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Recent Articles

October 22, 2026

Can slow feeding really help improve grind consistency?

September 1, 2026

How to curate an exceptional home coffee setup

August 13, 2026

What to upgrade first in your home coffee setup

June 9, 2026

First espresso, now filter coffee: Revisiting extract chilling

May 12, 2026

How Turkish coffee earned its place in specialty coffee

November 3, 2026

Can refractometers really help improve coffee extraction?

Estimated reading time: 8 minutes Key takeaways Refractometers measure TDS, which baristas use to calculate extraction yield. Most specialty guidelines consider 18% to 22% extraction yield balanced. Sample temperature is the biggest cause of inaccurate refractometer readings. DiFluid’s RS Extract reads samples up to 65°C without cooling. Extraction shapes almost every aspect of how a coffee tastes. Grind size, brew ratio, water temperature, and contact time affect how much ground… read more

Estimated reading time: 8 minutes Key takeaways Refractometers measure TDS, which baristas use to calculate extraction yield. Most specialty guidelines consider 18% to 22% extraction yield balanced. Sample temperature is the biggest cause of inaccurate refractometer readings. DiFluid’s RS Extract… read more

July 9, 2019

What You Need to Brew Great Coffee On The Go

How do you get a good quality coffee when travelling? If you’re in a city, you may be able to stop by a specialty coffee...

January 25, 2019

Everything you need to know to brew great pour over coffee

Pour over coffee has been embraced by the specialty coffee scene in recent years and there is much discussion about the best techniques and tools...

January 4, 2019

Melitta, Chemex, & More: A History of Pour Over Coffee

Step into any specialty coffee shop and you’ll probably see at least one pour over coffee device. The V60 and Chemex have been around for...

October 11, 2018

How Does Elevation Affect Your Ideal Coffee Brew Temperature?

There’s so much to consider when brewing exceptional coffee: grind size, brew time, pulsing and water dispersal, brew temperature… and elevation? Yes, elevation. While some...

July 4, 2018

Testing Water in Pursuit of Excellent Coffee

As I watch the slow drip of my morning pour over, I like to tell myself that this coffee counts towards my daily intake of...

June 15, 2018

How Grind Size Can Help You Brew Better-Tasting Coffee

So, you want your coffee to taste even more delicious, sweet, and balanced. You want that incredible aroma and lingering aftertaste. And you want this...

May 16, 2018

Acidic Coffees: A Brew & Roast Guide

Acidity is a revered but contentious attribute in specialty coffee. Loved by third wave consumers and prized by competition judges, it’s also often a cause...

April 30, 2018

How to Increase or Reduce Coffee Acidity During Brewing

Coffee acidity is a divisive term in coffee brewing. For some, it signals sharp, sour flavours. For others, it’s a revered attribute of a high-quality...

March 2, 2018

Coffee Brew Ratios: What You Need to Know

Coffee, in its simplest form, is ground beans and water. What determines whether we get a complex, balanced and aromatic coffee or a sour or...

February 12, 2018

How to brew better coffee at home

So, you want to make better, more delicious, and more aromatic coffee? You’re in the right place. Learning how to brew better coffee doesn’t need...

January 22, 2018

Coffee Wars: Should You Drink Instant or Whole Bean?

Almost 50% of the world’s population prefers instant coffee to fresh, according to a 2014 Euromonitor report – and our love for soluble coffee is...

December 15, 2017

A Brewer’s Guide to Choosing a (Good) Coffee Grinder

Are you looking for an even better-tasting cup of coffee? Then maybe it’s time to invest in a new coffee grinder. But with all the...

November 17, 2017

Brew Guide: How Does Pulse Pouring Affect Extraction?

If you want the best possible coffee, you can’t overlook the importance of your drink’s biggest ingredient: water. Temperature, quality, chemical composition, distribution method… it...

August 16, 2017

What Is Agitation & How Does It Make My Filter Coffee Better?

Filter coffee is great, isn’t it? The calming drip of the brew, the elegance of the pour-over process, and the coffee itself – a smooth...

August 8, 2017

The Great Paper Coffee Filters Debate: Bleached vs Unbleached

Coffee filters: they’re small, humble, and critical for great-tasting coffee. But if you – like the majority of coffee brewers – use paper filters, should...

August 4, 2017

Brew Guide: What Are The 3 Phases of Drip Coffee Brewing?

The ability to control coffee extraction is both one of the best, and one of the trickiest, things about drip brewing. There are so many...