US Tariffs on Brazilian Coffee: What the 50% Duty Did to Prices Before Coffee Was Exempted
For a little over three months in 2025, Brazilian coffee arriving in the United States paid a 50% tariff. Brazil is the biggest single supplier…
Brazil’s Coffee Crop in 2026: A Record 67.6 Million Bags From an On-Year Harvest
Brazil grows more coffee than any other country, and this year it grew more than ever. In its September survey, Brazil’s crop agency, Conab, put…
Milk Pitcher Size for a Cortado: A 12 oz Jug Beats a 20 oz One for Small Drinks
A cortado needs only a splash of milk, and in a big pitcher that splash can’t cover the steam wand. Here’s which pitcher size suits a cortado, a flat white or a latte, plus how full to fill it and which spout pours the cleanest heart.
Rancilio Silvia Pro X vs Lelit MaraX3: Dual Boiler or Heat Exchanger at Around $2,000
At around $2,000, two Italian home machines take different routes to good espresso and strong steam at the same time. The Rancilio Silvia Pro X is a dual boiler. The Lelit MaraX3 is a heat exchanger with clever temperature control.
DF64 Single-Dose Grinder: 64mm Flat Burrs and Near-Zero Retention for Under $400
The DF64 brought 64mm flat burrs and single dosing to home espresso at a price that used to buy a basic conical grinder. Here’s what single dosing means, what the Gen 2 changed, how the DF54, DF64V and DF83 compare, and who should skip it.
Gibraltar Coffee: San Francisco’s Cortado, Named After a 4.5-Ounce Glass
A Gibraltar is a double shot topped with warm, lightly steamed milk and served in one particular glass, the 4.5-ounce Libbey Gibraltar. The name comes from the glass, and the drink comes from San Francisco.
Liberica and Excelsa: Why the Coffee Species That Failed a Century Ago Is Back
Almost all the world’s coffee is arabica or robusta. A third species, Coffea liberica, makes up less than 1.5% of commercial production. It had its…
Rancilio Silvia V6: A Single-Boiler Machine With No PID That Still Teaches Home Espresso Best
The Rancilio Silvia V6 has no PID, no pre-infusion and no shot timer, and it’s still one of the most recommended home espresso machines. Here’s what you get for about $1,000, how temperature surfing works, why the steam is so strong, and when a PID kit or the Silvia Pro X makes sense.
Why Your Espresso Comes With a Glass of Water or a Biscuit
In a Naples bar the glass of water often lands on the counter before the coffee does. In a Brussels café the extra is a…
Buenos Aires Cortado: Argentina’s Most Ordered Coffee and the Lágrima That Reverses It
In Buenos Aires the cortado is the default coffee. It’s the most common order in Argentine cafés, the one you’ll hear from the next table…
Baratza Encore ESP: A $200 Grinder With 20 Espresso Steps, and What the 2025 ESP Pro Adds
The Baratza Encore ESP is the most common first espresso grinder for good reason: half its 40 settings are dedicated to espresso. Here’s what it does well, where it falls short, and whether the stepless 2025 Encore ESP Pro is worth the extra money.
Arabica vs Robusta: Why Italian Espresso Blends Still Use the Cheaper, Stronger Bean
Nearly all the coffee in the world comes from two species: Coffea arabica and Coffea canephora, better known as robusta. Specialty coffee has spent decades…
The EU Deforestation Regulation and Coffee: What Changes on December 30, 2026
From December 30, 2026, a large or medium-sized company can only sell coffee in the EU if it can show the coffee wasn’t grown on…
Single Boiler, Heat Exchanger or Dual Boiler: Which Espresso Machine Design a Milk Drinker Needs
Every espresso machine that steams milk has the same problem: brewing wants water a little under boiling, steaming wants much more heat. How a machine handles both decides how fast you get a milk drink, and a big part of what you pay.
Bottomless Portafilters: A 58mm Handle Won’t Fit Every 58mm Machine
A bottomless portafilter shows you exactly how your shot is extracting, spurts and all. Here’s what it reveals, why the ears on a “58mm” handle decide whether it fits your Gaggia, Rancilio or E61 machine, and which 54mm and 51mm versions suit Breville and De’Longhi.
Coffee Culture in the Influencer Era: Cafés Built for Photos and Drinks Made for TikTok
Both photos on this page came from café tables. In one, a Canon A-1 film camera sits in the sun on a slatted terrace table…
Vietnam’s Robusta Harvest: How the Central Highlands Set the Price of Espresso Blends
Vietnam is the world’s second-biggest coffee producer after Brazil and the biggest grower of robusta. Most of it comes from the Central Highlands, around provinces…
Bialetti Brikka: The Moka Pot With a Pressure Valve Makes a Stronger, Foamier Cup for Milk
The Bialetti Brikka adds a pressure valve to the moka pot, so the coffee comes out in a short, concentrated burst with a foamy top. It still isn’t espresso, but it makes a stronger base for a cortado. Here’s how it works, how the 2020 redesign changed it, and how to brew it.
Latte Art Explained: What a Heart or a Rosetta Says About the Milk
The heart on top of a flat white is decoration, and it’s also a report on the milk. To pour one, a barista needs milk steamed into microfoam. Get the milk wrong and there’s no heart, however steady the hand.
Breville Bambino Plus: Hands-Off Milk Steaming at $500, and the Compromises That Come With It
The Breville Bambino Plus is a small espresso machine with one standout trick: it steams milk for you. For anyone who drinks cortados or flat whites every morning and doesn’t want to learn milk steaming, that’s most of the case for it.
Cortado Glasses: The 4.5 oz Libbey Gibraltar, the 130 ml Duralex Picardie and Their Rivals
A cortado runs about 4 to 4.5 oz, so the glass matters. Here’s how the Libbey Gibraltar, the Duralex Picardie, Bodum’s double-wall glasses and a couple of ceramic cups measure up for a double shot cut with an equal splash of milk.
Cortado vs Flat White: The Flat White Carries About Twice the Milk
Set a cortado next to a flat white and the family resemblance is obvious. Both start with a double shot, and neither wears the tall…
Turkish Coffee: Sugar Goes In Before Brewing, and the Grounds Tell Your Fortune
Forget the espresso machine. For this coffee, the beans are ground as fine as flour, heated slowly with water in a small pot and poured,…
Hand Grinders for Espresso: Microns per Click Matter More Than Burr Size
A hand grinder can match electric grinders costing far more, but only if its adjustment steps are small enough to dial in espresso. Here’s how the 1Zpresso J-Ultra and K-Ultra, Kingrinder K6, Timemore C3 ESP, Comandante C40 and Kinu M47 compare.