There are three key ways we recommend to brew coffee. Steeping - where the grounds are brewed standing in contact with water, most commonly in a cafetière; Filtration, where water is passed through the grounds and filter paper; and pressure extraction, where water is pushed through coffee grounds at a high pressure - more commonly known as espresso.

More than any other method, the golden rule of thumb here is a rounded dessert spoon, or seven grams, per cup. Not using enough coffee here will result in over-extracted grounds that creates a bitter and sour tasting cup. If you find full strength coffee too intense, don't cut down on the grounds but add hot water to taste afterwards. This way you will get perfectly brewed balanced flavours, but diluted to your preference.

As with cafetière coffee, use only freshly drawn cold water - preferably filtered.

Many home filter machines now come with reusable stainless steel or gold plated mesh filter baskets, but if yours uses papers, we recommend that you stay away from the unbleached (brown) variety, mainly because the process used thickens the paper, and prevents some of the finer flavours passing through. It can also add a starchy taste to the coffee. Needless to say, make sure you always keep your filter basket clean.

Filtered coffee possesses slightly different characteristics to those brewed using a cafetière. Most notably, filter coffees tend to have a clearer appearance and slightly lighter body as most of the sediment has been filtered out.

We generally recommend filter machines if you intend to brew a pot and then enjoy over a few hours through the day. Using an insulated flask, the filtered coffee can be kept good for around 3-4 hours.