Reserve Selects — Records & Rituals

The brew bar

Coffee brew guide

Brew methods and credited starting recipes. Adjust each one to your coffee, equipment and taste.

Chemex-style pour-over

A clean, light-bodied batch through a thick paper filter.

Ratio
30 g : 500 g water
Grind
Medium-coarse
Water
93–96°C starting point
Time
≈ 4–5 min; adjust by taste
  1. Fold the bonded filter with three layers toward the spout, rinse thoroughly and discard the rinse water.
  2. Add 30 g coffee; bloom with 60 g water for about 45 seconds.
  3. Pour gently in stages to 500 g total, keeping the spout’s air channel open.
  4. Let the bed drain, remove the filter and swirl before serving. If it stalls or tastes bitter, try a coarser grind; if thin or sour, try finer.

Reference: Reserve Selects Chemex-style starting recipe, James Hoffmann / Jonathan Gagné — general pour-over extraction guidance

Iced pour-over

Brew hot over ice for a bright, chilled cup.

Coffee
15 g
Hot water
150 g
Ice
100 g
Grind
Medium-fine
  1. Place 100 g ice in the server and rinse the filter separately.
  2. Add 15 g coffee and bloom with 30 g hot water for 45 seconds.
  3. Pour in stages until you reach 150 g hot water total.
  4. Swirl to melt the ice, then serve. Adjust grind if the cup tastes thin.

Reference: Reserve Selects starting recipe, adapted from James Hoffmann’s iced-filter approach

V60 / pour-over

Clean, bright, and sweet. The pour-over that shows off a coffee's origin.

Ratio
60 g/L (15 g : 250 g)
Grind
Medium-fine
Water
Just off the boil, ~93–100°C
Time
≈ 3:00–3:30
  1. Rinse the paper filter with hot water and discard the rinse water.
  2. Bloom with about twice the coffee's weight in water, then swirl and wait 45 seconds.
  3. Pour the rest in steady stages up to the full weight.
  4. Give it a gentle swirl so the bed drains flat and evenly.

Reference: James Hoffmann, Jonathan Gagné

French press

Full-bodied and forgiving. Patience matters more than technique.

Ratio
60–70 g/L
Grind
Medium (not too coarse)
Water
Just off the boil
Time
4 min steep + 5–8 min settle
  1. Add the coffee and pour in all the water.
  2. Steep for 4 minutes, then break the crust and skim off the foam.
  3. Wait a few more minutes so the fine grounds settle.
  4. Press only to the surface, then pour slowly.

Reference: James Hoffmann, Barista Hustle

AeroPress

Quick and versatile. Competition recipes vary widely, so start simple.

Dose
11–18 g
Grind
Medium-fine
Water
~200 g, 85–100°C
Time
≈ 2:00–2:30
  1. Add the coffee and pour in the water.
  2. Insert the plunger slightly to hold a vacuum, then steep for 2 minutes.
  3. Swirl gently, then press slowly for about 30 seconds.
  4. Try the World AeroPress Championship recipes once the basic recipe tastes right.

Reference: James Hoffmann, World AeroPress Championship recipes

Espresso

Concentrated and syrupy. Dial in by taste, using ratio and time as guides.

Ratio
1:2 (18 g in → 36 g out)
Grind
Fine — adjust to hit time
Water
~90–94°C
Time
≈ 25–30 s
  1. Distribute the coffee evenly in the basket and tamp it level.
  2. Pull the shot to about twice the dose by weight.
  3. If it tastes sour, grind finer or pull a longer ratio.
  4. If it tastes bitter, grind coarser or pull a shorter ratio.

Reference: Barista Hustle, SCA

Automatic drip

Everyday batch brew. SCA's Golden Cup standard makes a dependable baseline.

Ratio
≈ 55 g/L
Grind
Medium
Water
92–96°C at the bed
Time
4–6 min contact
  1. Use an SCA-certified brewer if you can, because it holds the right temperature.
  2. Weigh the coffee instead of using scoops.
  3. Rinse the filter, then brew a full batch.
  4. Serve within 30 minutes, or brew into a thermal carafe.

Reference: SCA

Cold brew

Low-acid and chocolatey. Make a concentrate and dilute it to taste.

Ratio
≈ 1:8 concentrate
Grind
Coarse
Water
Cold or room temperature
Time
12–18 h
  1. Combine the coffee and water, stirring until all the grounds are wet.
  2. Steep covered, either in the fridge or at room temperature.
  3. Filter through paper or cloth.
  4. Dilute about 1:1 and keep refrigerated for up to a week.

Reference: SCA guidance, tested roaster recipes

Extraction, simply

Sour or thin coffee usually means under-extraction, so grind finer or brew longer. Bitter or drying coffee usually means over-extraction, so grind coarser or brew shorter. Change one variable at a time. Research from UC Davis's Coffee Center and Jonathan Gagné's writing explains the physics behind these rules.

Tasting like a cupper

Professional tasters score coffee on fragrance and aroma, flavor, aftertaste, acidity, body, balance, sweetness, uniformity and clean cup, following the SCA cupping protocol. You can borrow the same habit at home: smell the dry grounds, then the wet crust, then taste the coffee hot, warm and cool. Flavor opens up as the cup cools, so don't judge it in the first sip.

Using the flavor wheel

The SCA Coffee Taster's Flavor Wheel, built on the World Coffee Research Sensory Lexicon, works from the inside out. Start in the center with broad families — fruity, sweet, nutty/cocoa, floral, spicy, roasted — then move outward to specifics like berry, citrus, caramel or jasmine. If a coffee tastes "fruity," ask what kind of fruit. Naming flavors gets easier the more deliberately you compare cups side by side.

Acidity, body and sweetness

Acidity is brightness, not sourness: think citrus, apple or wine-like sparkle, and it's prized in high-grown coffees. Body is the weight on your tongue, from tea-like to syrupy. Sweetness signals ripe fruit and a clean roast. When a brew tastes flat or harsh, adjust the extraction first, then revisit what you taste.

Sources