that have strong fruit and floral qualities, such as most sub-Saharan coffees.

The Chemex really shines when brewing more fruit-forward coffees. This is primarily due to the thickness of the filters used in a Chemex. These thicker filters capture more insolubles, reducing the heavier, more earthy flavor notes while highlighting a coffee's floral and fruity notes.

Brewing with the Chemex

Use the Chemex for fruit-forward coffees, such as Ethiopian and Rwandan coffees.

We recommend having a gooseneck kettle for more precise control during brewing, a demitasse spoon for stirring, a kitchen scale, and a timer. We also recommend your water temperature be between 197 and 204 degrees Fahrenheit.
  1. Place the Chemex directly onto the kitchen scale.
  2. Place a filter into the Chemex and rinse with hot water.
    Rinsing your filter removes excess paper particles that can have noticeable affects on the flavor notes of the coffee.
  3. Place 56 grams of ground coffee in the filter.
    Note: Be sure to tare the scale to 0 grams before starting to pour hot water into the coffee grounds.
  4. Start the timer and immediately pour 115 grams of water into the coffee grounds.
  5. Gently stir ensuring all the coffee grounds are wet, and let "bloom" for 30 seconds.
    Letting the coffee bloom for 30 seconds helps release excess carbon dioxide, which negatively affects flavor.
  6. After 30 seconds, slowly pour water evenly over the coffee grounds.
  7. Pour until the total weight is 950 grams at 4:00 minutes.
  8. Gently stir, and then let coffee draw-down until 5:00 minutes.
Enjoy!

Espresso

Espresso is a small amount of coffee that is extracted under pressure, typically by using a specifically designed espresso machine.

In our office, we use a La Pavoni Europiccola lever machine. This manual espresso machine has a steep learning curve but produces high quality espresso.

We recommend this machine because of both the relatively low cost and the high quality of espresso it produces. If your budget for an in-home or at-office espresso machine is under $2,000, the La Pavoni Europiccola our top choice. If your budget is $2,000 or above, feel free to contact us and we're happy to recommend other espresso machines that fit your needs.

Pulling a Shot of Espresso

Use these instructions for pulling a shot of espresso on the La Pavoni Europiccola. The goal with espresso is to have a two to one ratio, starting with 18 grams of coffee grounds and ending with 36 grams of espresso in your cup.
  1. Fill the boiler with filtered water and turn on the machine.
  2. Once the machine is hot, place your espresso cup below the group head.
    For machines with a pressure gauge, lift the lever once your machine reaches 10 psi.
  3. Lift the lever and hold for four seconds, filling the espresso cup with water.
    Filling the cup with hot water warms your cup and brings the grouphead up to an appropriate temperature for pulling a shot of espresso. If the grouphead is not hot, there will be too much temperature loss once the water enters the grouphead, and the flavor of the espresso will be negatively affected.
  4. Load the portafilter basket with 18 grams of finely ground coffee.
  5. Tamp down the coffee in the portafilter.
  6. Place your espresso cup below the grouphead.
  7. Load the portafilter into the grouphead and immediately lift the lever.
  8. Hold the lever up for eight seconds (this is called the pre-infusion).
  9. Pull the lever down, applying steady pressure.
    When pulling the lever down, do not apply more pressure if there is no espresso extracting. If the espresso does not begin extracting, change the grind setting to slightly more coarse and try again.
  10. Maintain pressure until there is no more espresso coming through the grouphead.
    If the yield in the cup is not 36 grams, lift the lever for three seconds and pull more water through the grouphead for more espresso.
Enjoy!

Shaken Cold Coffee

Shaken cold coffee is the most interesting brewing method that we enjoy. It's also the most involved and difficult brewing method that we use.

This unique method does not use traditional cold-brewing techniques. Instead, you'll use the V-60 and brew a hot concentrate of coffee, and then shake the concentrate over ice. The difficulty with this method is getting the timing and yield correct. But the work pays off when you get to drink coffee with this unique method.

CAUTION: Due to the presentation of this coffee in the glass, all your colleagues will be convinced you're drinking a nice amber or brown ale.

Brewing Shaken Cold Coffee

Use this method for a refreshing coffee on a hot day, or on a cold day just because you like coffee.

We recommend a cocktail shaker for this method. Here's an example of what we use: CucinaPrime Cocktail Shaker. We also recommend gooseneck kettle for more precise control during brewing, a demitasse spoon for stirring, a kitchen scale, a timer, and having your water temperature between 197 and 204 degrees Fahrenheit.
  1. With your glass on the kitchen scale, place the V-60 directly onto the glass.
  2. Place a size one or two paper filter into the V-60.
  3. Rinse the filter with hot water.
    Rinsing the filter removes excess paper particles that can have noticeable effects on the flavor notes of the coffee.
  4. Place 24 grams of ground coffee into the filter.
    Note: Be sure to tare the scale to 0 grams before starting to pour hot water into the coffee grounds.
  5. Start the timer and quickly pour 50 grams of hot water into the coffee grounds.
  6. Gently stir the coffee, ensuring all coffee is wet, and let "bloom" for 30 seconds.
    Letting the coffee bloom for 30 seconds helps release excess carbon dioxide, which negatively affects flavor.
  7. After 30 seconds, very slowly pour water evenly over the coffee grounds.
  8. Pour until the total weight is 240 grams of coffee at 2:30 minutes.
  9. Gently stir, and then let the coffee draw-down (flow through the coffee grounds and into the cup) until 3:00 minutes.
  10. Pour brewed coffee over 200 grams of ice in the cocktail shaker.
  11. Seal tightly and shake vigorously for 15 seconds.
  12. Pour shaken cold coffee into a pint glass.
Enjoy!