Here at Burleigh, we are known for crafting the perfect teapot with the perfect pour and our teacups are the perfect vessel for serving them too! But you may have noticed, we don’t just do tea…For every lover of tea, there is a coffee lover too, and we like to think we have something to suit each of you.
Our brand new Collection One has been designed with the coffee drinker in mind, with coffee cups and espresso cups designed to help you enjoy your roasted beans from the comfort of your own home, just how you like it.
But just like tea, we know there is some what of an art to getting the perfect cup of coffee, whether that be a latte, cappuccino, americano or whatever else it is that tickles your fancy. To help curate your perfect partner, we have teamed up with the experts at BEAR.
BEAR serves speciality coffee, seasonal fresh food, cocktails and craft beer in beautifully thought out spaces across the midlands and central London. Throughout the UK, trends are changing as people’s palates become more sophisticated and they demand a higher quality coffee experience. In short, BEAR is a coffee, kitchen and bar, providing an all-day experience with an ethos of perfection that stems from their passion for great coffee and one that is evident in everything they do. In recent years, the coffee landscape has changed and become a common social pastime. The increasing influence of coffee in our social lives is being driven by numerous factors such as the changing face of the high street, the desire for a different social experience and a consumer seeking better coffee.
We teamed up with Head of Coffee, Louise, from BEAR coffee to bring to you the top tips for coffee curation at home using a French Press. But first, there’s a few overarching tips that apply to any type of at-home coffee brewing…
Lou’s home brewing tips:
- Get a good burr grinder and grind your coffee as you go. Ground coffee loses freshness and starts to stale quickly. If you can keep your coffee as whole beans right up until you brew you will notice a difference in your cup.
- Water makes up the biggest proportion of your coffee. Use clean, filtered water of medium/soft hardness.
- Buy good quality coffee. We advise looking for speciality grade (you can buy our coffee online at http://bemorebear.co/!) and always make sure it contains flavour profiles you like!
- Use scales to weigh your coffee and water. This will allow you to be more accurate with your brewing and make the next tip easier to follow.
- Once you’re set with the basics, don’t be restricted by the recipes out there - a good place to start with your recipes is 60-65g of coffee to every 1 litre of water. If you want more body to your brew, up your dose. If your brew is sour and lacking in flavour, grind that coffee a little finer or brew for longer. If your brew is too bitter/dry, grind your coffee a little coarser or brew for less time. Change things up (one variable at a time) - this is where the brewing fun begins!
How to make the perfect French Press:
The French Press (or Cafetière) is a hugely popular brewing vessel. Our recipe is enough for 2 servings, but can be adjusted depending on the amount of people that you’re brewing for (just half the recipe if it is for 1 or double for 4 etc).
YOU WILL NEED
A French Press (Cafetière)
30g coarse grind coffee (consistency of rock salt)
500g of 95ºc water, plus a little for pre-heating
A spoon or stirrer
A set of scales
A timer
A vessel to decant in to, we recommend using a jug
A coffee cup to serve
HOW TO BREW
- After preheating your French Press using hot water, remove the lid and pop it on a set of scales. Zero the scales and add 30g of coarsely ground coffee.
- Start your timer and carefully pour over 500g of 95ºc water.
- Give it a quick stir to make sure all of the coffee grind is wet.
- Pop the lid back on, but don’t plunge yet! Leave to brew for 4 minutes.
- At 4 minutes, remove the lid and use a spoon or stirrer to break the layer of coffee that has formed on top.
- Put the lid back on and plunge that plunger!
- Decant the contents into your preheated coffee cup so that it doesn’t over-brew, and enjoy. Perfect!
