Care for Your Coffee.

Written By Richard Austin

How Not to Ruin the Good Stuff You Just Bought..

You’ve made a great call — freshly roasted, quality local coffee? Check.
Now, here’s how to get the most out of it at home or in a commercial setting.

Don’t Fear the Age — Own It

Coffee evolves over time. Often, it develops greater balance, stability, and clarity in a peak window of 10–14 days post-roast. Our philosophy is to roast fresh which gives you the control on how and when you’d like to drink it.

Filter brews shine from day 5 to 20, Espresso peaks between day 10–14 but can hold up beautifully for 6–8 weeks when stored properly (more on that below).

Storage Matters

Keep your coffee stored in our bag or a good airtight container (we highly recommend Airscape). Once fresh coffee is roasted it omits CO2 gas, this is a natural preservative for your coffee. Keep your coffee in the bag provided (which is designed with a two-way valve) until you come to use it, open the bag (or canister) as little as possible.

✔️ Cool, dry, dark place (like a pantry)
✖️ No fridge, freezer, glass jars, or open-air containers

Light + oxygen = stale beans.

Grind Fresh, Always

Freshly ground coffee = better coffee. Have it ground at a pinch.

✔️ Use a burr grinder for consistency
✖️ Avoid blade grinders or pre-ground coffee if possible - or grind for those camping trips.

Trust the Process

Coffee’s not magic — it’s part chemistry.
Small tweaks go a long way, and flavour is yours to dial in. There’s room to experiment, so brew it how you like it.

ESPRESSO BASICS

Start with a 1:2 ratio (1 part coffee in, 2 parts out)

  • Domestic home machines
    → 16–18g in → 32–36g out in 25–30 sec

  • Pro home/commercial machines
    → 19–22g in → 38–44g out in 27–30 sec

A good shot typically starts in 6–8 seconds and oozes like honey. Stop the shot just after blonding (those pale streaks) and target a 25-30 second total shot time.

Tastes sour? Grind finer or extend the shot
Tastes bitter? Grind coarser or shorten the shot

Machine Notes

  • Breville / Sunbeam → Great entry-level machines, usually suited to smaller doses. Expect more temp and pressure variation due to smaller boilers — allow recovery time and adjust often.

  • E61 Group Head Machines → More thermal stability, consistent shot profiles, and larger basket capacity. Ideal for repeatable, sweet espresso and bigger workloads.

FILTER BREW GUIDE

(V60, Kalita, Clever Coffee Dripper etc.)

  • 18g coffee

  • 300–320g water @ ~94°C

  • Medium grind (table salt texture)

  • Bloom: 50g water, 30 sec

  • Pour slowly in spirals for approx. 1:45 sec

  • Total Brew time: 2:30–3:00 min

Use of a scale and timer for filter brewing is essential for precision, take the guess work out and brew methodically. Adjust grind, water temp, pour rate to taste and experiment.

Final Word

You’ve already made a great flavour call. With just a little care, your coffee will return the favour — every single cup.

By no means is this a definitive guide, there’s just so much to brewing technique and customisation based on the gear you have. But with this basic guide you can be sure to up your coffee making game and get the most out of your Little Fish Coffee.

Still not quite right? Tweak, taste, repeat — or get in touch.
We’re here to help make sure you get the best from your beans.

Richard Austin