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Grinding coffee, eh, it doesn’t seem like a big deal but there are a few things we can do to get the most out of our coffee. 

You gotta start with good coffee. Listen, just because a huge multi-gazillion dollar a year coffee brand tells you they have the best coffee, don’t believe it – at least don’t believe it because they say it. Of course they’re going to say it, but that doesn’t make it true. Your paying for layers of management, facilities, and marketing that tells you this stuff is great but it’s probably a cheap coffee all dressed up for the prom. Don’t go with any kind of packaging that has a “Use By” date set months ahead. The stuff is flat, stale regardless of the packaging technology. At best it’s preserved, but far from fresh. If you can get your hands on some fresh roasted coffee (meaning roasted in the past few days), that’s what you want – assuming they’re using a good bean.

Get the finest grind possible without plugging up your filter. The reason coffee is ground is to increase the surface area of the coffee. More surface exposure makes for a more efficient extraction of the flavor oils. Play with it. If your water is in contact with the grounds for more than 4.5 minutes, you may want to coarsen up the grind a bit to move the water through quicker and avoid the bitter extracts that come from over brewing.

Go ahead, Read on!

I admit it. The reason I began using Fair Trade coffees in the shop was because I found out they were a higher quality coffee. Being a little guy in the big world of coffee, one of my key niches is to create an outstanding cup of coffee. It’s about the only advantage I can grip. Good coffee starts with a good bean. Any worldly, social benefit kind of thing from buying Fair Trade, well, that’s ok too.

So I thought I should probably read up on Fair Trade (which I kept calling “Free Trade” by mistake) for when I was asked a question. Around Dexter, these people are going to ask questions. They care.

I started with the Fair Trade Certified website: http://www.transfairusa.org

The overview gave me these insights:

• Fair Trade farmers get a guaranteed minimum price and an additional bonus per kilo for certified organic coffee. More and more I’ve been thinking it’s important to keep the chemicals out of my body.

• Workers on coffee estates are paid a living wage and forced child labor is monitored and strictly prohibited.

• Farmers form co-ops and act as their own brokers cutting out some of the middle-men (and their cut).

• Fair Trade co-ops decide democratically how to use their Fair Trade funds.

• Fair Trade money also goes into the communities for things like education, medical, business training, and organic certification.

Wow. While I had my head buried in my own deal here at the shop, I didn’t realize people around the world were struggling to get ahead too. The world suddenly got smaller, or my heart suddenly got bigger. Something like that.

Then came the stories.