Coffee Brew Guides

Learn how to help our planet by properly disposing your coffee bag.

French Press

A simple, classic immersion brew method.  

French Press works well with a range of roast profiles, but we think it lends itself to richer flavour profiles such as Powder Day or Expedition. 

Recipe: Coffee:  30 grams Grind:  Medium / Coarse Water:  450 grams @ 210⁰F Ratio:  1:15 

  1. Preheat your French Press with hot water. 
  2. Grind 30 grams of coffee at a medium / coarse setting. 
  3. Add ground coffee to empty French Press. 
  4. Pour over 450 grams of hot water and stir. 
  5. Pop the lid on the French Press but do not plunge yet. 
  6. Set a timer for 5 minutes. 
  7. After 5 minutes, press plunger down slowly all the way to the bottom. 
  8. Pour your coffee into your cup and enjoy! 

 

PRO TIP: To remove the fine sediment that remains in your brew, pour your coffee through a pre-wetted paper filter before serving. 

 

V60 (cone filter)

We love the V60, but this recipe will work with any cone filter brewer.  

We recommend light to medium roast coffees to highlight the natural flavours of coffee. Try it with Bluebird or Seasonal. 

Recipe: Coffee:  20 grams Grind:  Medium Water: 320 grams @ 205⁰F Ratio:  1:16 

  1. Pre-wet your filter and preheat your brew vessel with hot water. 
  2. Grind 20 grams of coffee at a medium setting. 
  3. Add your ground coffee to the V60 and gently shake to level the bed. 
  4. Zero your scale, start a timer and pour 50 grams of water on the coffee to ‘bloom’. Gently stir to make sure all coffee is wet. 
  5. At 30 seconds, pour water slowly in a circular motion until it weighs 200 grams. 
  6. At 1 minute 30 seconds, pour slowly in a circular motion up to 320g. Stir gently twice and allow water to fully draw down. 
  7. Aim for a total brew time of 3 minutes 30 seconds. 
  8. Once fully drawn down, remove the V60 and swirl the coffee in the server to mix. 
  9. Pour your coffee in your cup and enjoy! 

 

PRO TIP: If the coffee brews too fast or is too weak, make your grind a little finer. If the coffee brews too slow or is too strong, make your grind a little coarser. 

Aeropress

Aeropress is a versatile brewer offering lots of flexibility in brewing recipes. We think the  

Aeropress works best with light roast coffees, but if you prefer medium or dark roast, try using slightly cooler water (around 200⁰F). 

Recipe: Coffee:  12 grams Grind:  Medium / Fine Water:  200 grams @ 205⁰F Ratio:  1:16.5 

  1. Weigh and grind 12 grams of coffee on the finer end of medium grind. 
  2. Put your filter in the Aeropress and set into on top of your server, and pour your coffee in. 
  3. Start your timer and add 200 grams of water making sure to get all the coffee wet. 
  4. Stir gently 3 times then place the plunger into the brewer about half an inch in. This will stop the coffee dripping out of the bottom by creating a vacuum. 
  5. Wait 2 minutes 30 seconds. 
  6. Gently push the plunger down to force the brewed coffee through the filter into your server. This should take you about 30 seconds. Once all the liquid is out, stop pushing so you don’t squash the coffee bed. 
  7. Pour coffee into your cup and enjoy! 

 

PRO TIP: Try missing out the stir step and instead gently swirl your Aeropress brewer half way through the brew. 

Kalita Wave (flat-bottom filter)

Kalita Wave is our favoured flat bottom pour over brewer, but this recipe serves as a good starting point for any similar flat-bottom brewer. 

 The key to this one is to do short pulses of water at regular intervals and we like this one for slightly smaller brew sizes. 

Recipe: Coffee:  15 grams Grind:  Medium Water:  250 grams @ 205⁰F Ratio:  1:16.5 

  1. Pre-wet your filter by pouring hot water through over your cup or server. This also helps preheat the server. 
  2. Weigh and grind 18 grams of coffee at a medium setting. 
  3. Put ground coffee into your filter, gently shake to level the bed and place on top of your server. 
  4. Zero your scale, start a timer and pour 40 grams of water to ‘bloom’ and fully wet the coffee bed. Gently stir to make sure all the coffee is wet. 
  5. At 30 seconds, pour slowly in a circular motion up to total of 100 grams. 
  6. At 1 minute pour slowly up to total 150 grams. 
  7. At 1 minute 30 pour slowly up to total 200 grams. 
  8. At 2 minutes, pour slowly up to the final 250 grams. Stir gently three times and let the liquid draw through completely. 
  9. Once finished, stir or swirl the coffee, serve and enjoy! 

 

PRO-TIP: This one can be quite finnicky – aim to pour slowly at each stage so as not to disturb the bed too much. Aim for a total brew time of 3:30 and adjust your grind setting to achieve this; grind finer to slow your brew down, grind coarser to speed your brew up. 

Espresso

Brewing espresso at home can be rewarding but takes time to perfect your recipe and technique. Stick with it and try to document all your tests to help decide on the perfect recipe. Invest in a decent grinder to really get the most out of your home espresso brewing! 

Since espresso is affected a lot by roast level, the following recipe is what we recommend for brewing with Forecast’s Inversion Espresso. 

 

Recipe: Coffee:  18 grams Liquid Weight:  34 – 36 grams Extraction Time:  approx. 28 seconds 

  1. Weigh out 18.5 grams of your coffee into a small vessel. 
  2. Set your portafilter on a scale and zero it to the empty weight. 
  3. Grind your coffee directly into your portafilter if your grinder allows, or into a different vessel to transfer if not. 
  4. With the portafilter filled, place it back on the scale to check the weight. Using a small spoon, remove some of the original dose to get to exactly 18.0 grams. 
  5. Level out your coffee to give an even bed by tapping the sides of the portafilter gently around the circumference and use a distribution tool if you have one. The goal here is to get a nice even bed to work with. 
  6. Tamp! Use a hand tamper (or auto tamper if you’re fancy!) to compress the coffee bed enough that water cannot pass through easily without pressure. Aim to take all of the give out of the bed, until it feels compact and hard. 
  7. Purge your group head by running the water for a second or two. 
  8. Attach your portafilter into your group head and press the brew button and start a timer at the same time. 
  9. Pop a cup on a zeroed scale under the portafilter before the first drops come. 
  10. Watch your scale carefully – you’re going to stop the shot for weight (and also stop the timer). When the scale reaches 33 grams, shut off the water. It’ll rise up a little from here as the last of the water gets through. 
  11. Check on the extraction time. Is it too fast? Make your grind finer. Is it too slow? Make your grind coarser. 
  12. Good shot? Bad shot, but curious? Taste it and write down the parameters and what you liked or disliked. This is the start of your espresso diary! 
  13. Make your desired drink and enjoy! 

 

PRO-TIP: Typically, acidity comes out early in a shot and bitterness later in the shot. Aim for a balance of flavours. If your shots are too acidic for your taste, aim for a higher liquid weight next time. If they’re too bitter, aim to reduce your liquid weight. 

Organic beans sourced with local partnersSign up for a subscription and always have specialty coffee