Compare eight coffee water recipes by hardness and alkalinity, from the SCA standard to Rao/Perger and Third Wave Water, see which minerals each really uses, and mix any of them from two salts.
El Salvador grows mostly Bourbon and bred Pacamara, a giant-bean cross begun in 1958. Here's how its history, regions, varieties and processing shape the coffee, and how to brew it.
Gesha, or Geisha, is an Ethiopian coffee made famous in Panama. Where it came from, why its top lots set auction records, what the price buys, and how to decide if a bag is worth it to you.
Honduras grows more coffee than any other Central American country. Here are its six regions, from Marcala's protected origin to Comayagua, its varieties and grades, and what to look for on a bag.
Honey-process coffee dries with some of its sticky fruit still on the bean. What white, yellow, red and black honey mean, why each mill defines them its own way, and what they tend to do in the cup.
What each line on a specialty coffee bag tells you, from the roast date and process to origin, altitude, variety and score, and which claims on the bag are marketing rather than information.
Malawi grows very little coffee, on southern estates and in the northern hills of the Mzuzu cooperatives. Its history, regions, varieties including Geisha, how it tastes and how to find a bag.
How to use a moka pot: fill the basket level, add water to just below the valve, heat gently and stop at the first gurgle. Bialetti's method, Hoffmann's hot-water start, sizes, fixes and care.
Myanmar's specialty coffee dates from 2014, mostly natural-process Catuai from smallholders in southern Shan State. How it started, what it tastes like, and what the 2021 coup did to the trade.
Panama grows little coffee, but its Geisha set specialty coffee's auction record. Learn how Geisha reached Boquete, what the Best of Panama auction pays, the regions, and how Panama's coffee tastes.
Peru grows about 4.8 million bags a year, mostly washed Typica and Caturra, and leads the world in organic coffee exports. Here are its regions, from Cajamarca to Chanchamayo, and how it tastes.
Yemen has grown coffee as a crop longer than any other country, and its port gave us the word mocha. Here's that history, where Yemeni coffee grows today, how it tastes and how to buy it well.
Whole beans usually taste best 7 to 21 days after roasting and are worth finishing by about day 30. Ground coffee runs on a much faster clock. Here's why, and what moves the windows.
Grind size in microns, explained: our illustrative bands for eleven brewers, what D10 and D50 mean, how grinds are measured, and why a grinder's microns per click isn't the size of your grounds.
What 'heirloom' means on an Ethiopian coffee bag, what numbered selections like 74110 and 74112 are, how they were bred from Ethiopia's landraces, and what either label tells you.