Brewing Guide

Aeropress

Chemex

Hario V60

Manual CB2

French Press

Expresso Extraction

Automatic Brewer

Smart Dripper

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Chemex

Chemex embodies harmony, the ever elusive aspect we are all striving to get in our cup. Equal parts brilliance and common sense, the Chemex remains a staple in every coffee enthusiast’s arsenal. Its design has endured, unchanged (wood handle, leather cord, tapered glass and all), since its invention in 1941 by Peter (not related to our Founder but strangely they share a certain degree of madness towards coffee). Peter’s designs were characterized as “a synthesis of logic and madness,” and we’re inclined to agree. Coffee from a Chemex is very similar to that from a drip, but there’s more room for error. To guarantee the best results, grind your Rockbern beans more coarsely than you would for a ceramic drip, and offer extra attention to the pour rate. This level of care yields a delicate coffee.

BTW this is the most romantic coffee brewing method, bearing in mind love is like an hour glass; with the heart filling up as the brain empties!

Identify the correct fresh coffee blend and correct grind; we recommend Rockbern Mt Kenya AA medium grind or Rockbern Mt Kenya GOURMET medium grind.
Fill in your kettle with fresh filtered water and set to boil.
Place a filter into the top compartment of the Chemex making sure the 3 layered side is facing the spout. This will allow air to escape during the brew process
Rinse the filter with hot water, around 50ml to prevent any papery taste from affecting your brew. This will also preheat the Chemex.
Slowly empty the rinse water from the Chemex over a sink carefully. Don’t be tempted to remove the filter to empty faster; It can be very difficult to secure back into place once removed.
Place your Chemex, complete with rinsed filter on the scale and tare to zero. add 30g of ground coffee for 0.5 ltr brew or 45g for 0.75 ltr brew
If you don’t have a digital scale, measure the fresh ground coffee using a table spoon that scoops approximately 15g (applying the ratio 60g for each litre of fresh water)into the filter, shake to ensure even distribution on the basket.

Remember; using the special tin tie on each and every pocket of Rockbern coffee, seal the remainder of your coffee to protect it from oxygen and keep it fresh.

Using the kettle, pour the water slowly and evenly over the grounds for 45 sec. This step is called ‘blooming’ The goal is even saturation into the coffee to allow all air out of the grounds and enable water to yield full potential of the coffee, so pour slowly in a clockwise pattern. This is an essential step that shouldn’t be rushed. Don’t worry if you see a few drops falling through.
Thereafter, Add water in stages (about 70ml-100ml at a time) until you reach the desired final brew quantity, making sure that the grounds are never exposed to air until the brew is finished. Concentrate the pour towards the center of the Chemex, working your way outwards to about a centimeter from the edge of the slurry. The water stream from the kettle should be slow enough to fall straight down.
Once the drip stalls to every couple of seconds, your brew is finished. If your grind was correct, and you poured at the right speed, this should take between 4-5 minutes.
Remove the filter and discard.

Enjoy your freshly brewed coffee.

This is the most romantic brewing method, if well executed the house ought to be full of heavenly aromas.

Aeropress Brewing Method

Most fascinating method where Coffee is liberated from constraints of gravity. This method is best for making one cup of fresh coffee wherever, whenever you need it.

Steps

Boil water to 96 degree centigrade,
Grind your medium roast Rockbern coffee beans to coarse grind setting (slightly finer than sea salt) or if using pre-ground Weight 15g of medium roast ground coffee (adjust this to your strength preference)
Insert the filter paper supplied into the Aeropress detachable cap
Use some of your hot water to wet your filter and cap. The water serves a couple of function here: It helps the filter adhere to the cap, rinses the papery aftertaste and heats your brewing vessel. This can be challenging as the water is hot and the cap is quite small: Hold the cap by its “ears” and pour the water very slowly so it can be absorbed by the filter.
Assemble your AeroPress. Make sure the entire assembly is dry, since any residual moisture can compromise the device’s seal.
Place the Aeropress upside down (the numbers should appear upside down)
Using the black funnel provided, add 15g of ground coffee into the chamber, be careful not to spill any grounds on to the ring shaped gutter on top of the aeropress.(adjust the grams to taste/strength preference)

Remember; using the special tin tie on each and every packet of Rockbern coffee, seal the packet to protect the remaining coffee from oxygen and keep it fresh.

Add twice the weight of water than you have grounds (e.g., for 15 grams coffee, add 30 grams water). The water should be about 96 degrees. Make sure the coffee is saturated evenly, slightly stir with the paddle or clean spoon if necessary, and let it sit for 30 seconds.Use the remainder of the hot water to fill the chamber.
After a minute has elapsed, stir grounds 10 times to agitate.
Fasten the cap, ensuring it locks into the grooves tightly. Flip the whole assembly over with haste and control. Position it atop your cup or brew vessel and begin applying downward pressure. You will experience about 30 pounds of resistance here. If the pushing feels too easy, your grind is likely too coarse; if it’s very hard to push, chances are the grind is too fine. Your coffee is fully brewed once it begins to make a hissing sound. This means there is no more water to push through the device.
Once you’ve unscrewed the cap, you can pop out the filter and the puck of condensed grounds by simply pushing AeroPress’s interior section a final inch.
Enjoy the gravity defying freshly brewed Rockbern coffee!

Brewista Smart Dripper

Coffee from a smart dripper is unique, focused and incredibly sweet – you’re likely to get each and every nuance of Rockbern Coffee in this method. We must caution that this method is quite moody and fragile, too: It abhors mediocrity Water that’s too hot, a hurried pour or even an offhand remark might dampen its complexity. Its alike to conducting an orchestra. It requires a samurai’s keenness, surgeon’s hand, a novelist’s resolve and artist capacity for improvisation.

Steps:

Bring at least 500 ml of water to boil at 96 degree Centigrade.
Grind 30g of medium roasted Rockbern coffee blend, if using the pre ground Rockbern coffee, measure using a digital scale or two heaped table spoonful.
Place a filter paper into the basket of the smart dripper.
Place the basket firmly on top of the brewing urn.
Pour about 50ml of hot water slowly over the filter, this will wet it and help to firmly grip the dripper, secondly it rinses the papery aftertaste from the filter. Discard the water filtered to the cup or brewing urn.
Add the ground coffee to the filter in a loose mound (don’t compress at all), Take a thin knife (if a samurai us e bamboo paddle) and work your way around the coffee in a gentle sawing motion. Your knife should extend all the way to the bottom of the filter.
Remember; using the special tin tie attached on each and every packet of
Rockbern coffee, seal the coffee and protect the remainder from oxygen to keep it fresh
Create a button-sized gulley at the top of the coffee mound. It should have the circumference of a Ksh. 5 coin and the depth of a half an inch. Give or take.
Begin your first hot water pour, very gently around the circumference of your gulley. This first pour is almost excruciatingly slow – 60ml over 45 seconds. Don’t worry about saturating all your ground coffee; time and the principle of capillarity will take care of that. Once you’ve finished pouring, pause for 45 seconds.
Commence your second pour, this should be a bit faster – 120ml over 60 seconds, to be precise. Keep your pour in circular motion centered from the gulley. The coffee should at this point be seething a little bit,
Final pour! This time, it’s 80 ml of water over the course of 40 seconds. When all is said and done, you ought to have poured 250ml of water over the course of 3 minutes and 30 seconds.
While the final bit of coffee is dripping, pre-heat your cups using whatever’s left of your hot water. Heating up the cups is a good way to bring it back to temperature without shocking the coffee during service. Dear Friends, after investing your time in such a ritual please NEVER microwave coffee. Enjoy your cup of freshly brewed Rockbern coffee. Discard your filter and coffee grounds.

Coffee Maker CB2

This is a coffee maker that celebrates the ritual of handmade coffee, Its a pour over coffee maker that is placed on a counter top in your house or office.Hot water is gradually poured through fresh ground coffee in a filter, and brewed coffee slowly drips into the carafe, or even directly into your mug.The handmade sculptural glass form of this coffee maker provides unique visibility of the process, while the double-wall design retains brewing heat.The handmade sculptural glass form of manual coffee maker provides unique visibility of the process, while the double-wall design retains brewing heat.

Steps:

Bring at least 500 ml of water to boil at 96 degree Centigrade.
Grind 30g of medium roasted Rockbern coffee blend, if using the pre-ground Rockbern coffee, measure using a digital scale or two heaped table spoonful. Always adjust to taste and strength preference. *If you prefer strong coffee with different notes refer Rockbern blend guide.
Place a filter paper into the basket of the manual coffee maker.
Firmly place the calibrated carafe under the manual coffee maker ensuring its properly aligned.
Pour about 50ml of hot water slowly over the filter, this will wet it and help to firmly grip the coffee maker, secondly it rinses the papery aftertaste from the filter. Discard the water filtered to the calibrated brewing urn.
Add the 30g of ground coffee to the filter and shake gently to have it settled;
Remember; using the special tin tie attached to each and every packet of Rockbern coffee, seal the coffee packet to protect the remainder of your coffee from oxygen so as to keep it fresh.
There will be five pours total for this coffee preparation. This is the first, and the most magical, because it is when you will see the coffee “bloom.”
As hot water first hits the grounds, Co2 is released creating a blossoming effect—the grounds will rise up en masse.
Start a timer. Begin pouring about 60ml of water slowly over the coffee, starting at the outer rim and moving in a steady spiral toward the center of the grounds. Make sure all the grounds are saturated, even if you need to add a little water. This is called blooming. The pour should take about 15 seconds. Give the coffee an additional 30 seconds to drip before moving on to the second pour.
Commence the second pour from the center of the grounds, pour in a steady spiral toward the outer edge and then back toward the center. Be sure to pour all the way out to the edge over the ripples in the filter. This helps to keep grounds from being trapped in there and removed from the rest of the extraction. Add roughly 120ml, bringing the total to 180 ml. The goal during this pour is to sink all of the grounds on the surface of the bed. This creates a gentle turbulence that “stirs” the coffee, allowing water to more evenly extract the grounds. Allow 45–65 seconds to elapse.
As the mixture of water and coffee from the second pour drops to the bottom of the filter, coming close to the level of the grounds, commence the third pour with additional 120 ml of water using the same pattern as the second pour. This brings the total up to 300 ml and should take 15–20 seconds.
When the water and coffee from the third pour drops to the bottom of the filter, start your fourth pour. Add 120ml, bringing the total up to 420 ml of water. This pour should take 20 seconds. Finally pour another 60ml of water in the same pattern to bring your total brew to about 480ml. The calibrated carafe should guide you.

Enjoy your heavenly brewed fresh Rockbern coffee

Hario V60

This coffee brewing method is like a ritual amongst the Japanese where it was discovered, it calls for a warrior like concentration, like a meditation: There’s no machine in your way, no electronics. Just you and a few simple tools. The final cup is more delicate and complex. Observe the blooming, experience the aromas, see the first trace of coffee drip, notice how the spiral of the pour alters the final cup. This simple experience grants an unprecedented connection to your coffee especially in the morning.

Steps:

Bring at least 500 ml of water to a 96 degree Centigrade.
Grind 30g of medium roasted Rockbern coffee blend, if using the pre ground Rockbern coffee, measure using a digital scale or two heaped table spoonful.
Place a filter paper into the V60 dripper
Pour about 50ml of hot water slowly over the filter, this will wet it and help to firmly grip the dripper, secondly it rinses the papery aftertaste fro the filter. Discard the water filtered to the cup or brewing urn.
Add the ground coffee to the filter and gently tap it to level the surface of the grounds. Place the brewer on a carafe or cup,
remember; using the special tin tie on each and every packet of Rockbern coffee, seal the coffee to protect it from oxygen and keep it fresh.
There will be five pours total for this coffee preparation. This is the first, and the most magical, because it is when you will see the coffee “bloom.” As hot water first hits the grounds, Co2 is released creating a blossoming effect—the grounds will rise up en masse.
Start a timer. Begin pouring about 60ml of water slowly over the coffee, starting at the outer rim and moving in a steady spiral toward the center of the grounds. Make sure all the grounds are saturated, even if you need to add a little water. This is called blooming. The pour should take about 15 seconds. Give the coffee an additional 30 seconds to drip before moving on to the second pour.
Commence the second pour from the center of the grounds, pour in a steady spiral toward the outer edge and then back toward the center. Be sure to pour all the way out to the edge over the ripples in the filter. This helps to keep grounds from being trapped in there and removed from the rest of the extraction. Add roughly 120ml, bringing the total to 180 ml. The goal during this pour is to sink all of the grounds on the surface of the bed. This creates a gentle turbulence that “stirs” the coffee, allowing water to more evenly extract the grounds. Allow 45–65 seconds to elapse.
As the mixture of water and coffee from the second pour drops to the bottom of the filter, coming close to the level of the grounds, commence the third pour with additional 120 ml of water using the same pattern as the second pour. This brings the total up to 300 ml and should take 15–20 seconds.
When the water and coffee from the third pour drops to the bottom of the filter, start your fourth pour. Add 120ml, bringing the total up to 420 ml of water. This pour should take 20 seconds. Finally pour another 60ml of water in the same pattern to bring your total brew to about 480ml.

Enjoy your freshly brewed Rockbern Coffee!

French Press Brewing Method

This is one of the easiest method of brewing an outstanding cup of fresh coffee anywhere, you’re likely to get a full bodied velvety coffee cup if well executed, yet it has its own sort of elegance. As with any other method, coffee abhors mediocrity in every sense of the word hence, the devil is in the details: To achieve a full expression of the coffee, serve it immediately after brewing otherwise it will continue to extract and become bitter. Then, indulge into this rich and heady cup of Rockbern coffee. It only takes four minutes to brew.

Steps:

Bring enough water to fill the French press to a boil (96 degree centigrade) . For a 0.6 litre press, you’ll need about 0.8litre of water.
While the water is heating,grind your Rockbern coffee beans to a coarse grind, if using a packet of Rockbern pre-ground coffee use the medium grind. Remember the french press method calls for coarse even grind

Remember; using our special tin tie attached on each packet , seal the coffee to prevent air getting into the remainder of the coffee, this will keep it fresh

Pour in some hot water into the French press to rinse and preheat it, pour out the water.
Pour in your ground coffee into the French press. We recommend applying the 60; 1litre rule (60g for every litre of water) but adjust to taste and strength preference. If you’re using 500 ml of water, you’ll want 30 grams of coffee. This equivalent to 2 table spoonfuls.
To start, gently pour twice the amount of water than you have coffee onto your grounds. For example, if you have 30 grams of coffee, you’ll want to start with 60 ml of water.
Give the grounds a gentle stir with a clean spoon. Allow the coffee to bloom for 30 seconds.
Pour in the rest of your water and position the lid gently on top of French press. Don’t plunge just yet. Let the coffee steep for four minutes.
Press the filter down. If it’s hard to press, that means your grind is too fine; if the plunger rams immediately down to the floor, it means your grind is too coarse. The sweet spot, is the balance between the two, apply your judgment.
When you’ve finished pressing, serve the coffee immediately. Don’t let it sit, as this will cause it to continue brewing and over-extract.

Espresso Extraction

Here’s the unfortunate truth: Using a home espresso machine is like extracting truth from a Kenyan politician-a precarious endeavor, barely tinged with optimism. We’ll try many times and It’s a tricky business. But with practice and good equipment (very important; like a good watch you must invest in a reliable good espresso equipment) the path becomes clearer, and the challenge becomes about patience and practice. You could spend an eternity trying to achieve the perfect espresso shot. (To shorten this; enroll at Rockbern Barista academ). However, at the end if hack it right; It’s like listening to Vienna philharmonic orchestra, balance, viscosity, sweetness, and depth in sublime harmony.

Steps:

Remove your portafilter from the espresso machine’s grouphead. If a single (with single spout) it will carry in 7-9g depending on roast profile. If a double (with double spouts) it will carry 14-18g)
For a double shot, grind Rockbern Mt Kenya Espresso beans between 14–18 grams of coffee into your basket. The proper grind is crucial to a balanced, delicious shot of espresso. (Remember in this method we are extracting coffee at high pressure hence the contact is very short hence we must increase the surface area to maximize extraction). It might be necessary to adjust its fineness a bit. In general, the grind ought to be quite fine but not very fine. Remember; using our special tin tie attached on each packet , seal the coffee to prevent air getting into the remainder of the coffee, this will keep it fresh
Dose the coffee; distributing the coffee by drawing a finger across it in a series of alternating swipes. It is most effective to alternate sides in a series of 90 degree increments (Using a clock analogy 3 to 9 and 6 to 12. )
Tamp; Place your portafilter on a clean, flat surface and position and using a tamper level on top of the grounds with gentle force. You don’t need to tamp incredibly hard—just enough to seal the coffee in evenly. Give the tamper a gentle spin round the portafilter. This will smooth, the grounds for an even extraction. The scientific explanation behind this is that water follows path of least resistance, hence if coffee not properly tamped so that the water can flow through the coffee grounds evenly and ensure even extraction.
Purge your grouphead thoroughly with hot water. This preheats the group head and ensures the correct brewing temperature is achieved (92-96 degree centigrade)
Position the portafilter in the grouphead and start your shot. We recommend pulling it into a pre-heated shot glass or the cappuccino cup (very important)
The shot should take 25-30 secs, It starts with a slow flow, then develop into a gentle, even viscous stream. Near the 30 second mark, the extraction will end, causing the shot to thicken and start turning yellowish. Stop the shot just as this process begins. You ought to have a shot full of thick, sweet smelling crema sitting on top of the coffee, (almost a 50;50 ratio) with very small bubbles,

Enjoy your espresso: If you got it right expect full bodied with a chocolaty finish with inspiring herbal aromas, or use it as a base to make your cappuccino.

Automatic Coffee Brewing Method

If given our way, we’re opined that good cup of coffee is eternally intertwined to the human hand so as to exercise judgment, you can NEVER automate coffee making and expect any results. A handmade cup of coffee will always be more special. However, at times we feel the need to automate and be efficient depending on the number of people and different circumstances and we’ve to press a button to modernity. A good brewer (emphasis; a good brewer-avoid the off the shelf brewers and invest in one it’s a worthy tool) and a packet of perfectly ground Rockbern Coffee, brewed with the right amount of fresh coffee (60g for1 litre) —will give you an heavenly, memorable fresh cup in your house, in your office or in your cafe. Below are the procedures;

Steps:

If using the 1.8 brewer, pour the right amount of fresh water into the brewer’s reservoir. The good news is that Our Queen brewer can be calibrated to make half brew (0.9litre) or quarter brew (0.5 litre brew)
Place filter in coffee maker basket. Press the start button and allow to brew for a minute, this will rinse the papery after taste from the filter.
Empty the water from the urn and place it back.
Grind your Rockbern coffee beans into a medium grind or if using the pre-ground packed Rockbern coffee pour 60g (four tablespoonful of coffee) into the filter on the basket. Remember; using our special tin tie attached on each packet , seal the coffee to prevent air getting into the remainder of the coffee, this will keep it fresh
Turn on coffee maker and allow to brew into the double walled urn, this keeps the coffee hot and avoids reheating the coffee again. It will automatically stop brewing as soon as the respective amount of water is exhausted.
Enjoy your outstanding cup of Rockbern freshly brewed coffee: If you have to add milk and sugar to your preference; otherwise indulge black to enjoy each and every nuance of the notes in the cup.

Always brew what you can consume at the shortest time possible and NEVER reheat coffee.

Iced Cold Brew

This is freshly brewed coffee that’s not subjected to any heat to preserve the inherent flavor and aromas.

It’s made using Rockbern Mt Kenya medium roosted coffee that’s left to steep overnight using a Brewista Cold pro system.

Instructions

Fill a glass with a ice cubes.
Fill the glass with Rockbern cold brew coffee concentrate halfway, add fresh clean water.
Add 15ml of Sweetbird vanilla syrup.
Indulge and enjoy your iced vanilla coffee.

Iced Coffee

This is freshly brewed coffee that’s not subjected to any heat to preserve the inherent flavor and aromas.

It’s made using Rockbern Mt Kenya medium roasted coffee that’s left to steep overnight using a Brewista Cold pro system.

Ingredients

Rockbern Cold brew concentrate
170g Ice cubes
Sweerbird vanilla syrup

Instructions

Fill a 350ml glass with a ice cubes.
Fill the glass with iced coffee concentrate halfway, add fresh clean water.
Can flavor with swettbird syrup of your choice eg vanilla

Minty Mocha

Ingredients

Sweetbird Mint syrup
Sweetbird chocolate syrup
Steamed milk
Double espresso

Instructions

Extract your double espresso using Rockbern espresso beans coffee
Add 1 pump Sweetbird Mint syrup into your espresso
Add 1 pump Sweetbird Chocolate syrup
Top up with steamed milk

Hot Choc

Ingredients

Zuma hot chocolate sauce
Sweetbird Toastd marshmallow syrup
Steamed milk

Instructions

Add 2 pumps of the Zuma hot chocolate sauce into a 350ml cup
Add 2 pumps of sweetbird Toasted marshmallow syrup
Top up with steamed milk
Top up with marshmallows for an extra WOW factor,
Enjoy heavenly hot chocolate

Aeropress

Chemex

Hario V60

Manual CB2

French Press

Expresso Extraction

Automatic Brewer

Smart Dripper

Your Kind Words

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Chemex

Aeropress Brewing Method

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Iced Cold Brew

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Iced Coffee

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Minty Mocha

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Hot Choc

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