The Guide
( coffee, explained without the sneering )
25 answers · 30 entries · the company slept, the kettle did not
Start Here
The questions people actually ask, answered in two sentences before we go on about it.
The Menu
What the drinks actually are, so you can order without guessing.
What is a flat white?
The one everybody means to look up and never does.
What’s the difference between a latte, a cappuccino, a flat white and a macchiato?
Latte, cappuccino, flat white, cortado, macchiato, americano, mocha. One page, no snobbery.
What’s the difference between cold brew and iced coffee?
We spent four years making one of these. We have opinions, and one of them is that both are fine.
What is espresso?
Not a bean. Not a roast. A method, and a fairly violent one.
The Bag
Buying it, keeping it, and what it costs.
What’s the difference between light, medium and dark roast?
The thing most people actually choose on, explained without anybody being sniffy about it.
What’s the difference between arabica and robusta coffee?
One of these is on every bag. The other is on none of them, and that’s a bit unfair.
What does single origin coffee mean?
It’s on our bags, so we should probably tell you what we mean by it.
Why is coffee so expensive right now?
It isn’t your café being greedy. Here’s where the money actually went.
Does coffee go bad, and where should I keep it?
Not in the fridge. Please, not in the fridge.
What do all the words on a coffee bag mean?
Origin, process, variety, elevation, roast and tasting notes — which lines help, and which are mostly outfit.
How is coffee roasted?
Green seed, heat, first crack, development — and why light or dark is only the beginning of the answer.
What is Brazil Cerrado coffee?
A huge growing landscape, one protected designation, and the difference a bag label ought to make clear.
The Cup
Making it at home, and fixing it when it tastes wrong.
Why does my coffee taste bitter?
Two problems, opposite fixes, and a way to tell which one you have.
How much coffee should I use per cup?
In tablespoons, because that’s what you have in the drawer.
How much caffeine is in a cup of coffee?
Including the espresso thing, which almost everybody has backwards.
How do I make coffee without a coffee maker?
A mug, hot water, and four minutes. No, really.
How do I use a French press?
We had how to clean one and not how to use one, which was daft.
What ratio should I use for cold brew?
Concentrate or ready-to-drink, with the dose and dilution worked out before the jar goes into the fridge.
What grind size should I use for coffee?
Eight brew methods, useful starting textures and the first adjustment to make when the cup disagrees.
How do I use an AeroPress?
The current upright method, measured plainly and without flipping hot coffee over your hand.
How should I clean my coffee maker and grinder?
Daily rinse, periodic descale, dry burrs — plus the two popular shortcuts that can damage the machine.
How do I taste and compare coffee at home?
A simplified home comparison, not a borrowed professional scorecard and not an exam.
What kind of mug is best for coffee?
Ceramic, glass, steel, wide, narrow, lidded — the useful trade-offs behind an extremely personal object.
What makes coffee taste good?
Fresh coffee, decent water, a consistent grind and permission to take cream if that is how you like it.
Right Now
What’s going on in coffee at the moment, in plain English.
By Topic
- Brew12Method, ratio, technique — led by James Hoffmann.
- Bean14Cultivars, processing, origin, freshness.
- Gear8Grinders, kettles, presses, and what to skip.
- Craft12Interviews, etiquette, and the culture around the cup.
- Cold Brew3Coarse, no heat, twenty-four hours, two ingredients.
- Dispatch6Places, drives, and roasters we love.
At the Workbench
Measure the cup, or follow the family.
Kept since 2013:
“The company slept. The kettle did not.”
The Off-Season, Calif.
The Journal, By Year
The journal itself, 2013 onward. The thread goes pale where the company slept.
2026
- JulDispatch
Cars and Coffee, 6:40am
A parking lot, somebody warming up a flat-six, and a cup that matters more than it should.
- MayBean
Everything We Got Wrong in 2013
SL28 was not created in a Scottish lab. We have some corrections to make.
- MarBrew
The Ultimate V60, and Why We Follow Hoffmann
Sixty grams per litre, a proper bloom, and drawdown by three thirty.
- JanCraft
We’re Back
Ten years is a long nap, even for a bear.
2025
2024
2023
2022
2021
2020
2019
2018
2017
2016
2015
- SepCraft
Coffee Bar Etiquette, and Tipping Well
Know your order. Move down the bar. Tip like they remember your name, because they will.
- JunCold Brew
Two Ingredients
Coarse grind, filtered water, no heat, twenty-four hours. That is the whole recipe.
- AprGear
Grinders
Buy the grinder before the machine. We will keep saying this.
- FebBean
Fair Trade vs. Direct Trade
Two words that look similar on a bag and mean quite different things.
2014
- OctDispatch
Echo Park
A morning walked end to end, one cup at a time.
- AugBrew
A Latte at Home, Without the Machine
Four ways to foam milk using things already in your kitchen.
- JunGear
How to Clean a French Press
That stuff in the screen is coffee oil, and it is why your brew tastes off.
- AprBrew
Turkish Coffee
A cezve, a low flame, and the one stir you only get to make once.
- FebCraft
The Man Who Invented the AeroPress
Alan Adler on brew temperature, frisbees, and why most coffee makers run too hot.
2013
- DecBrew
Espresso vs. Drip
Same bean, different pressure, and one surprising fact about caffeine.
- OctBean
Green: What Happens Before the Roast
Picking, pulping, fermenting, washing, drying. The five steps nobody photographs.
- SepBean
Cultivars, Explained
Typica, Bourbon, Caturra, SL28, Gesha, Pacamara — and why the label tells you more than you think.
- JulBrew
Water
Coffee is 98% water, and almost nobody thinks about it.
Est. 2013