Your customers demand a wonderful cup of coffee. In order to provide them with the quality they expect and deserve, you will first need to know a few important things; which are, the quality of coffee, how to properly store coffee, how to maintain brewed coffee and how to make the perfect cup of coffee. Below you will find all the information you need to increase the pleasure of your customer's experience.

Coffee Quality

There are 4 factors which greatly determine coffee quality:

1. Time since grinding the beans.

2. Time since roasting.

3. The Cleanliness of the Espresso Machine and brewing equipment.

4. Coffee Bean quality.

Storing Coffee

Storing coffee properly will keep it fresh and help preserve its flavor longer. Also, remember to keep coffee away from air and moisture.

When freshly roasted coffee is first opened, the beans appear to be oily. Most of the flavor is contained within the coffee oils. Coffee oils are also responsible for the "crema"; a dense, light brown foamy layer visible on top of an espresso.

Never store coffee in the freezer. If stored in the freezer the oils will shrink and crack. As a result, the coffee will lack full aroma and the extracted espresso shot will produce no "crema".

To preserve the life of your coffee, once the coffee package has been opened, immediately transfer the contents to an airtight container and store at room temperature.

Once coffee has been ground, it must be consumed within 7 - 10 days. If coffee has not been ground, it should be consumed within 2 - 4 weeks. Whole beans maintain most of their flavor up to 3 weeks, if stored properly. Make sure you grind as much as you need.

Maintaining Brewed Coffee

Make sure Coffee is served within 15 to 20 minutes. Once brewed, it begins to lose its flavor.

To keep coffee hot for a longer time, pour it into a thermos.

You should never reheat or boil coffee. This destroys the flavor. Boil the water first.

The Perfect Coffee

A full-flavored cup of coffee will need only 2 tablespoons of grounds, 1 coffee scoop per 6 ounces of water. Using more grounds will make coffee stronger. Using fewer grounds will make coffee weaker.

To get the most out of your coffee flavor, grind the coffee beans prior to time of brewing. The fresher the grind, the more flavorful and aromatic the brew will be. Since ground coffee loses its integrity quickly, be sure to grind only the beans you need.

Remember the importance of pure water. Use only clean, cold tap water, or quality bottled spring water. Other waters such as mineral water, distilled water, or tap water with an odor will only make the coffee taste worse. Fresh coffee with fresh boiled water tastes best.

Coffee loses more than half its flavor in the 10 days after roasting, and even more once the beans have been ground.