Kenyan coffee has a reputation for bright, juicy acidity, and a big part of that comes from two varieties picked out in the 1930s at Scott Agricultural Laboratories, a research station in Kenya. SL28 and SL34 (the SL stands for Scott Labs) are still widely grown in Kenya nearly a century later. SL28: The Drought Survivor In 1931 A. D. Trench, a senior coffee officer, toured … [Read more...] about Kenya’s SL28 and SL34: How Two 1930s Selections Still Define Kenyan Coffee
Gaggia Classic E24: The Tinkerer’s 58mm Espresso Machine Gets a Brass Boiler
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. The Gaggia Classic has been around for decades, and it has a reputation few machines at its price share. It's built like a café machine in miniature, and it rewards people who like to take things apart. The current version is the Classic E24, sold in North America as the Classic Pro E24. It replaced the Classic Evo Pro in … [Read more...] about Gaggia Classic E24: The Tinkerer’s 58mm Espresso Machine Gets a Brass Boiler
Is Coffee a Solution? Filter Coffee Mostly Is, Espresso Only Partly
Outside a café, a chalkboard sign makes a joke: "Not to get technical... but according to chemistry coffee is a solution!!" It's a good line, and it's partly true. Whether it's right depends on which coffee you're holding. A cup of filter coffee is very close to a true solution. An espresso is a mix of several things a chemist would file under different headings, and that mix … [Read more...] about Is Coffee a Solution? Filter Coffee Mostly Is, Espresso Only Partly
Precision Espresso Baskets: IMS, VST and Pullman Fix Uneven Holes, Not Bad Grinders
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. The basket is the cheapest part of an espresso machine and one of the most overlooked. It's a steel cup with holes in the bottom. On a lot of stock baskets those holes vary in size and spacing, and water takes the easiest exit. You can do everything right at the grinder and the tamp and still get uneven extraction … [Read more...] about Precision Espresso Baskets: IMS, VST and Pullman Fix Uneven Holes, Not Bad Grinders
How the Coffee C Price Works: Why Farmers From Colombia to Kenya Are Paid Off a New York Futures Price
When a farmer in Colombia sells a truckload of coffee, or a roaster in Hamburg buys a container, the price almost always starts from the same number: the arabica futures price in New York, known as the "C" price. Robusta has its own benchmark in London. Here's how the two work, and why a trading screen in New York matters to a café in Lisbon. The Two Contracts Arabica … [Read more...] about How the Coffee C Price Works: Why Farmers From Colombia to Kenya Are Paid Off a New York Futures Price
Espresso Grinder Buying Guide: Why the Grinder Matters More Than the Machine
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Ask experienced home baristas where to spend money and many will give the same answer: on the grinder. A good grinder with a modest machine usually makes better espresso than a great machine with a poor grinder. It sounds backwards, but it comes down to what espresso needs. Why Espresso Is So Fussy About Grind An … [Read more...] about Espresso Grinder Buying Guide: Why the Grinder Matters More Than the Machine
Espresso Machine Cleaning Kit: Backflushing Only Works on Machines With a Three-Way Valve
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Two things make an espresso machine taste worse over time. Coffee oil builds up in the group head and goes rancid. Limescale builds up inside, where you can't see it, and blocks valves and heating elements. They need different cleaners, and mixing them up is how people break machines. First, Check for a Three-Way … [Read more...] about Espresso Machine Cleaning Kit: Backflushing Only Works on Machines With a Three-Way Valve
Cuban Cortadito: Sugared Espresso and Evaporated Milk at Miami’s Coffee Windows
The cortadito is the Cuban cortado, and it's sweet on purpose. A Spanish cortado is espresso and warm milk. A cortadito starts with café cubano, strong espresso from a dark roast that's sugared as it brews, and then gets its milk, often evaporated. The Espumita Everything depends on the espumita, the pale, sugary foam that sits on top of Cuban coffee. To make it, you catch the … [Read more...] about Cuban Cortadito: Sugared Espresso and Evaporated Milk at Miami’s Coffee Windows
Coffee Prices in September 2026: Arabica at $2.89 as a Record Brazil Crop Meets Thin Warehouse Stocks
Arabica coffee futures settled at 288.75 cents a pound on Monday, September 28, 2026, up 3.6% on the day and at their highest in about two weeks. The jump came as investment funds bought back bets against coffee. Robusta futures in London ended the same day at $3,412 a tonne. Both are far below their 2025 records, but the market is caught between a huge Brazilian harvest and … [Read more...] about Coffee Prices in September 2026: Arabica at $2.89 as a Record Brazil Crop Meets Thin Warehouse Stocks
Espresso Tamper Sizes: Why a 58.35mm Tamper Beats a 58mm One in a Standard Basket
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. A tamper looks like the simplest tool on the counter. It's a weight with a flat bottom. Buy the wrong size, though, and every shot pays for it. A gap between the tamper and the basket wall leaves a ring of loose coffee, and water under pressure takes the easy way through it. The shot runs fast and tastes thin and sour, … [Read more...] about Espresso Tamper Sizes: Why a 58.35mm Tamper Beats a 58mm One in a Standard Basket