Knowledge Base
Coffee & Tea Guides
Brew better and explore more — buying guides, how-tos, and explainers for every coffee and tea ritual.
Buying Guide
Iced Coffee Cups and Cold-Drink Tumblers: A Buying Guide
A plain-English buying guide to iced coffee cups and cold-drink tumblers: the types, what to look for, and why a double wall keeps your drink cold and your desk dry.
How-To
Iced Chai Latte: How to Make One at Home
An iced chai latte is spiced black tea, sweetened and poured over ice with cold milk. Here is how to make one at home three ways — from concentrate, tea bags, or scratch — plus a Starbucks-style copycat.
How-To
Iced Caramel Latte Recipe: How to Make It at Home
An iced caramel latte is an iced latte sweetened with caramel syrup: espresso and cold milk over ice, stirred and finished with a caramel drizzle. Here is the ratio, the method and easy variations.
How-To
Iced Cappuccino Recipe: Two Ways to Make One
An iced cappuccino is really two drinks in one name: a layered espresso-and-foam glass, and the frozen, blended Iced Capp. Here is how to make each at home.
Explainer
Iced Blonde Espresso Drinks Explained
Iced blonde drinks are just your favorite iced espresso coffees pulled with a lighter, smoother, sweeter blonde roast. Here's what changes, which ones to try, and the caffeine truth.
How-To
Iced Americano: How to Make One at Home
An iced americano is espresso diluted with cold water and poured over ice. Here is the simple home method, the right espresso-to-water ratios, the build order that keeps the crema, and easy ways to tweak it.
Explainer
Iaso Tea Explained: What It Is and What to Know
Iaso Tea is a herbal "detox" tea sold by Total Life Changes (TLC) through distributors. Here is what it is, what is really in it, how people use it, and an honest, evidence-based look at what to know before you try it.
Explainer
Hygge and Coffee Culture: The Danish Art of Cozy Coffee
Hygge kaffe is the Danish art of cozy coffee -- candlelight, a warm mug, good company and no rush. Here's what makes a coffee hyggelig, how Danish coffee culture leans on it, how it differs from the Swedish fika, and how to bring the feeling to your own cup.
Explainer
Howard Schultz and the Rise of Starbucks
Howard Schultz did not found Starbucks, but he turned it into a global coffeehouse chain. Here is the factual story of the man, the Milan inspiration, the 1987 buyout, and his repeated stints as CEO.
How-To
How to Use Ground Coffee for the Best Brew
Ground coffee brews best when you match the grind to your brewer and dial in the ratio. Here is how to use pre-ground coffee in a drip machine, pour-over, French press and moka pot — with a grind-by-method table and quick fixes.
How-To
How to Use an Aeroccino Milk Frother
The Aeroccino is Nespresso's one-touch electric milk frother. Here is how to use it: the right whisk, the fill lines, and the buttons that make hot or cold froth on the Aeroccino 3 and 4.
How-To
How to Use a Bosch Tassimo Pod Coffee Machine
A Bosch Tassimo brews single drinks from barcoded T DISC pods that the machine scans and brews automatically. Here is how to use one, from first fill to milk drinks, cleaning and descaling.
How-To
How to Use a Nespresso Machine: A Beginner's Guide
A plain-language, step-by-step guide to using a Nespresso machine: fill the tank, insert a capsule, press brew, froth milk and keep it clean, with OriginalLine and Vertuo both covered.
How-To
How to Use a French Press for Better Coffee
A French press brews by full immersion: coarse coffee steeps for about four minutes, then you press the plunger to a full-bodied cup. Here is the exact grind, ratio, temperature and timing, plus fixes for muddy, weak or bitter coffee.
How-To
How to Use a Coffee Maker: A Step-by-Step Guide
A beginner-friendly, step-by-step guide to using a drip coffee maker: filling the reservoir, adding a filter and medium-grind coffee, getting the ratio right, brewing, and making every pot taste better.
How-To
How to Brew Coffee With a Chemex
A step-by-step guide to brewing with a Chemex pour-over: rinse the thick bonded filter, grind medium-coarse, bloom the grounds, and pour at a 1:16 ratio for a clean, bright cup.
How-To
How to Store Coffee Beans to Keep Them Fresh
Keep coffee beans fresh by storing them whole in an airtight, opaque container at cool room temperature -- away from air, light, heat and moisture -- and grinding only what you brew. Here is the exact method, plus how to freeze beans the right way.
Explainer
How to Spot Bad Coffee: Signs, Causes and Fixes
Bad coffee is rarely about cheap beans. Learn to read a bad cup by its taste, trace bitter, sour, and stale flavors back to their real causes, and fix them.
How-To
How to Make Vietnamese Coffee With a Phin Filter
A simple step-by-step recipe for classic Vietnamese coffee (ca phe sua da): dark-roast coffee dripped through a phin filter over sweetened condensed milk, served over ice.
How-To
How to Make Turkish Coffee in a Cezve
Turkish coffee is extra-fine coffee simmered in a small long-handled pot called a cezve until a foam rises. Here is the step-by-step recipe, with the grind, ratio, sugar timing and low-and-slow heat that make it work.
How-To
How to Make Thai Tea at Home (Iced and Creamy)
Thai tea, or cha yen, is strong spiced black tea sweetened with condensed milk and finished with a creamy evaporated-milk swirl over ice. Here is the full recipe for making it at home.
How-To
How to Make Sweet Tea at Home
Classic Southern sweet tea is strong black iced tea sweetened while it is still hot so the sugar fully dissolves. Here is the simple pitcher method, with amounts, a steep time, a scalable ingredient table, and fixes for gritty, bitter, or cloudy tea.
How-To
How to Make Sweet Coffee: Natural and Easy Ways
Sweet coffee is coffee sweetened to taste, and there are many natural, easy ways to get there. Here are the sweeteners that work, when to use each, and how to sweeten hot and iced coffee well.
How-To
How to Make Sun Tea Safely at Home
Sun tea is iced tea brewed by steeping bags or loose leaf in a sunny jar for a few hours. Here's the recipe, the ratios, and the food-safety steps that make it worth doing.