The Journal · every test, every teardown
Stories from the kitchen,
backed by the data.
The Origin Atlas: How Where Coffee Grows Changes What You Taste
A working guide to coffee origins, Ethiopia, Kenya, Colombia, Brazil, Central America, Sumatra, plus the variety, altitude, and processing that shape each cup.
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Coffee Roast Levels, Decoded: What Light, Medium and Dark Actually Mean
What happens during roasting, what light, medium and dark do to flavor and body, the caffeine myth debunked, and how roast should guide your brew method.
How Much Caffeine Is Really in Cold Brew? Reconciling the Wild Disagreement
Brand labels, a real lab study, and coffee blogs all quote wildly different cold brew caffeine numbers. We pulled the actual sources and reconciled them.
Why Does My Cold Brew Taste Woody, Bitter, or Sour? Five Real Causes
Cold brew coming out woody, harshly bitter, or oddly sour despite following a recipe? We walk through steep time, grind, ratio, beans, and vessel, with fixes.
Why Your French Press Coffee Is Muddy, and How to Fix It
The physics behind muddy, sludgy french press coffee, the exact fixes for grind, stirring and plunging, and James Hoffmann's no-plunge method explained.
Why Your Moka Pot Coffee Tastes Bitter (and How to Actually Fix It)
Moka pot coffee running bitter? Here's the physics behind it, five real causes ranked by impact, and a minute-by-minute heat curve to fix it tonight.
Why Your Pour-Over Stalls: Every Cause of Slow V60 Drainage, Fixed
Water pooling on your V60 and refusing to drop? We break down all five real causes of a stalled pour-over, from grind size to water chemistry, with fixes.
Trade Coffee vs Bean Box: What We Found Researching Both Subscriptions
A research-based comparison of Trade Coffee and Bean Box on pricing, matching, roasters, freshness and reviews, ahead of our hands-on long-term test.
Why Is My Coffee Bitter? The Real Causes, Ranked
The real, ranked causes of bitter coffee: grind size, water heat, brew time, dose, dirty gear, roast level and water chemistry, with a fix for each.