Coffee Facts

Expert guides on coffee brewing, roasting, beans, and equipment. Master your coffee journey with in-depth articles.

From Manual to Super-Automatic: Choosing the Right Espresso Machine for Your Kitchen

From Manual to Super-Automatic: Choosing the Right Espresso Machine for Your Kitchen

Selecting the perfect espresso machine involves balancing performance, ease of use, and your brewing preferences. Whether you’re a seasoned barista or a curious beginner, understanding the differences between manual, semiautomatic, and super-automatic machines can help you find the right fit. Manual lever machines like the Flair Pro 2 demand hands-on skill, offering a rewarding experience for those who enjoy the ritual of crafting espresso. Semiautomatic options, such as the Breville Barista Express or De’Longhi La Specialista Arte, combine precision with some automation, letting you control the grind, tamp, and extraction while benefiting from built-in features like PID temperature control. Super-automatic…
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The Best Drip Coffee Makers for Flavor and Convenience

The Best Drip Coffee Makers for Flavor and Convenience

When it comes to brewing coffee at home, the right drip coffee maker can transform a simple morning routine into a ritual worth savoring. From precise temperature control to durable thermal carafes and customizable settings, the best models balance functionality with flavor. The Specialty Coffee Association (SCA) certification is a key benchmark—these machines are engineered to maintain consistent temperatures between 194°F and 204°F, ensuring even extraction of coffee’s natural oils and compounds. While some machines prioritize convenience with one-button brewing, others offer advanced features like programmable settings, adjustable strength, and compatibility with SCA standards. Top contenders include the Fellow Cafetto,…
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Coffee and Tea: Your Daily Brew May Be a Shield Against Diabetes and Heart Disease

Coffee and Tea: Your Daily Brew May Be a Shield Against Diabetes and Heart Disease

Listen up: Your morning cup might be doing more than just waking you up. A new study suggests that regular consumption of coffee and tea could be quietly protecting your heart and lowering your risk of type 2 diabetes. Researchers analyzed data from 188,000 people in the U.K. Biobank, tracking their beverage habits over 12 years. The results? A daily dose of 200 to 300 mg of caffeine—roughly two to three cups of coffee or three cups of tea—was linked to a significant drop in cardiometabolic disease risk. Coffee drinkers saw a near 50% reduction in risk, while tea lovers…
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The World’s Best Coffee Shops 2026: A Global Ranking of Excellence

The World’s Best Coffee Shops 2026: A Global Ranking of Excellence

This is worth savoring: The World's Best Coffee Shops 2026 have been unveiled, and the results are as bold as the brews they serve. The ranking, unveiled at CoffeeFest Madrid 2026, celebrates specialty cafés that push boundaries in quality, innovation, and sustainability. The U.S. dominates with nine spots, but Australia, Peru, and Spain also shine, proving coffee culture is a global phenomenon. Among the standout entries: Onyx Coffee Lab in Arkansas, a pioneer in technical precision and solar-powered roasting, claims the top spot. Its philosophy—“Never Settle for Good Enough”—drives everything from bean sourcing to barista training. Second place goes to…
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Where Coffee Meets Community in Rural Wisconsin

Where Coffee Meets Community in Rural Wisconsin

In the heart of rural Wisconsin, a small coffee roastery is redefining what it means to belong. Redwood Street Roasters in Edgar isn’t just a café—it’s a chemical experiment, a cultural hub, and a lifeline for a town where small businesses are the heartbeat. Founded by Francisco Guerrero and his wife, Crystal, along with her sisters, the shop blends the precision of winemaking with the warmth of local connection, proving that even in the Midwest, coffee can spark something bigger. Guerrero’s journey from Chilean winemaker to Wisconsin roaster began with a simple realization: coffee and wine share the same alchemy.…
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The Ultralight Roast Conundrum: Nailing Precision with Ethiopian Beans

The Ultralight Roast Conundrum: Nailing Precision with Ethiopian Beans

Real talk: Ultralight roasts are the holy grail of coffee, but getting them right? That’s where the real work begins. You’re staring at a Kaffelogic Nano 7e, armed with a question about 6% dev time and curve selection—sounds like a puzzle, but it’s also a gateway to unlocking flavor profiles that feel almost alchemical. Small-batch high-altitude Ethiopians? They’re a wild card, but with the right approach, they can deliver brightness, acidity, and floral notes that scream “light roast, please.” Let’s cut through the noise. Dev time is your compass, but 6% isn’t a magic number—it’s a starting point. Ethiopian beans,…
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The Community That Brewed Success

The Community That Brewed Success

There’s something brewing in the backstreets of Brooklyn—literally. A small coffee cart that started as a dream and became a testament to the power of community. Behind its success? A Reddit forum where a roaster learned to transform from a stovetop newbie to a Bullet R2 wizard. This isn’t just a story about coffee—it’s about how shared knowledge can turn passion into profit. Eight months ago, the founder was fumbling with a Stovetop Ceramic Roaster, sipping lukewarm brews and chasing perfection. Reddit’s coffee sub became their lifeline, offering insights on development time, preheat temps, and blend ratios that turned average…
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The Cinnamon Roast: Unlocking Coffee’s Brightest Notes

The Cinnamon Roast: Unlocking Coffee’s Brightest Notes

Here's what you need to know about the cinnamon roast: it's not just a roast—it's a revelation. This lightest roast profile reveals coffee’s most vibrant, unfiltered character, often bordering on the delicate. Yet its appeal lies in its paradox: it’s a niche that’s both rare and rewarding, demanding precision to avoid vegetal tones or underdeveloped acidity. For roasters, it’s a high-stakes gamble, but one that pays off with complexity and profit. Cinnamon roasts are the lightest possible, often hovering around 10-12% weight loss. This minimal roast time preserves the bean’s original terroir, letting grassy, peanutty, and floral notes shine. Daniel…
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A Direct Line to Costa Rica’s Finest Coffee

A Direct Line to Costa Rica’s Finest Coffee

This might just change your routine: A van loaded with 2,000m of Geisha and SL28 is descending from Costa Rica’s highlands today, bypassing brokers entirely. I’m the guy in the backseat, sweating through the drive with a micro-lot of washed Geisha and high-altitude SL28 clamped in plastic bags. These beans didn’t just sit in a warehouse—they were harvested yesterday, depulped tonight, and now they’re on their way to Los Angeles. The journey began at a farmer’s cabin, where we broke bread and swapped stories over coffee brewed from the same lot. This isn’t a gimmick; it’s a shortcut to purity.…
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Scaling Roasts: From Sample to Full Batch with Aillio

Scaling Roasts: From Sample to Full Batch with Aillio

There's something brewing in the world of coffee roasting—literally. For those transitioning from sample roasts to full batches, the Aillio roaster isn't just a tool; it's a gateway to scaling with precision. But scaling up isn't just about bigger batches; it's about rethinking every step of the process. Take Roger Morse, who swapped a 200-250g roaster for the Aillio's 600-700g capacity. Suddenly, his green bean orders needed a rethink. Where he once bought 1kg of coffee for four roasts, he’s now splitting 2kg into three 666g batches. The question isn’t just about quantity—it’s about how to translate a 150g sample…
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