Proper Brewing...The KEY to A Great Coffee Experience?

I Think So... Interview by Killian Fox The Observer, Saturday 14 July 2012 Follow a few basic rules to brew brilliant coffee at home. Photograph: Louisa Parry for Observer Food Monthly Stephen Leighton's magnificent coffee beans are not his only claim to fame. It's not just his exuberance and boundless enthusiasm for his profession that shines through in the beans he sells online from his West Midlands roastery. His background also sets him apart: he's also (almost certainly) the only coffee roaster to have started out working in prisons, inspired by the sitcom Porridge. "I spent all my childhood wanting to be a prison officer and then in my first week I hated it," he says ruefully. But after hard work in his spare time, he soon devised an escape plan. "I was importing green beans for home roasting from the States, because I've always been passionate about good coffee. Then I decided to buy a little two-kilo roaster. I put it in my garage at home, built a really rubbish website and started selling online. I used to roast in the evenings after work, till until two or three in the morning, and I'd take the parcels to the post office at lunch." The plan eventually paid off. Leighton was able to give up the prison work after a few yearsand open a 10,000sq ft roastery in Stafford in the West Midlands. Now he employs 13 people and has 20,000 customers (hasbean.co.uk). "I firmly believe that espresso should be left in the coffee shop," he advises. "Let the professionals do it because there are so many things that can go wrong and the equipment is so expensive. Brewed coffee, on the other hand, is something you can do brilliantly at home, if you follow a few very basic rules." Beans, beans, beans A rule of thumb for buying coffee is: the more information on the packet the better. They should be able to tell you where the coffee is from – the country, the region, even the farm where it was grown. Look for roasted-on dates. If the roaster won't tell you when it was roasted, you've got to question why. There are no "best" beans, but there are best for certain times or occasions. I tend to drink a much lighter coffee in the mornings, something floral and delicate – yirgacheffe, an Ethiopian coffee, is a good example. And in the evenings I crave something a bit sweeter with a bit more body to it – a Bolivian coffee maybe, or a great Brazilian. Find the right water-to-bean ratio Boil the kettle and weigh out your beans. It's all about getting the quantities right – you wouldn't bake a cake by just throwing the ingredients in. Brewed coffee tends to be 75g per litre if you use a cafetière. The daily grind It's better to buy beans whole and grind fresh for each cup. Grinding releases all those wonderful aromatics. Leave freshly ground coffee aside for even just 10 minutes and that amazing aroma will fade. I would advise spending as much as your budget allows on a grinder, but you don't have to spend lots. Some of the hand-operated burr grinders are much better than the more expensive electric ones: you can get a really good Porlex for less than £40. For a cafetière, you need a coarse grind because the coffee takes longer to brew. But different methods require a slightly different grind and these things are quite often worked out by taste. If the coffee tastes a little bit weak and insipid, you need to fine the grind. If it's a little bit strong or you're getting bits coming through, coarsen it a little. Use a Chemex I adore my Chemex. It's so easy to use and it's a beautiful object. Having nice equipment to brew your coffee in enhances the whole experience – and guests appreciate coffee poured from a carafe. When the kettle has boiled, let it rest for a while. Fold the filter paper in half and in half again to form a cone and place it in the neck of the chemex. Wash the paper with hot water, letting it drip into the carafe to warm it. Pour out the water and place ground coffee in the paper, 60g per litre. Pour a small amount of water over the grains and let it sit for 20 seconds. If it's fresh coffee, you'll see bubbles appear. Then add the rest of the water, very slowly and steadily, covering all the grains. The aim is to get all the water through into the carafe within three minutes. If it's still going after four minutes, remove the filter to stop the coffee from over-extracting. Pour into warm mugs and enjoy. Perfect cafetière coffee The easiest way to brew great coffee. Everyone is familiar with cafetières and, because of the increased grind size, it's harder to get it wrong.When the kettle has boiled, let it rest for a while. Warm the carafe with hot water and discard before adding the ground coffee – I recommend 75g per litre because it's a slightly coarser grind. Pour in about a third of the water and leave for 30 seconds. Stir the grinds and add the remaining water. Leave for a further four minutes. Warm your cups with hot water. When the time is up, stir once and scoop the grinds off the top. Plunge, serve and enjoy.