Coffee Brewing Guides

Brew better coffee, your way.

Every coffee responds differently to brewing. These are our starting recipes for pour-over, drip coffee, French press, AeroPress, Japanese-style iced coffee, and espresso—developed with Segara's Indonesian specialty coffees in mind.

Start here. Then adjust by taste.

Find your rhythm.

Drip Coffee

Reliable, balanced, and easy to repeat.

A good automatic drip brewer can make an excellent cup. The machine controls the pour; your biggest variables are the coffee, grind, dose, and water.

Starting recipe

1:16 coffee-to-water ratio
For example: 60 g coffee · 960 g water
Medium grind

How to brew

  1. Use freshly ground coffee.
  2. Add coffee and water according to the 1:16 ratio.
  3. Brew according to your machine's instructions.
  4. Taste before adjusting anything else.

If your brewer has temperature or strength settings, start with its standard settings and adjust from there.

Try it with: My Cape · Golden Time · Snow Lantern · Resonance

Espresso

A starting point, not a rule.

Espresso machines and grinders vary considerably. Basket size, grinder, pressure, temperature, and machine design all affect extraction, so there is no single recipe that works for every setup.

A useful place to start is approximately a 1:2 brew ratio.

For example: 18 g coffee in → 36 g espresso out

Then adjust for your machine and your taste.

Running too quickly or tasting thin? Try grinding finer.

Running very slowly or tasting harsh? Try grinding coarser.

Treat time as information rather than a universal target. What matters most is how the espresso tastes.

Try it with: Golden Time · Vero · Umbra

Pour-Over

Pour-over gives you control over extraction and is especially good for coffees where you want clarity and definition.

Starting recipe

24 g coffee · 384 g water · 1:16
Medium-fine grind
Water: 195–205°F / 90–96°C
Total brew time: approximately 3–3½ minutes

How to brew

  1. Rinse the filter and preheat your brewer.
  2. Add freshly ground coffee and level the bed.
  3. Pour enough water to saturate the grounds and let the coffee bloom for about 30–45 seconds.
  4. Continue pouring slowly and evenly in stages.
  5. Let the water draw down completely.

Adjust by taste: If the cup tastes harsh or overly bitter, try grinding slightly coarser. If it tastes thin or underdeveloped, try grinding slightly finer.

Try it with: Treehouse · Ivory Spring · My Cape

AeroPress

Versatile by design.

There are countless ways to brew with an AeroPress. That's part of its appeal.

Use this as a starting point rather than a rule.

Starting recipe

15 g coffee · 180 g water · 1:12
Medium-fine grind
Water: 195–205°F / 90–96°C

How to brew

  1. Rinse the paper filter and assemble your AeroPress.
  2. Add the ground coffee.
  3. Pour in the water and make sure all grounds are saturated.
  4. Stir gently.
  5. Steep for approximately 1 minute.
  6. Press slowly and steadily.

From here, experiment. Grind, water, ratio, steep time, and dilution can all dramatically change the cup.

Try it with: Treehouse · Golden Time · Resonance

French Press

Full-bodied and beautifully simple.

French press keeps more of the coffee's oils and fine particles in the cup, creating more texture and body.

Starting recipe

30 g coffee · 450 g water · 1:15
Coarse grind
Water: 195–205°F / 90–96°C
Steep: approximately 4 minutes

How to brew

  1. Add coarsely ground coffee to the press.
  2. Pour in the water, making sure all grounds are saturated.
  3. Let steep for approximately 4 minutes.
  4. Break the crust gently and place the lid on the press.
  5. Press slowly and serve.

Don't leave finished coffee sitting on the grounds for long; transfer it to another vessel if you're not serving it immediately.

Try it with: Resonance · Vero

Japanese-Style Iced Coffee

Hot brewed. Immediately chilled.

Japanese-style iced coffee replaces part of the brewing water with ice. Brewing hot extracts the coffee efficiently; immediate chilling creates a crisp, refreshing cup.

Starting recipe

30 g coffee · 450 g total water · 1:15
270 g hot water
180 g ice

Medium-fine grind

How to brew

  1. Place the ice in your server.
  2. Rinse the filter separately so the rinse water doesn't melt your measured ice.
  3. Add ground coffee to the brewer.
  4. Bloom with enough hot water to saturate the coffee for 30–45 seconds.
  5. Continue pouring until you've used 270 g of hot water.
  6. Let the brewed coffee drip directly onto the ice.
  7. Swirl to finish chilling and serve.

Try it with: Treehouse · Golden Time · Resonance · Vero

If your coffee doesn't taste right

Too bitter? Grind coarser, shorten the brew, or lower the water temperature slightly.

Too weak or sour? Grind finer or increase extraction.

Too strong? Use more water or slightly less coffee.

Too thin? Increase the coffee dose or grind slightly finer.

Remember: every coffee is different. Use our recipes as starting points and adjust by taste.