The Journal — every test, every teardown

Stories from the kitchen,
backed by the data.

A glass of dark cold brew coffee over ice next to a laboratory measuring cylinder
Data8 Aug 2026 · 8 min read

How Much Caffeine Is Really in Cold Brew? Reconciling the Wild Disagreement

Brand labels, a real lab study, and coffee blogs all quote wildly different cold brew caffeine numbers. We pulled the actual sources and reconciled them.

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A jar of dark cold brew concentrate steeping with coffee grounds settled at the bottom
Guide8 Aug 2026 · 8 min read

Why Does My Cold Brew Taste Woody, Bitter, or Sour? Five Real Causes

Cold brew coming out woody, harshly bitter, or oddly sour despite following a recipe? We walk through steep time, grind, ratio, beans, and vessel, with fixes.

A glass french press full of coffee with visible sediment settling at the bottom
Guide8 Aug 2026 · 9 min read

Why Your French Press Coffee Is Muddy, and How to Fix It

The physics behind muddy, sludgy french press coffee, the exact fixes for grind, stirring and plunging, and James Hoffmann's no-plunge method explained.

A stovetop moka pot mid-brew with coffee streaming into the top chamber
Guide8 Aug 2026 · 9 min read

Why Your Moka Pot Coffee Tastes Bitter (and How to Actually Fix It)

Moka pot coffee running bitter? Here's the physics behind it, five real causes ranked by impact, and a minute-by-minute heat curve to fix it tonight.

Water pooling above a stalled bed of coffee grounds in a V60 dripper
Guide8 Aug 2026 · 9 min read

Why Your Pour-Over Stalls: Every Cause of Slow V60 Drainage, Fixed

Water pooling on your V60 and refusing to drop? We break down all five real causes of a stalled pour-over, from grind size to water chemistry, with fixes.

Two bags of specialty coffee beans side by side on a kitchen counter
Review8 Aug 2026 · 11 min read

Trade Coffee vs Bean Box: What We Found Researching Both Subscriptions

A research-based comparison of Trade Coffee and Bean Box on pricing, matching, roasters, freshness and reviews, ahead of our hands-on long-term test.