If you’ve never had Vietnamese coffee, you have to try it. It’s shockingly good. I like my coffee black or with a little cream, but never sweetened so I can’t explain why I like this intensely sweet drink, but I love it, especially over ice. The sweeter the better. Coffee in Vietnam is typically Robusta, which has a reputation for being slightly bitter. Dark roast levels are common, as they minimize this bitterness. A big spoonful of sweetened condensed milk helps too. For this recipe we used our Super Dark Espresso, which contains some Robusta as most espresso blends do. We also used a traditional 6 ounce Vietnamese coffee filter called a phin. These stainless steel filters are inexpensive and easy to find online in several sizes. You can substitute brewed espresso or strong French Press coffee if you prefer.

Ingredients (1 serving)

• 2 tablespoons (or more to taste) sweetened condensed milk
• 1 1/2 heaping tablespoons ground coffee. A French press (coarse) grind works best
• Hot water

Instructions

Pour the sweetened condensed milk into a heat safe glass or mug. Start with a little if  you’re not sure how much sweetness you’ll like and stir more in if you prefer after brewing. Remove the interior screen from the filter (you may need to unscrew this manually). Add coffee to the filter and replace the inside screen, tightening the screw fully, the unscrewing it one full turn to give the coffee room to expand. Rest the filter on top of your mug or glass and add a splash of near-boiling water. Let this sit for half a minute, then fill the filter chamber with water. Cover the top of the filter (there’s a cap provided) and allow the coffee to drip through. Once the water has drained through, remove the filter, stir, and enjoy hot or pour over ice.

This entire process takes about five minutes. If the water drains through too quickly, your grind may be too course and you’ll have a watery cup of coffee. Too fine a grind will clog the filter. If you grind your own beans, play with the grind level until you find what brews and tastes best with your filter.

New to Chemex coffee? The Chemex is distinguished in the world of pour over brewing by its unique shape and heavy paper filter, which work together to create a flavorful and clean cup of coffee. If you like a bright flavor without bitterness or sediment, give it a try!

To brew hot coffee with the Chemex, you’ll need the following:

• A Chemex 6 cup or 8 cup brewer
• Chemex Bonded Filters
• Coffee ground slightly coarser than you would use for an autodrip machine (ask for a pour over grind if ordering ground coffee)
• Near boiling water
• A Kettle (preferably with a thin spout)

Instructions:

1. Open your filter so that it forms a cone. You’ll see that one side has three layers. Place the filter in the top of your brewer with this side facing the spout.
2. Measure your water and coffee. We recommend using 2 tablespoons of ground coffee for every 6-8 ounces of water.
3. Boil your water adding a little extra to the kettle to rinse the filter before brewing (optional).
4. Preheat your brewer (recommended for hot coffee) by pouring a little hot water into your filter. This step serves to eliminate some of the paper taste from the filter as well as warm the carafe. Discard the water once it has run through.
5. Pour your ground coffee into the filter.
6. Wet the grounds with hot water. Add just enough water so there are no dry spots and let sit for about 30 seconds.
7. Add the rest of your water. Start by wetting all of the grounds again, then move the stream of water in slow spirals, pausing when close to the top. A gooseneck kettle is recommended for greater control.
8. Once all the water has been added, allow the water to filter though. Remove the filter, give the carafe a swirl, and serve.

Iced version:

For iced coffee, replace half of the brewing water with ice. Place the ice in the carafe, skip step 4, and brew normally.

Considering a single serve brewer? Read this before you buy! If you have one already let us know what you think and check out our reusable Ekobrew filters which allow you to brew your favorite fresh roasted coffee single serve style.

Here at the CBD office French press coffee is affectionately called “luxury coffee.” It’s always a treat when we brew a pot.  With French press brewing, the coffee grounds are in direct contact with the water for several minutes and filtered with a mesh strainer. Oils filtered by paper in other brewers remain in the liquid, resulting in a very rich, and flavorful cup.

While it does take a little more input than pushing a button, it doesn’t require a lot of fussiness and it’s so worth the extra effort you won’t mind. To get you started, here are our steps to a great pot of French press.

1. Make sure your coffee is freshly roasted and ground on a coarse setting.
2. Use very hot, but not boiling water (let the water sit a minute or two after boiling).
3. We recommend a ratio of 2 heaping tablespoons per 8 ounces of water. If your coffee isn’t the freshest or you like a stronger flavor, try 2 tablespoons per 6 ounces.
4. Add the coffee to your pot first, then fill to about halfway with water, saturating all the grounds.
5. Allow the coffee to stand for one minute, then stir.
6. Add the rest of your water, leaving just enough room for the French press lid.
7. Place the lid on the top of your press, without depressing the plunger.
8. Wait three more minutes, then plunge, pour, and enjoy! If you’re not serving the coffee right away, transferring it to a thermal carafe will keep it from over steeping, and keep it hot.

When it’s time to clean your press, an easy way to get rid of the grounds at the bottom is to swirl some hot water around in there, pouring it out through a mesh sieve. For stubborn stains, try filling the carafe with soapy water and plunging it a few times, or let soak in a 50/50 mixture of distilled white vinegar and boiling water.

Turkish coffee is a strong, sometimes spiced coffee served with a little foam served in a demitasse or espresso cup. Meant to be savored slowly, not downed like an espresso shot, Turkish style brewing is an unfiltered stovetop method producing a very flavorful, caffeinated cup. The Internet is full of conflicting (and sometimes complicated) advice on the proper technique. This is our favorite method.

Ingredients (for two servings):

• 2 tablespoons finely ground coffee. Turkish is a grind level you can request when placing your order. If you’re grinding beans at home, you want a finer grind than espresso. The coffee should be a fine powder. Most supermarkets also have grinders with a Turkish setting. A City or French roast works best.

• Cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, or anise. Spices are optional. Add a pinch of whichever ground spice you choose. We add two whole cardamom pods to the pot while brewing.

• 2 teaspoons sugar. Sugar is also optional, and Turkish coffee is delicious with or without it.

• 6 ounces cold water. Cold water lengthens the brewing time, which produces a more flavorful cup.

Method

Brewing Turkish coffee should only take a few minutes. The key is to keep a close eye on your pot the entire time, never letting the coffee fully boil. First, add all the ingredients to a Turkish coffee pot or small saucepan. The coffee will float on the top until it heats up, and then start to sink a little. Stir the mixture a few times and continue to heat until simmering.

When you see the coffee start to rise and foam begins to form at the top, lift the pot off the burner and stir. At this point, you can spoon some foam into your serving cups if you like. Return the pot to burner and continue to heat until the rising/foaming starts again. Remove the pot from the burner. Spoon more foam into your cups. Then pour the remaining coffee slowly to keep some of the sunken grounds in the pot. Allow the cups to sit for a minute so the grounds can settle, and enjoy!

If you would like to try your hand at fortune telling, leave a sip at the bottom, and follow these instructions to divining the future from the grounds!