Find the Best Cuppa Joe, EVER!

March 6, 2018

If you’re a coffee lover, or you live with one, you know that coffee junkies are always on a quest to find and/or brew the perfect cup of coffee. It’s a life pursuit, and a worthy one, so we did a little hunting for you. Here’s what we found in the search for the best cuppa joe, EVER, near Southshore!

You can order up your favorite coffee drink from any number of local coffee shops. But our current favorite is Jubilee Roasting Company, 1452 Kenton Street in Aurora. We tracked down and talked with Peter Wanberg, owner and principal barista, about why a cuppa joe at his place tastes so amazingly good.

The Golden Window

“The longer coffee sits after it’s roasted, the more it loses its aromatics and flavor. It gets more and more boring,” Peter says. “So, you’re really trying to consume the beans in the five days to three weeks after roasting – that’s the golden window.”

Jubilee Roasting Company puts their beans into the hands of consumers and wholesales to restaurants and other coffee shops, (like Legends at 24100 E. Commons Ave. #103, Aurora) to help them take full advantage of the golden window.

“We keep it on our shelf no longer than a week,” Peter says. “By the next week we’ve got a whole new set of beans.” Peter says not only is it important to use the coffee beans within that fixed window, it’s critical to keep the coffee in airtight storage, away from moisture and sunlight.

The Shelf Life of Grounds

And what’s the shelf life of coffee once it’s ground? About 15 minutes, Peter says. “We do quality control – it’s called cupping or tasting – multiple times a week. If for some reason 15 minutes go by and we get distracted or something happens and we get stalled, we have to dump all the grounds,” Peter says. “That timing makes a big difference.”

The reason, he adds, is that coffee grounds oxidize so quickly. There’s so much more surface area, and the oxidization happens more quickly. “The exposure to oxygen breaks down all those volatile compounds — that’s why having a grinder at home – if you’re a big fan of coffee quality and flavor profiles, is important too,” Peter says.

“If you’re going to buy a good expensive bag of coffee, you’re going to want to treat it well!”

Not Just Any Old Grinder Will Do

If you think you can use just any old grinder to get the most out of your fresh roasted beans, you are oh-so-wrong. Why?

“It’s all pretty contingent on where you want to land in your coffee quality. Coming at it from ‘how much do I care’?” Peter says. “Grinders are probably the most important piece of brewing equipment you can buy, because a burr grinder will crush the beans evenly giving you a more consistent and flavorful brew.”

Peter recommends a Baratza Encore burr grinder to start out, which you can order on Amazon or pick up at Jubilee.

More Than a Coffee Shop

Jubilee was a labor of love. Peter and his crew built everything – all the tables, the bar. With lots of wood, and warm natural lighting, the shop is welcoming and inviting. And not only do the baristas serve delicious, fresh roasted coffee at Jubilee, in the back 2000 square feet of the shop customers can stroll through the artists’ spaces and see creative projects in-the-works. And every first Friday of the month, from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., Jubilee offers free samples, live music and an afternoon grilling event!

So, stop in, say hi to Peter, and order up the perfect cuppa joe!

Coffee Breaks in Aurora’s Newest Homes

Imagine kicking back in your brand-new family room, as you sip your favorite coffee drink and enjoy life at the lake in the master-planned community of Southshore. Isn’t it time you visited the amazing models from Toll Brothers, Richmond American Homes and Century Communities? Spectacular new homes await you, in ranch and two-story designs, priced from the upper $300s to the $700s.