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The strength of a coffee is sometimes mistakenly associated with roast level. While the roast level does play a major role in how easy extraction is, the strength of a coffee is actually determined by the extraction process and is measured as the amount of coffee “stuff” that has been pulled from the grounds into the water. A strong coffee will have a lot of “stuff” while a weak coffee will not have as much “stuff”. While a dark roast is easier to extract, you can still end up with weak coffee. Likewise, a lighter roast can be much more stubborn to extract, but you can still produce a strong coffee with good extraction parameters.

We do not flavor any of our coffees. The flavors and tasting notes you experience are the culmination of a long, multi-step process that produces a unique coffee bean unlike any other coffee bean. Where and how the coffee is grown plays the biggest role in flavor. Things like altitude, soil type, shade, and what is being grown adjacent all play a role in the final product. After the coffee cherries are picked, they are fermented using different methods that produce different flavors. A natural or dry process will produce more fruity coffee while wet processing will produce more developed flavors. After processing comes the roasting. Our roasting philosophy is to highlight the uniqueness of each coffee bean, so each coffee will have its own roasting profile that showcases the inherent flavors with just enough development to compliment what makes each coffee special.

From a 10,000ft level, there is no difference. You are pouring hot water over coffee grounds and filtering out the grounds from the coffee which is collected below. However, when you look at the details there is an immense difference. A pour over implies total control over all the extraction variables that affect the final coffee. The water temperature is controlled, the grind size is controlled, the rate at which water is added is controlled, and the amount of mixing is controlled. Most coffee machines are programed for one set of extraction parameters, but because each coffee is so different this is rarely the optimum extraction for any given coffee. This is changing though; there are a number of programmable machines being released that will simulate a manual pour over on top of the convenience of a coffee maker.

Yes and no. There are acids in every coffee, however the amount of acid is extremely low relative to the amount of stomach acid already present. Species like citric acid, malic acid, phosphoric acid are not likely to cause you issues because they occur at such a low level. There might be some added agitation from quinic acid which you tend to find in darker roasts which is the bitter taste you find with those coffees. When it comes to stomach issues related to coffee, the biggest culprit is caffeine. When caffeine enters the stomach it calls for the stomach to produce more stomach acid. This is why coffee has been a popular after-meal drink forever, but on an empty stomach could lead to acid reflux. A popular remedy is a banana with your coffee. The magnesium in the banana is an alkaline buffer to the stomach acid.

This a fun fallacy to dissect. It was created to make baristas to work faster and more efficiently, but, no, espresso does not “burn” as it sits. You will loose some volatile aromatics as the espresso sits hot which is why you sometimes see espresso pulled over cold metal balls, but this is a very small loss over time. There is some oxidation that takes place, but again oxidation is fairly slow process relative to the time said to “burn” espresso. Drink a fresh espresso next to an espresso that has sat for two minutes. You will find very little difference outside of the affect temperature has on tasting perceptions.