Good coffee beans or ground coffee are crucial to a good cup of Joe, but it’s just as important to teach your customers how to brew a perfect cup. Educate your clients so that their customers will come back time and again for that perfect cup.

Storage:

Coffee should not be stored in the refrigerator. Coffee sponges up all sorts of flavors, and the last thing you want is to have a cup of coffee that tastes like ham.
Don’t freeze your coffee unless it’s the last resort. Freezing coffee can damage the coffee, compromising the taste.
Store coffee in a cool, dry place.
Store coffee in an airtight container.
Try to use your opened coffee within a month of purchase.

Dosage:

The dosage you choose to use depends on the kind of coffee you want to make. When brewing coffee, tell your clients to use approximately 2 - 2.5 tablespoons of coffee for 6 ounces of water (3 T for 8 ounces). For espresso, use 7 - 8 grams for each shot of coffee. Double that for a double shot.

Different Brews:
There are many ways to make a good cup of coffee. Let’s take a look at the most popular ways to prepare coffee and we’ll teach you the best way to do it.
For all the different ways to brew coffees, there are a few simple things you can teach your clients to insure they get the best quality product (even though they purchase the best coffee, they need to make sure they brew it in the best way possible):

• Keep all coffee equipment clean so that residues and oils don’t taint the taste of the latest brew. On big coffee machines (in cafes or restaurants), clean them after the morning rush.
• Use fresh, clean water to make the coffee.
• Don’t grind the coffee until you’re ready to prepare it.
• Grind the coffee according to the preparation method or brewing method you intend to use. The grind for a French
  Coffee Press is much different than that of espresso.
• Follow the aforementioned dosage guidelines. Too strong, or too weak, coffee doesn’t taste good.
• Don’t leave undrunk coffee sitting on a coffee warmer. It will lose its flavor. Store leftover coffee in a thermos.

French Coffee Press: Grind your coffee to a very coarse consistency. Many people believe it’s impossible to make cappuccinos and lattes in a French coffee press. Well, here’s a trick you can teach your customers: Heat a cup of non-fat milk in a pan on the
stove (don’t scald the milk). Pour the milk in your clean, empty French Coffee Press, insert the plunger and churn the milk for a few minutes until the milk gets frothy. There you’ve got the milk for your latte or cappuccino. Now, it’s time to brew. Remember to use the coarse coffee grounds and enjoy!

Put a Pot On: Don’t compact the coffee! Pile it on high in the filter basket of the Moka pot. Screw the pieces together after wiping the rim to insure a tight seal. The coffee will automatically be compacted by the filter screen.

Drip, Drip, Drip: For your coffee machines that use filters, be sure to purchase the right filters. If you’re ecologically conscious, wire mesh filters are available for coffee makers of every shape and size.

Espresso: Invest in a good machine. Both steam driven and pump machines are available, the former being much more economical. Die-hard espresso drinkers, though, might want to consider investing in a pump machine (from $200.00 up), as it makes a better final product. An interesting tidbit about espresso that most don’t know – espresso has approximately 1/3 the amount of caffeine as regular coffee. So for those who want an extra jolt, they won’t be getting it from espresso.

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IT’S ALL IN THE BREW – THE HISTORY OF THE HOTTEST COFFEE MAKING DEVICES KNOWN TO MAN:

The first coffee makers were pretty simple. The beans were roasted and boiled to make the Arabic drink qahwa. But as you will see, the love of a good brew didn’t stop man’s imagination from running wild. Let’s take a look at how what we consider to be the most commonplace household items developed.

1822:
Over time, though, coffee drinkers became more curious as to how they could get the richest, darkest, and most potent brew. The first espresso machine was developed in 1822 in France by Dr. Ernest Illy. This was used for over 100 years until the Italian Achilles Gaggia developed the modern-day, high pressure espresso machine in 1946.

1865:
Drip, drip, drip! Think of your coffee maker. Does it fill your home with aromas as it percolates in the morning? You can thank James Mason for inventing the first coffee percolator December 26, 1865. Was it, perhaps, a late Christmas gift?

1901:
“Just-add-hot-water coffee!” The first instant coffee was invented by a Japanese American scientist – Satori Kato. And in 1906, George Constant Washington mass produced it. His company was called Red E Coffee (ready coffee). Finally in 1938, Nescafe instant coffee was invented (to help Brazil solve its coffee surplus problem).

1908:
Practical and perfect for brewing a good cup of coffee, the first coffee filters were patented and marketed. Melitta Bentz, a homemaker from Germany, experimented with different things that would filter her coffee. She found that her son’s blotter paper was ideal, cut it in a round shape, put it in a metal cup and voila!
Melitta Bentz, with her husband, patented the product and set up shop. The Melittz Bentz Company also patented the first filter bag and vacuum packing.