What ratio should I use when I brew?
Ratios are coffee to water, by weight, so a kitchen scale is the one gadget worth owning. If you only remember one number, make it 1:16— about 25 grams of coffee to 400 grams of water — and you'll get a lovely pour-over.
By brewer: pour-over 1:15 to 1:17 (the wider ratio lets the delicate floral and fruit notes through), French press 1:12 to 1:15 (immersion brewing is gentler, so it wants a bit more coffee), AeroPress anywhere from 1:12 to 1:16, and cold brew concentrate a hefty 1:5 to 1:8. Espresso runs about 1:2, but that's a rabbit hole for another day.
What do “washed” and “natural” mean?
They describe how the fruit came off the bean, and it changes the flavor more than most people expect. A washed coffee has the fruit removed right away, then soaks clean in water tanks — the cup comes out crisp, bright, and true to the place it grew. A natural coffee dries inside the whole cherry for weeks in the sun, and all that fruit soaks in — heavier body, sweeter, often outright berry-like. If you ever taste blueberry in a coffee, that's usually a natural.
What is honey processed?
No bees involved. After the skin comes off, some of the sticky fruit layer — the “honey” — is left clinging to the bean while it dries. The result sits right between the other two styles: the clarity of a washed coffee with a good share of a natural's sweetness.
What is anaerobic fermentation?
The newest trick in the book. The coffee ferments in sealed tanks with no oxygen, so a different family of microbes does the work — and they leave behind creamy, complex, sometimes wonderfully funky tropical flavors that regular processing can't reach. When you see it on one of Bryon's bags, expect the boldest cup of the month.
What do the roast levels on the cards mean?
Roasting has landmarks you can hear. As the bean heats up it browns and builds flavor, and eventually the steam inside pops it open with an audible first crack — light roasts stop shortly after. Push further and the sugars caramelize toward a second crack, where roast flavor starts to speak louder than the bean itself. Bryon marks each coffee City (lighter, brighter), Full City (balanced, a touch of caramel), or Dark (bold and roasty) so you know where on that road it stopped.
How should I store my coffee?
A roasted bean is basically a dry sponge — it will happily absorb moisture and any smell in the neighborhood. Keep it sealed airtight, in a cool dark cupboard, as whole beans until you brew. Skip the fridge: it's damp, full of odors, and the in-and-out temperature swings make things worse. If you truly won't get to a bag for a month or more, the freezer works — sealed tight, and thaw the bag fully before opening it.
Why does it taste different a week after I got it?
Because it's alive, in a manner of speaking. Fresh-roasted coffee is full of carbon dioxide and spends its first days releasing it — brewed too soon it can taste a little sharp and unsettled. Bryon rests every roast a day before packing, and most coffees hit their stride somewhere between day four and two weeks, then slowly mellow from there. So the bag that tastes different on day ten isn't going bad — you're just meeting the same coffee at a different point in its life. It's a good excuse to pull up the Tasting Key more than once.
