Coffee should be kept in whole bean until brewing. The less time the better between grinding and brewing. Storage is also much simpler- keep in an air tight container at room temperature away from sunlight. Use coffee within a week of purchase for optimum freshness. Freezing an unopened, sealed container of whole bean coffee is an acceptable way to store for the long-term, but do not take the coffee in and out of the freezer. Coffee beans should not see the inside of your fridge, period.

People ask about the best ways to brew @ home, so here is a series of blogs on that topic. We will start at the beginning and work to the end result in the cup. First, you have to source the freshest beans. Look for a local roaster that offers a nice selection of varietals and roast styles. Avoid buying beans from a roaster who flavors his/her coffee. Flavored coffee was developed in the 1970’s as a way to move subpar coffee. Adding flavoring, mostly chemicals, to the beans covered their imperfections and made them sellable to the unsuspecting public. Coffee just should not taste like highlander grog or butter cookies (two actual flavors that I saw in the grocery store). All the coffee, even the unflavored ones, from roasters who flavor can be tainted by the flavoring substances, because they are sticky and get on everything. OK, now you have a bag of coffee, next we will discuss grinding and storage.

A larger roaster in the Midwest recently publicized the fact that they were not serving 20 oz. cups anymore. Luna has never had a cup larger than 16 oz. – the classic pint. No coffee should be served in anything larger.

We will talk all things coffee- roasting, storing, grinding, brewing, and whatever else you can come up with. We have been doing this awhile, almost ten years @ Luna and before that in Milwaukee. There shouldn’t be much that we cannot answer, but it you do stump us, we will find the answer and post it. Thanks.