But First, Coffee

Even though I had the most relaxing weekend, it was still tough to get out of bed this morning, so I thought it only fitting to kick off the week with a post about coffee. Hope you’ve all had your daily cup, because no talkie before coffee, right? I recently had the pleasure of visiting the Big Shoulders Coffee roastery in the West Loop and was enthralled by the process. Seriously, I don’t think I or the other bloggers in attendance ever knew coffee and the roasting process could be so interesting! We really quizzed owner and founder Tim Coonan about the process and came out with a new appreciation of what it takes to make our morning cup o’ joe.

One of the most interesting tidbits I learned is that coffee comes from a fruit. Does that surprise you? The bean is actually the pit of a plant that grows on trees all over the world. The roasting process helps change the flavor of these beans. Big Shoulders Coffee has their own roasting process which we got to witness on our tour. You can taste the outcome of their small roasted batches at their café on Chicago Street or by purchasing Big Shoulders Coffee at a local grocery store like Mariano’s. And you might want to buy a lot of bags. I personally enjoy one or two cups of coffee a day, but Tim told us that he was recently on a talk show with a medical expert who suggested people drink four to six cups a day to enjoy health benefits for the liver and to prevent adult onset diabetes. I don’t know about you, but I’d be shaking with that much caffeine!

I also learned that making a great cup of coffee at home takes more work than just buying good beans or grounds. Here are tips from Big Shoulders Coffee owner Tim Coonan on how to brew a great cup of coffee:

Use a tool like a Chemex or Clever Dripper, and:

1. Keep your equipment clean.
2. Use fresh coffee, visit Big Shoulders weekly! Or pick up a bag of Big Shoulders beans at your local Mariano’s or Whole Foods stores.
3. Match the grind to the brewing method and use a burr grinder. (A common mistake is grinding too fine.)
4. Use a scale and a ratio of 1 part coffee to 15 parts water as a starting point and play with this mix based on brewing method and your flavor preference. An example is 33 grams of coffee to 500 grams of water.
5. Use filtered water heated to 204 degrees.
6. Bloom the coffee by pouring just enough to moisten the grounds but not actually brew, allowing the water and coffee to get to know each other and not have just a fleeting romance.
7. Allow 1 minute after the bloom before you start to actually brew.

Auto Drip Brewing Method:

1. Repeat steps 1 & 2 from above.
2. A basic formula for home auto-brewing is two tablespoons of freshly ground Big Shoulders coffee per cup of coffee. It is a very common mistake to under-dose the coffee. By following the above, you will make your morning coffee an extravagant and very affordable luxury.

Thank you so much to Big Shoulders Coffee for having me out to your roasting facility. It was a great way to kick off a Saturday morning and expand my knowledge of something so ingrained in our everyday life!

Visit Big Shoulders Coffee’s website to learn more about how to visit them and their different brews.