www.taylorsoutofhome.co.

uk

TEA & COFFEE

MASTERCLASSES

Coffee Guide
WHAT IS THIS GUIDE? ABOUT TAYLORS

Taylors of Harrogate is a Yorkshire family business

devoted to the craft of outstanding coffee and tea.
We do things properly, without shortcuts, and we
show care and respect to everyone along the way,
from the people who grow it to the people who sell
it and the people who drink it. Those relationships
Coffee doesn’t need to be complicated. The sheer have been right at the heart of our company since
wealth of origins, roasts, brewing methods and it was founded in 1886.
serving styles can seem unapproachable, but the
truth is that giving your customers superb coffee
just takes a few simple steps.
These skills aren’t exclusive to big chains and career
baristas. It’s about brilliant basics – making sure
your coffee tastes fresh and consistent.
This masterclass starts with a potted guide to
coffee history and the life of a coffee bean, then
takes you through storage, grinding, preparation
and flavour. There’s a page-by-page guide to our
range, and some troubleshooting and hints to help
your coffee service.
The aim is simple – to give you everything you
need to know to make coffee that keeps customers
coming back. Once you’ve mastered the essentials,
the subject of coffee goes as deep as you want to
take it. So if this guide leaves you hungry to delve
into the intricacies of espresso pressure graphs,
bean varietals and barista championships, we’ve
also recommended some further reading.

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 THE HISTORY OF COFFEE TREE TO CUP

SOAK
14th century
Ethiopia - first written references
to coffee consumption. Mid 14th century
Yemen starts drinking coffee too.

GROW
1500 ROLL
The rest of the Middle East PICK
catches on, as does North 1550 to 1800
Africa. Mocha in Yemen becomes the
world coffee trade hub.

1554 FERMENT
The first ever coffeehouse
opens! It’s in Constantinople.
1580 (ish)
DEHULL
Coffee first available in England.
DRY
1645
WASH
Venice becomes home to
Europe’s first coffeehouse. 1675
There are now 3,000 coffee
houses in England. COFFEE
1700s
South East Asia begins
production, using plants BAG
exported by the Dutch. 1710 to 1720
Plants arrive in the Americas, TRANSPORT BLEND
grown on French and Dutch
1800 colonies.
Huge harvests in Brazil turn
coffee into a drink for the
masses.
19th/early 20th century
Brazil monopolises coffee
production. GRIND
1886
PACK ROAST
Taylors of Harrogate begins
trading (that’s us)! Mid to late 20th century
More nations become major
producers: like Colombia,
Guatemala, Nicaragua, Indonesia
and Vietnam. BREW
... and enjoy!
 OUR COFFEE IS GROWN
IN THESE COUNTRIES

tropic of cancer
MEXICO
GUATEMALA
CENTRAL AMERICA ETHIOPIA
COLOMBIA
SOUTH AMERICA KENYA
RWANDA INDONESIA
PERU BRAZIL
EAST AFRICAN

tropic of capricorn
 6
HOW TO MAKE A

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PERFECT COFFEE O2

When storing, there

1 are four things that

make coffee lose
freshness faster: light,
Use clean heat, moisture and
equipment. A few Coffee always tastes
oxygen. Keep the
stale grounds can hugely better fresher – so try
beans and grounds

2
affect the flavour, so to serve it as soon as
away from all of these
you really can’t be possible rather than
and they’ll stay fresher
too meticulous about letting it stand.
longer. An airtight
cleaning. Check filters container in the fridge
Use clean equipment.

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too (cafetière filters, for or freezer is perfect.
It’s so important we’ve
example, are designed to
listed it twice.
be unscrewed, taken
apart and rinsed). Use soft water if you can. Mineral content

4
can affect the flavour – so if you’re in a
hard water area, you should consider using

3
a water filter. The Speciality Coffee Association of
America recommends brewing with water which
has these values:
92-96o C x1 pH value – between 6.5 and 7.5
Calcium hardness – between 1 and 5 grains
Only heat the water (between 17mg/l and 85mg/l).
once. Oxygen escapes TDS (total dissolved solids) – between 75mg/l
Make sure you’re using
when it’s heated, so and 250mg/l.
the right grind size for Odour, colour and chlorine free.
reheating can make it
your chosen brewing
taste a bit “flat”. Kits to measure them aren’t very expensive – litmus paper, for
method. The bigger
example, measures pH and costs just a couple of pounds. If
the grind size, the a supplier fits a water filter for you, make sure to share these
longer the brew time. values with them.

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HINTS & TROUBLESHOOTING
Shot too fast?
Use a finer grind size or more coffee.
Shot too slow?
Use a coarser grind size or less coffee.
Get to know your peak hours and
grinder speed. If there’s a lunchtime rush
and you know your grinder will not keep up,
pre-grind a batch of beans just before to
keep customer waiting times down. To speed
things up even more, buy lots of small tins
and grind a double espresso dose into each
one before the rush hits.
Aim for consistency with dosing and
tamping – among all of your staff. That way
you can replicate results, and make sure
customers are always getting great coffee.
Avoid single shot doses – they’re a false
economy, because the water passes through
too fast and the coffee isn’t very drinkable.
So use a double dose even when you only
need one shot; and aim to make two orders
at once when that’s possible, so the second
shot isn’t wasted.
Grinders need tuning more than once
a day. Even if it’s producing the perfect
espresso grind in the morning, changes in
temperature during the day can make them
expand and contract. The best way to judge
is by extraction time – if that changes, and
everything else is the same, adjust your
grinder.
You can keep your cups on top of the
espresso machine to warm them up.
If you can grind fresh to order, do
– it will always taste best freshly ground.
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STORING GRINDING

Coffee’s flavour is at

Like most foods, coffee loses freshness when it’s its very best when the

exposed to light, heat, moisture and oxygen. So the beans have just been

best way to keep beans and grounds away from all ground. Grind the

four is an airtight container in a cool, dark place. beans to order if you Espresso:
can – and see the hints very fine, like flour
section in our guide for
O2
advice on anticipating

Does that mean fridge or freezer? Absolutely! a rush of customers,

The volatile aromatics which give coffee much and adjusting your

of its flavour deteriorate more slowly at lower grinder.

temperatures. At Taylors, our Aeropress:

pre-ground coffee fine, like fine sand
is packed in 20
It’s a common misconception that fridges and
seconds into bags
freezers are moist environments which are bad
with the oxygen
for storing coffee. On the contrary, the cooler air
flushed out – so any Filter/Chemex/
is, the less moisture it can hold (that’s the Theory
flavour deterioration is V60:
of Relative Humidity) so it’s drier inside these
minimised. medium, between fine
appliances than outside.
sand and table salt
Here’s our guide
Condensation might build on the outside of the to grind size:
container, but as long as it’s airtight the contents
won’t be affected. We recommend taking the
Cafetière:
amount of coffee you need each time straight out
coarse,
of the fridge or freezer.
coarser than table salt

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RECIPES EQUIPMENT RECIPES

Based on a standard 285ml/10oz cup
Espresso machines
These vary hugely, so please follow your
manufacturer’s instructions. Use the espresso
figures on the opposite page for dry coffee, wet
coffee and extraction time to help you calibrate.

Espresso
ESPRESSO
16-18g dry coffee
To produce 30-40ml wet coffee Aeropress Cafetière
20-30 second extraction time Fine grind Coarse grind
14-17g coffee 60g per litre (or
250ml water equivalent)
1 min brew time 4-5 minute brew time
STEAMED Latte
MILK Plunge Plunge
ESPRESSO
1 shot espresso
Add steamed milk to top

Chemex V60
Medium grind Medium grind
FOAM
Cappuccino 60g per litre (or 60g per litre (or
MILK
Double shot espresso equivalent) equivalent)
ESPRESSO
3-4 minute brew time 3-4 minute brew time
Fill to top with half milk,
half foam
Ratio cheat sheet
Water Coffee Water Coffee
HOT
WATER
Americano 250ml 15g 800ml 48g
2/3 hot water
ESPRESSO
500ml 30g 900ml 54g
Pour in double shot espresso
750ml 45g 1l 60g

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COFFEE TASTING WHEEL
A guide to the types of tastes and aromas in coffee
- reproduced with permission of the Specialty
Coffee Association of America.
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STRENGTH & BITTERNESS
Coffee too strong or too weak? Don’t adjust the
brewing time.
Brew time doesn’t affect strength, but flavour. If
you don’t brew for long enough, the flavour will be
underdeveloped; brew for too long and the flavour
becomes bitter.
So to change the strength of your coffee, simply
adjust the ‘dose’ by increasing or lowering the
amount of grounds you use.
You can also make lighter coffee by brewing
normally, then diluting with a little hot water at
the end (e.g. four parts brewed coffee to one part
water). This is known as the ‘bypass’ method.
Don’t adjust Adjust the ‘dose’
the brewing time
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CLARITY VS BODY ROASTING EXPLAINED

The presence of dissolved solids in brewed coffee determines
how heavy it tastes. This chart shows how different brewing
methods filter out more or less of those solids - from the clarity
of Chemex to thick, full-bodied Turkish coffee.
Before roasting, coffee beans are small, green and
dense. Applying rapid heat causes changes at the
chemical level, turning them dark and fragrant.
They’re then quickly cooled.

CLARITY Very broadly speaking, a shorter roast can

emphasise fruity, acidic aromas and a longer roast
Chemex / V60 / Pourover can bring out darker, more toasted notes – although
there is endless variation, determined by everything
from the speed at which the heat is accelerated to
Siphon
the soil in which the beans were grown.

Paper filter There’s no common scale of roast darkness, but

most generally fall into the categories of light,
Aeropress medium, medium-dark and dark. It’s this darkness
which our 1-6 scale refers to, rather than strength or
caffeine content.
Cloth filter

Metal filter

Cafetière

Stovepot
1 2 3 4 5 6
light medium medium-dark dark

Turkish

BODY
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OUR COFFEES

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CAFÉ IMPERIAL
Kenya, Central America and South
America
Café Imperial is our most treasured
coffee. This crisp medium roast was
first served in the tea rooms of our
sister company Bettys more than 40
years ago, and the blend recipe has
been passed down through generations
4
of our coffee buyers
3 Medium
Lively, crisp, milk chocolate, citrus
From Rainforest Alliance Certified™
farms
22 CAFÉ IMPERIAL
DECAFFÉ
Central America and Brazil
We select beans which don’t lose their
flavour during decaffeination, and we
gently remove their caffeine using the
Pure Water Process - a method which
uses mineral-enriched water instead of
chemical solvents
Medium dark
Smooth, sweet, malt, caramel
From Rainforest Alliance Certified™
farms
DECAFFÉ 23
FRENCH ROAST
Africa, Central America and Brazil
France’s historic colonies in West Africa
grew lots of robusta coffee – which is
harsh, cheap, strong and often best
when roasted very dark. Our French
Roast uses high quality arabica, hitting
the same intense dark notes more
smoothly and without bitterness
5 Dark
3 Medium
Full-bodied, smooth, dark
From Rainforest Alliance Certified™
farms
24 FRENCH ROAST
LAZY SUNDAY
Africa and Central America
A smooth, medium-roasted coffee
designed for all-day drinking. The
African beans in the blend give it
notes of juicy, sweet citrus, while the
beans from Central America bring an
indulgent, nutty character
Smooth, hazelnut, citrus
From Rainforest Alliance Certified™
farms
LAZY SUNDAY 25
RICH ITALIAN
East Africa, Brazil and Central America
In southern Italy, gutsy blends are
more common; heavy on the robusta,
they are often dark roasted and quite
harsh. So our Rich Italian takes its cues
from northern Italy, where the smooth,
elegant, finessed flavours of pure
arabica blends are more popular
4 Medium dark
5 Dark
Rich, full-bodied, chocolate, almonds
From Rainforest Alliance Certified™
farms
26 RICH ITALIAN
ESPRESSO
East Africa, Latin America, Indonesia
Six coffees from across the globe make
up this blend, designed especially
for espresso. Brazil provides a soft,
chocolaty base flavour, then we add
the lively, citric acidity of East Africa,
nutty flavours from Latin America and
intense, dark chocolate notes from
Indonesia
Balanced, complex, nuts, dark chocolate
From Rainforest Alliance Certified™
farms
ESPRESSO 27
CHRISTMAS BLEND
Latin America and East Africa
This very popular limited edition blend
is only available for a few months each
year. Latin American beans give it a
balanced nuttiness, and beans from
East Africa bring a crisp acidity, with
notes of lemon and orange. It’s complex
and smooth with a delicate sweetness
4 Medium dark
4 Medium dark
Crisp, sweet, silky, orange, nuts
From Rainforest Alliance Certified™
farms
28 CHRISTMAS BLEND
BRAZIL SWEET RIVER
Minas Gerais, south Brazil
A finely balanced, smooth coffee
produced using the special “pulped
natural” method made famous by
Brazilian producers. The beans are
dried with part of the ripe cherry still
attached, which gives the coffee a
delicate, fruity sweetness
Rich, smooth, nuts, cocoa
From Rainforest Alliance Certified™
farms
BRAZIL SWEET RIVER 29
COLOMBIA CALI CARAMELO
Andes foothills, Colombia
Colombia is world famous for the
quality of its coffee, and the
nutrient-rich volcanic soil at the
foothills of the Andes offer some of the
country’s best growing conditions. This
is a complex, well-balanced coffee with
hints of sweet tropical fruits, a creamy
body and a buttery finish
4 Medium dark
4 Medium dark
Balanced, buttery, tropical fruit, caramel
From Rainforest Alliance Certified™
farms
30 COLOMBIA CALI CARAMELO
ETHIOPIA MOCHA LIMU
Jimma, Ethiopian highlands
This coffee is grown at altitudes of
over 4,000 feet by a group of farmers
known as the Haro Cooperative –
and the price we pay includes a
social premium which benefits the
surrounding community. Roasted
medium dark, it’s a rich and chocolaty
coffee with a winey sweetness
Rich, sweet, chocolate, wine
Grown on Fairtrade farms
ETHIOPIA MOCHA LIMU 31
GUATEMALA BOMBÓN TENANGO INDONESIA JAVA JEMBER

Jampit estate, Java, Indonesia

Smallholder co-operatives, Guatemala

We consider this to be one of the

Guatemala boasts rich, volcanic soils
very finest coffees from Indonesia. It’s
and unique micro-climates which are
sourced from a famous group of coffee
perfect for coffee-growing. Roasted
estates in Java’s eastern highlands,
to medium, the beans offer up an
where the soil is extremely fertile
excellent balance of bright citric acidity
and very well drained. Dark roasted,
and honeyed sweetness. A smooth note
the beans develop intense and full-
of milk chocolate ties them together
bodied aromas, a sumptuous, velvety

3
mouthfeel and a deep, rich finish

Medium

Balanced, buttery, tropical fruit, caramel

5 Dark

Intense, velvety, dark chocolate, tobacco

Grown on Fairtrade farms

Grown on UTZ Certified farms

32 GUATEMALA BOMBÓN TENANGO INDONESIA JAVA JEMBER 33

KENYA KAHAWA KUCHOMA
Nyeri, Kenya
Kenyan coffee is regarded by many
as the best in the world. Our Kenyan
origin coffee grows at 6,000ft on the
slopes of Mount Kenya in Nyeri, north
of Nairobi, where the cool temperatures
let the coffee cherries grow slowly,
developing a complex and intense
flavour
3 Medium
4 Medium dark
Complex, intense, blackcurrant, citrus
Grown on Fairtrade farms
34 KENYA KAHAWA KUCHOMA
MEXICO FINCA CHIAPAS
Finca Muxbal, south Mexico
Grown on the slopes of the active
Tacaná volcano, this is a blend of
three species of arabica coffee –
catuai, caturra and mundo novo. At
a medium dark roast, it’s wonderfully
aromatic with a lively citric acidity and
exceptional sweetness
Sweet, aromatic, citrus
From Rainforest Alliance Certified™
farms
MEXICO FINCA CHIAPAS 35
PERU MOCHICA SELVA RWANDA LAKE KIVU

Lake Kivu, western Rwanda

Central Amazon region, Peru

Rwanda is home to some of the

This coffee is grown by a small group of
greatest emerging coffees in the
indigenous farmers called the Pangoa
world. We joined forces with the UK
cooperative, in an area just east of the
Government to help 8,000 farmers
Andes mountain range. The cooperative
reach Rainforest Alliance Certification,
promotes education, gender equality
increasing their coffee quality, yield and
and sustainable farming among its
income using simple, environmentally-
members, and also produces cocoa,
conscious farming methods. The flavour
honey and honey-wine
is elegant and complex, with sweet
berry notes, crisp acidity and a butter

4 Medium dark
toffee finish

3 Medium

Rich, chocolate, nuts

Balanced, complex, berry, toffee

Grown on Fairtrade farms

From Rainforest Alliance Certified™

farms

36 PERU MOCHICA SELVA RWANDA LAKE KIVU 37

 B Z
A C S X
Acidity The part of the flavour profile which is
sharp, sour and lively. A key trait of many East African
coffees.
Aroma More than just the ‘smell’ – this is the bit
detected by the olfactory system in the nose, and
it’s a big contributor to flavour.
Balance Harmony of flavours and characteristics
with none too dominant. Great coffee should
balance sweetness against acidity and bitterness.
Body Heaviness or richness in the mouth. Think of
the difference between full fat and semi-skimmed
milk.
Brewing ratio The ratio of dry coffee grounds to
water.
Brew strength In brewed coffee, this refers to
the concentration of solubles. Less technically, that
means how watery or concentrated the coffee is.
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TALKING COFFEE
A-Z
Clarity How easy it is to detect flavours in coffee
– something which is made harder the heavier the
body is.
Espresso Brewed by forcing a small amount of
nearly boiling water under pressure through finely
ground coffee beans. Not a kind of blend.
Flavour The combination of taste and aroma.
Mouthfeel The tactile part of the flavour profile;
the sensation of texture in the mouth.
Taste The parts of the flavour profile sensed by
the tongue. Combine that with the aromas detected
by the olfactory system, and you’ve got the
‘flavour’.
A C Z X S
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FURTHER READING YOUR TASTING NOTES

David C Schomer
Espresso Coffee: Professional Techniques

Scott Rao
The Professional Barista’s Handbook

Scott Rao
Everything But Espresso

Ted R Lingle
The Basics of Brewing Coffee

John Doyle
Barista Techniques

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