The south of Europe is gripped by a crazy heatwave just weeks after I came back from Athens where it was truly very hot indeed. I’m glad I left before things got too intense and I feel for everyone who has to endure these extreme temperatures.

Here in Amsterdam it’s mild and cool. I’m looking out over the parking lot behind our warehouse and see a grey sky. Oh well. I guess I shouldn’t be complaining about the weather so much after all. I prefer this over 40°C every day.

This month’s brew guide includes recipes from our five brilliant July roasters including Coffee Collective, Manhattan, Formative, Metric and Archers. I am not including a custom recipe of my own this time. I think there’s plenty for you to work with, however, I did brew the coffee from Formative for this shoot using my beloved Hario Switch. It’s a great brewer, don’t you think?

Enjoy and most importantly, stay hydrated!

Basic Setup

As in any good kitchen or bar, you want to be sure to have a few key items at your disposal that will aid you in preparing a delicious cup of coffee.

These include:

• • Scales (with or without a timer – you can use your phone or your watch)
  • A good quality burr grinder such as the Comandante Grinder
  • Your favourite brew method (Origami, Kalita Wave, V60, AeroPress etc)
  • A clean vessel for brewing and decanting
  • A ladle or stirrer for agitating the grounds
  • Water for brewing
  • A pouring kettle but a regular kettle will also do, however, it requires more precision

Feel free to take a look around our shop to see if there are things that you might like. We have a nice selection of items from Timemore and other brands to help you brew delicious coffees.

It’s very important to always freshly grind your coffee just before preparation because coffee is very volatile and quickly loses its full aroma in a matter of minutes.

You can also vacuum pack your coffee in portions, name and number each batch and then keep it in a dry cool place or put it in the freezer. More information about freshness and how to rest your coffees can be found in this article.

For espresso, I use my home espresso machine, a Profitec Pro600 espresso machine and a Profitec ProT64 grinder.

Coffee Collective’s recipe for filter:

V60: 16g of coffee medium coarse. Water: 250g at 30ppm and 94°C. Bloom: with 40g for 30 seconds. Total time: 1:45 minutes.

Coffee Collective’s recipe for espresso:

18g of coffee ground fine. Water: 38g at 100ppm and 94°C. Pressure: 7bar. Brew time: 26 – 30 seconds.

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Manhattan Coffee’s recipe for filter:

V60: We like to work with a brew ratio of 1:16.5. Use 20g of coffee with 330g of water. Medium coarse grind. Bloom with 50g of water for 30 seconds. Total brew time shoud be around 2:30 minutes.

Manhattan Coffee’s recipe for espresso:

For our espressos, we like to work with a ratio of f 1:2-1:2.5. Think: 19g of coffee in and 38g of espresso out.

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Formative’s recipe for filter:

V60: 15g of coffee ground medium fine. 275ml of water at 94°C. Bloom at a 3:1 ratio (45 ml of water). Follow up with two pulses split equally (115ml each). Aim for 2:30 – 3 minutes total contact time.

Formative’s recipe for espresso:

Ratio 1:2.5. 18g of coffee with a 45 ml yield. Extraction time: 29 – 31 seconds.

Metric’s recipe for filter:

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What did you think of these recipes and and the coffees themselves? Feel free to leave a comment down below to share your own recipes with other Coffeeviners or visit this rating form to leave us more detailed feedback.

DELICIOUS PREVIEW: Check out the spectactular coffees we’ve picked out for the upcoming August 2023 editions.