Carbon Footprint of Coffee Processing & Milling

Carbon Footprint of Coffee Processing & Milling

The major contribution to the carbon produced at the wet mill is the methane and other greenhouse gases released in the wastewater. In Kenya, where traditional washed processing uses large amounts of water for fermentation, untreated wastewater accounted for 97% of...
Water Hardness

Water Hardness

What’s the difference between temporary and permanent hardness and does it matter for coffee brewing? Hardness is a measure of the amount of certain minerals in water. The amount and proportion of minerals in your brewing water can have a dramatic effect on the...
Measuring the Carbon Footprint of Coffee Cultivation

Measuring the Carbon Footprint of Coffee Cultivation

The first value we need in order to analyse the data is the emissions resulting from production. ‘Production’ involves all the steps required to produce green coffee ready for export, including growing, processing, and milling. Over the next few lessons, we’ll compare...
The Rao Spin

The Rao Spin

Is it really essential for pour-over? What does it even do? The Rao Spin is a technique in which the barista swirls the filter cone during brewing, to make the slurry spin. It’s named for Scott Rao, who popularised — but did not invent — the technique.1 It’s thought...
Cascara Banned in Europe

Cascara Banned in Europe

Why is Cascara still banned in Europe after 5 years? Cascara has been regularly hailed as the next big thing in coffee. Once a rare novelty in speciality coffee, in recent years everyone from Starbucks to Stumptown has jumped on the trend for cascara-infused drinks....