French Press

The French Press

If you’re looking for a new method of brewing coffee, you might want to consider using a French press. A French press is an easy and quick way to prepare a very well balanced and flavorful cup of coffee for you and your friends. This is a favorite method for brewing over here at Jennings Java. A French press allows coffee grounds to saturate in water and bring out all the natural oil of the beans being used. A French press is also very portable and doesn’t run on electricity, making it perfect for taking on camping trips. Let’s take a closer look at what you need and how to use it!

Things you will need:

• Course ground coffee (Jennings Java works great here ☺)
• A French press
• Warm water
• Thermometer
• Tablespoon
• Timer

Step 1:

The first thing you will want to do is put 1 to 2 ounces of hot water into your French press. The reason you want to do this is because want to warm up your glass before using it so that the hot water you are about to add doesn’t shatter the glass. As a bonus, it also makes sure that there are no coffee grounds that get stuck to the bottom of your French press.

Step 2:

Next, you will put the course coffee grounds into your press. If you are unsure how much you will need, a good rule of thumb is for every 6 ounces of water use 1 to 3 tablespoons of coffee (depending on preference).

Step 3:

The third step is to heat up your water and then pour it into your French press. The temperature of the water before pouring should be around 195o F. This temperature is just under the temperature of boiling water and is optimal for brewing coffee. Once you pour in the hot water and it is covering all the coffee grounds, then it is time to start your timer.

Step 4:

Set your timer for 4-minutes or 4 1-minute intervals. As the grounds saturate in the water, stir the grounds around every minute to break them up.

Step 5:

After letting your coffee brew for 4 minutes, it is now time to press the round metal filter down. When the filter has pushed all the grounds to the bottom of the press, it is now ready to drink! Enjoy!

Three Steps to a Great Cup of Coffee

When talking about a quality cup of coffee there are three main steps that I can think of to produce a great cup. These three steps are broken down into: 1. Roasting 2. Grinding 3. Brewing. Many coffee lovers only pay attention to the final step of this process when the three together are all of equal importance.

Roasting

As you already know from my previous blog post, here at Jennings Java we have 4 different types of roasts available: light, medium, medium-dark, and dark. One of the most important facts to know about your coffee is when the coffee you are consuming was roasted. A general rule of thumb is that coffee should be consumed within a three-week period of being roasted. One perk of buying from a small business is that you know that you are getting the freshest roast possible.

After the coffee has been roasted, it is recommended to allow the beans to sit for a 24 to 48 hour time period before grinding the bean and brewing your coffee. This time period allows the oil that is in the center of the bean to spread to all parts.

Grinding

The best way to ensure that your coffee stays fresh is to only grind the amount of coffee that you are going to brew for that same day. It is important to note that there are different levels of grinds used for the brewing process. The three main grinds are course, medium, and fine grinds. A course grind is often used for a French press. A medium grind is one of the most common grinds, and is used for drip coffee makers and k-cups. It is also the predominant grind that is sold in grocery stores.  A fine grind is primarily used for espresso machines. At Jennings Java, we have the ability to sell our coffee whole bean, course ground, medium ground, or fine ground.

Brewing

Brewing coffee can be as simple or as difficult as you want to make it. There are endless ways to brew a great cup of coffee, but the key is to find which method works best for you. In the Jennings’ house you will find a wide variety of brewing methods for coffee, including espresso machines, a French press, a basic drip coffee maker (for when Grandma comes to town), a cold brewer, and a Keurig. It is possible to brew a great cup of coffee using any of these methods, however, it can get expensive. If you are on a tight budget, I would recommend using a French press. A French press gives a full flavor to the coffee because the grounds saturate directly in the water.

In future blogs, we will give you a more in-depth look at how exactly we use each brewing method. Let us know what you think of the article and what way you prefer to brew your coffee!

http://blogs.voanews.com/science-world/2015/12/02/coffee-delays-diabetes-dinosaur-tracks-found-exiled-exoplanet/

The Launch of Jennings Java

Coffee is life.

According to hubpages.com, the world’s most popular drink (excluding water) is coffee. If you were to take a look around in your day to day life, you will notice that you can barely take a step without running into something involving coffee. Coffee is in the workplace, on the counter in the morning, on your plane ride for vacation, at the gas station just around the corner, on the table during a great conversation with friends, and you know that there is an abundant amount of coffee down at the local café.

When I was just four years old, my father offered me my first sip of coffee as he was preparing to head out for a business meeting. At this stage, I was not used to the idea of a drink that was hot, so the coffee quickly burnt my tongue making me spit it out all over my dad’s business attire. Since then my taste buds have matured, and I have gained an extreme appreciation for the world’s most popular drink. During the last 10 years, I have explored a whole wide range of different coffees. I have tried many mochas, iced frappuccinos, warm lattes, shots of espresso, and, of course, many basic cups of black coffee. I have changed from month to month on how I like to make my morning joe. For instance, at one stage I may have been very into iced coffee, or lattes, or for several months I may have preferred americanos. At one time I was also into different kinds of shots of espresso. However, recently I have become very interested in trying coffee from all around the world and gaining a better understanding of what each country’s coffee taste is like. My current drink I prepare in the morning is what is called, in barista terms, a “black eye”.  A “black eye” is simply a drip coffee (which is currently Java Jennings +Full City Rwanda Roast) and a shot of espresso.

From a young age, I have always had the entrepreneurial spirit reside in me. I was always telling my dad about all the visions I had to start different kinds of companies when I became older. When I was around 12 years old, I started and ran a lawn care company around my neighborhood to help make a little extra cash. During this time I was blessed to have gained a lot of knowledge on how to interact with customers and the essentials to running a business. However, at this young age, I was not the smartest with how I dealt with my money. I was able to blow through the cash I earned pretty fast at the local coffee shop. It was at this age I really started to gain a passion for coffee, and the way coffee could incorporate its way into a person’s life. I began to dig deeper into the passion I had for coffee and learn as much as I could about creating an amazing cup of coffee. It was around this time that I started to have dreams and aspirations of eventually running and operating my own coffee house. Recently I realized that it is never too early to start your career. So even though I am still in college, my father and I decided to embark on a journey to share our passion for coffee with others through Jennings Java Coffee Roasters.

It is my hope that you will join us on a journey filled with passion and excitement, and incorporate Jennings Java Coffee into your daily life. I believe that Jennings Java Coffee speaks for itself in the terms of quality, and you won’t be disappointed.

Feel free to message me with any questions. I love to help people better understand the process to creating the highest quality coffee.

http://hubpages.com/food/Most-Consumed-Beverages

What Jennings Java Roast Do You Prefer?

      

Unroasted Coffee Beans (Green Beans)

The roasting process for a coffee bean is one the most important steps to creating a quality cup. Roasting coffee beans become an art that can take many years of experience to master. Before one starts roasting the coffee beans you must first have an unroasted coffee bean (which is commonly referred to as a “green bean”) . Then you put the green bean in the roaster and start the journey of creating the extravagant coffee. One of the most common myths with coffee is that a darker roast will do a great job of waking you up in the morning because of its bold flavor, however, this is not entirely true. When roasting your coffee beans, the longer the heat roasts them, the more caffeine the bean ends up losing or burning up. Many people have heard of a common coffee blend called the breakfast blend. There is a reason that the breakfast blend does not seem to have as bold of a flavor and that is because it holds much more caffeine in its bean. A breakfast blend tends to be a lighter roasted blend that serves the purpose of waking the consumer up in the morning and getting them going.

Light Roast

When roasting coffee there are two really important stages that the roaster must pay close attention to. These are the first and second cracks of the bean. When making a light roast it is vital to take the beans out of the cooling phase, right as the first crack begins. Light Roasts tend to a more acidic texture to the body of the coffee and can have a grainy taste. 

Terms for Light Roasts- Half City Roast, Cinnamon Roast

Medium Roast

A medium roast is one of the most popular kinds of roasts in the United States and elsewhere. This is because many coffee lovers find that a medium roast is a well-balanced coffee between that of a light roast and that of a dark roast. A medium roast goes well into the first crack but is taken out for cooling right before the second crack. A medium roast has a less grainy texture than a light roast but also has a less bitter and bold flavor than that of a dark roast.  A medium roast still has lots of caffeine that still remained in the bean while being roasted.

Terms for Medium Roast-Regular Roast, American Roast, City Roast

 Medium-Dark Roast

This kind of roasting is just what it sounds like. A medium dark roast is a great roast for someone who wants a stronger and bolder cup of coffee that still is not quite as dark as your dark roast. A medium-dark roast is my personal favorite kind of roast due to the fact that I can really pick out the five main characteristics of the coffee (Acidity, aftertaste, aroma, body, finish).

Terms for Medium-Dark Roast- Vienna Roast, Full City Roast, +Full City Roast

Dark Roast

A dark roast is one the hardest kinds of roasts to master. This is because the roaster must let the bean go past the stage of the second crack but not let the bean get charred or even worse catch on fire. Many people really tend to enjoy the features of a dark roast for the fact that it has very low acidity and caffeine while at the same time having a good finish and bold flavor.

Terms for Dark Roast- French Roast, Italian Roast, Espresso Roast

Sources

      http://www.coffeecrossroads.com/coffee-101/coffee-roasts-from-light-to-dark

     http://coffee-land.co.uk/basics-of-coffee-roasting/