Grind It Right One of the easiest and most overlooked aspects in producing a great Cup of Joe is the coffee-grind! Done wrongly a masterfully and skillfully roasted coffee will taste like dish water swill in the cup. So decide your brewing method first and then grind the coffee just before brewing to bring out the best in your cup. Burr Grinder?? What the heck is that? As the authors ofThe Blue Bottle Craft of Coffeewrite, "Any barista will tell you that the single most important piece of gear in the espresso-making chain is the grinder. So buy your grinder first." And thats what we did at Tariero Artisan Roastery, and what a difference it makes in our coffee versus theirs. Since most Indians prefer their coffees ground, we decided to invest in one of the best burr grinders on the market. There are flat burr grinders and conical burr grinders, but they do the same thing: grind your coffee and grind it well. The distance between the surfaces can be changed, which in turn will change the size of the grind. The reason that coffee aficionados tend to choose burr grinders over blade is that the beans are ground in a uniform size and a uniform grind is much harder to do in a blade grinder, especially if you are trying to do a coarser ground, which is why burr grinders are wholeheartedly recommended for anyone doing French press or pour overs.To reiterate making a cup of coffee isnt rocket science but it is best to understand the science behind the grind before we just go out and load up on the first ground coffee that is on sale at the supermarket. The shorter the time of contact with the coffee with water, the finer the grind. For example, in an espresso, the hot pressurized water touches the coffee for barely 25-30 seconds to quickly pull the flavourful 'oils' out of the grounds. Here the grind must be very fine to expose as much of the beans' surface area as possible. However in a French Press or a Plunger, or percolator, a coarser grind is necessary because the coffee is in contact with the water for a longer time.At Tariero we specifically ask you to choose your grind for the coffees you buy. Finer grind doesnt mean stronger coffee. A higher ratio of coffee to water or the medium-dark roast profile of the bean will increase the strength in the cup, without compromising the flavour of the coffee. At Tariero we offer you a slew of roast profiles to suit even the most pernickety palates. To Burr Or Not to Burr: Thats the Question.Variation within a grind is not uncommon but minimizing the variation will improve the quality of your coffee. Most roasters tend to use the common 'blade' style grinder; least expensive, convenient but with a higher variation in the size of the particles. At Tariero we ONLY use a Burr grinder to give you the best grind possible with the least variations. Grind just before you brew.To get the most from your coffee, grind it just before brewing. If this is not possible, try our recommended ground coffees. Brew It Right Brewing methods will vary depending on the equipment used. Since 95% of coffee is water, use fresh and filtered water for preparation. Plunger/French Press coffee: Use medium- to coarsely-ground coffee. Approximately 2 rounded tablespoons per 240ml of brew. Use water that is just off the boil. Pour a little water on the coffee to allow the grounds to bloom. Bubbles will form as the aromatics are released. Add the rest of the water upto the mark and stir. Wait for a minute and stir again and let the coffee soak for 3-4 minutes. Then push the plunger down and pour in your favorite mug to enjoy. Drip System: The drip method of brewing makes a quick and dirty but excellent cup of coffee. Use a medium grind for your electric drip machine. Usually 2 heaped tablespoons should give you a good cup of brew. Don't skimp on the quantity of coffee used. Espresso: The grind used is paramount especially for an Espresso. A coarse grind will produce coffee which is thin and watery and a very fine grind will over-extract the coffee and the cup will be bitter on the palate. A burr grinder is ideal for an espresso grind. Store it Right! Packaging is very important for roasted coffee. The one-way degassing valve was originally developed specifically for coffee. Coffee is unique, as it is the only food product that needs to be completely protected from oxygen (O2) to prevent it from going bad. Freshly roasted coffee should not come in contact with oxygen as it leads to stale flavors and poor shelf life. It also gives off relatively large volumes of carbon dioxide (CO2) post roasting. A few years ago (like 20yrs ago) it was impossible to package truly fresh, whole bean coffee because there was no package that could be sealed off completely from O2 while at the same time releasing the CO2 gas from the package. The invention of the one-way coffee degassing valve and its incorporation into the flexible package changed all this. In less than 20 years, the flexible film valve bag has become the gold standard of coffee packaging. Most discerning and knowledgeable consumers now are well aware that if they want freshly roasted coffee that will stay fresh for longer, they will look for the one-way valve. It has reached the point where some consumers will not accept a specialty coffee unless it is packaged in one of these bags. A big advantage of the valve bag, to the consumer, is that if they know to squeeze the bag they can tell if the coffee is fresh or not. With price of coffee going through the roof, the consumer needs to get the most out of his bag of coffee. At Tariero Artisan Roastery, we use only high-quality imported bags with dual features of the degassing valve and zip lock. The Degassing Coffee valve allows the carbon dioxide to escape without ballooning or rupturing the bag but does not allow oxygen to enter. All our coffees are packaged soon after roasting in a moisture-proof laminated coffee bag containing a one-way degassing valve. ANOTHER TARIERO DIFFERENCE! So look for the valve! It is surely not a style quotient, its an absolute necessity!