Knowledge Base
Coffee & Tea Guides
Brew better and explore more — buying guides, how-tos, and explainers for every coffee and tea ritual.
Explainer
Corn Silk Tea: Benefits, Uses and How to Brew It
Corn silk tea is a caffeine-free herbal infusion made from the silky threads inside an ear of corn. Here is what it is, its traditional benefits, the cautions that matter, and how to brew it at home.
Buying Guide
Copper Mugs and Kettles: A Guide to Copper Drinkware
A practical guide to copper drinkware: why copper mugs are tied to the Moscow Mule, the lined-vs-unlined safety point that matters, how copper kettles and teapots work, and how to choose and care for copper.
How-To
Cooking with Chai Tea: Recipes and Flavor Ideas
Chai's warm masala spices and black tea make a brilliant cooking flavor. Here's how to infuse chai into baking, drinks, custards, syrups and savory dishes, with a quick-reference table to add it to anything.
Buying Guide
Compact Coffee Machines: How to Choose a Small-Footprint Maker
A compact coffee machine gives you a good cup from a small footprint. Here are the space-saving machine types, their trade-offs, and how to choose one for a tiny kitchen, dorm, RV or office.
Buying Guide
Commercial Espresso Machines: How to Choose One
How to choose a commercial espresso machine for a cafe, coffee bar or office: the types, group heads, boiler design, steam, water treatment and a buyer's checklist.
Buying Guide
Commercial Coffee Machines: How to Choose for a Cafe or Office
A plain-spoken guide to choosing a commercial coffee machine, from traditional espresso and bean-to-cup to batch brewers, pods and vending, with a buying checklist for any cafe, restaurant or office.
Explainer
Cometeer Frozen Coffee, Explained: How the Capsules Work
Cometeer is specialty coffee that named roasters brew, then flash-freeze into sealed aluminium capsules of concentrate you keep in the freezer and melt in seconds. Here is how Cometeer frozen coffee works, how it differs from instant coffee and machine pods, and the real trade-offs.
Explainer
Colombian Coffee, Explained: Origin, Flavor and Regions
Colombian coffee is high-grown Andean Arabica, prized for its clean, balanced sweetness. A guide to its origin, flavor, growing regions, the Supremo and Excelso grades, and how to brew it.
How-To
Cold Drip Coffee Ratio and Method, Explained
Cold drip coffee uses a roughly 1:8 to 1:12 ratio, a medium grind and a one-drop-per-second drip. Here is the method, a ratio table, and how it differs from cold brew.
How-To
Cold Coffee Drink Recipes to Make at Home
A friendly collection of cold coffee drink recipes you can make at home, from a quick iced latte and Greek frappe to shaken espresso and iced mocha, each with simple ingredients, numbered steps and a ratio to riff on.
How-To
Cold Brew Tea: How to Make Smoother Iced Tea
Cold brew tea steeps in cold water for a smoother, sweeter, lower-caffeine iced cup that never goes cloudy. Here is how to cold brew tea by type.
How-To
How to Make Cold Brew in a French Press
A French press is a steeping jar and a built-in filter in one, which makes it a near-perfect cold brew vessel. Here is the coarse grind, the ratio, the 12-24 hour steep, and the slow press and decant that keep your cup smooth instead of bitter.
How-To
Cold Brew Coffee Ratio: Get the Strength Right Every Time
The right cold brew ratio depends on whether you want a concentrate to dilute or a ready-to-drink batch. Here are the by-weight coffee-to-water ratios, plus grind, steep time, dilution, and troubleshooting.
Explainer
Coffee and Tea Compared: Caffeine, Taste and Health
Coffee vs tea, compared fairly across caffeine, taste, health and daily ritual, with a side-by-side table to help you decide which one fits your day.
Explainer
Coffee Vending Machines: Types and How They Work
What a coffee vending machine is, how it works, and how the instant, fresh-brew and bean-to-cup types differ in taste, cost and upkeep.
Buying Guide
Coffee Urn Guide: How to Choose and Use a Large Coffee Urn
How to choose and use a coffee urn for a crowd: size it by headcount, pick percolating or hold-only, dial in the ratio, and serve coffee that tastes fresh, not stewed.
Explainer
The Coffee Truck Business, Explained
A coffee truck is a mobile coffee bar on wheels. Here is what is inside one, where they trade, the realities of running one, and how it compares to a cart or a cafe.
How-To
Coffee Toffee: An Easy Recipe with a Coffee Kick
Coffee toffee is buttery, brittle hard candy in the English-toffee and almond-roca family, cooked to a deep amber and spiked with strong coffee. Here is the full recipe, the hard-crack temperature to hit, a chocolate-and-nut top, and the tips that keep it from seizing or burning.
How-To
Coffee Tamper Guide: How to Choose One and Tamp Espresso
A coffee tamper presses your grounds into an even espresso puck. Here is how to choose the right size and base, and how to tamp level for a better shot.
Explainer
Coffee Syrups Explained: Flavors, Uses and How to Make Them
What a coffee syrup is, how flavored syrups are made, the flavors worth knowing, how to use them, plus an easy DIY recipe and sugar-free options.
Explainer
Coffee Subscriptions: How They Work and How to Choose
What a coffee subscription is, how single-roaster and discovery boxes differ, the bean, ground, pod and instant formats, and how to choose one that fits your brew and pace.
Explainer
Coffee Shops for Studying: How to Find and Use Them
Coffee shops can be a great place to study — here's the science behind the focus, how to find a cafe with wi-fi and outlets, the etiquette for a long stay, and tips to actually get work done.
Explainer
Coffee Scales: Why You Need One and How to Choose
A coffee scale turns guesswork into a repeatable recipe. Here is why weighing beats scooping, how to use one step by step, the main types, and what to look for.
Buying Guide
Coffee Roaster Machines: How to Choose a Home Roaster
A clear, no-hype guide to coffee roaster machines: how home roasting works, the air, drum and stovetop types, and how to choose the right one for how much you drink.