Shea GuntherMaher
Photo courtesy of @InsightCoffee
When you walk through the doors of Insight Coffee Roasters on 1014 10th Street in downtown Sac, you know you’ve found specialty coffee heaven. Not only does the coffeehouse boast artisanal preparation and mindful dedication to sourcing quality beans (Coffee Review gave Guatemala San Antonio Chaguite 92 pts), the used-to-be-bookstore-nook provides a charming vintage aesthetic and ideal ambience for sipping and mingling.
With manual lever espresso machines and manual brew bars at the ready, Insight is committed to crafting a quality cup – every time. And, they’re not just focused on consumption. The visionaries behind Insight are clearly passionate about coffee education. Did you know they offer free sourcing, roasting, and brewing classes in addition to coffee and tea tastings? Check out the schedule and swing by to up your bean knowledge and brew game.
Your coffee tutelage doesn’t have to end after class. Insight also publishes a quarterly journal with industry insights (oh the puns) and a plethora of at-home grinding and brewing tips. For those of you who’d benefit from some extra know-how, enjoy this snapshot from their latest publication.
Pour Over
Pour overs require water to be poured through a bed of finely ground coffee and can be filtered using a paper or mesh filter. Brew-time is directly related to the rate water is poured over the coffee. In most cases a 2-3.5 minute extraction is optimal.
Full Immersion
Full Immpersion is one of the most controllable and simple methods of brewing where coffee is fully immersed in water for the total length of the brew. Coarser grinds that maintain even particle size are optimal. Separation of the grounds and water are often done with a mesh filter and some sort of plunge-like action.
Pressurized
The addition of pressure in coffee brewing expedites extraction of the seed’s soluble compounds. These brews often need less than one minute to extract. Fine, precisely-ground coffee is usually compacted prior to brewing through a mesh filter giving the cub great viscosity and flavor intensity.
