Our Approach to Coffee

Coffee is a beverage.  Before coffee becomes a beverage, however, coffee is a crop.  Even more than most crops, coffee possesses an astounding ability to take on the aromas and flavors of its environment.  Wine is very well known for this, of course, but coffee may be even more complex than wine.

Coffee is so alive … so dynamic, in fact, that the same trees in the same farm can produce a crop that is vastly different from year to year.  This presents a challenge to coffee importers and coffee roasters, and this is why we test roast and “cup” every bag of green beans so extensively.  By the time it makes it to your cup, a tremendous amount of work has gone into ensuring its utmost quality.

These coffees took years to reach the point where we roast and you drink.  Many sets of hands worked on the cultivation, the harvesting, the processing, and the roasting by the time they reach your grinder.

Once you’ve tasted coffee brewed from what can genuinely be called “fresh” beans, it should be difficult to return to the less-than-fresh (to put it kindly) product that can be picked up at large grocery stores and many chain coffee establishments.  Most roasted coffees’ peak flavors occur from three to fourteen days post-roast, so we recommend enjoying your Ironclad Coffee within that time frame if at all possible.

Here are the basic needs for getting the most out of your coffee:

• Freshly roasted coffee of high quality. We have you covered on this one —Take your pick from our freshly roasted coffee selection.
• A grinder, preferably burr-style
• Filtered or bottled water (not distilled)
• Your preferred brewing gear (e.g. automatic drip, French press, pour-over, espresso machine, AeroPress, etc.)
• A nice mug which you can wrap your hands around and enjoy the fine beverage you just made.

We cannot possibly over-emphasize the importance of a good quality grinder.  Putting excellent coffee beans through a crummy grinder is like casting pearls before swine.  Where’s the sense in that?

Coffee is a vast subject, and many questions may come to mind.  Have a look at our FAQs page.

Feel free to fire away with any questions of your own.  While we don’t have all the answers, we are happy to share the knowledge we’ve acquired over the years.