Everything You Need to Know About Coffee

There’s no-one who knows the art of coffee better, than our friends at GREY ROASTING CO!

Q&A by Jassher Clayton, Grey Roasting Co and Kiris Megaw, KA Digital Marketing.

Do coffee beans have an expiry, and how long can they be opened for, until they’re off?

This all depends on the beans, roast, and whether they’re ground or not.

Typically, between 1-4 weeks post roast (depending on your grind size and recipe) is a rough estimate. But if you freeze beans, they can last and be delicious for a long time.

I’ve had beans 2 years old frozen, and the coffee was delicious!

Does the weather effect coffee beans (as in when they’re in the grinder of a machine, or a bag, yet to be used)?

Yes, humidity can severely affect the grind, wildly when pumping.

How often should a coffee machine (at home) be cleaned?

This depends on the machine and depends on how much coffee you make. I would suggest once a week would be a good start.

What are the top 3 things that can effect the taste of your coffee (i.e. Machine isn’t hot enough, machine is dirty etc).

Origin of the bean, the way the coffee has been roasted and your recipe.

Ideas for using old coffee grinds?

The classic is for gardening, it makes for great fertilizer.

Let’s stop the confusion once and for all, what is the difference between the following: Cappuccino, Latte, Flat White, Mocha, Macchiato, Long Black, Short Black & Americano?

• Cappuccino - White coffee with lots of foam.

• Latte - White coffee with less foam.

• Flat White - White coffee with even less foam.

• Mocha - White coffee with chocolate.

• Macchiato - Small black coffee with a “dot” of foam.

• Long Black - Small black coffee (approx 90-120ml).

• Short Black - Espresso shot only.

• Americano - Big black coffee (approx 180-250 ml).

How is decaf coffee produced compared to regular coffee?

Decaf coffee is made by stripping green, unroasted coffee beans of their caffeine content and relies on the fact that caffeine dissolves in water.

Generally speaking, what is the latest time of the day that you can have a coffee, without it affecting your sleep at night?

Well, that all depends on how much coffee you drink! Coffee in the evening hasn’t affected me for years but 6pm would be the latest I’d drink coffee these days but for my mum it would be 12:00pm.

It all depends on your tolerance!