Brew Journal

Brewing tips, coffee storage advice, and prairie coffee stories from Autumn Prairie Pumpkins in Newton, Kansas.

Illustrated woman in Autumn Prairie Pumpkins apron tasting coffee at a sunlit Kansas farmhouse kitchen counter

Why Does My Coffee Taste Sour? Four Fixes From a Kansas Morning

The first cool morning of September always catches us off guard. Sixty two degrees at sunrise, a low fog sitting over the field, and the...

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Maggie holding a plain mug of coffee beside a quart jar of water on a fence post in a hot Kansas pumpkin patch at sunrise - Autumn Prairie Pumpkins

Does Coffee Dehydrate You? An Honest Answer From a Hot Kansas Garden

The forecast says 102 this afternoon, and the calendar says September. That is Kansas. It was already seventy-nine on the porch before the sun cleared...

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Maggie watching coffee grounds bloom in a pour over brewer on a Kansas porch rail at sunrise - Autumn Prairie Pumpkins

Why Does Coffee Bloom When You Pour Water on It?

The first almost-fall morning showed up this week. Fifty-eight degrees on the porch thermometer, dew on the pumpkin leaves, and a kettle steaming next to...

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Maggie holding a thermos and a steaming mug in a Kansas pumpkin garden at golden morning light

How to Keep Coffee Hot Outside (Without Ruining the Cup)

There is a mug sitting on my fence post right now, and I already know what is in it. Cold coffee. I carried it out...

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Maggie holding a coffee mug beside a potted coffee plant with red cherries on a sunny kitchen windowsill

Can You Grow a Coffee Plant Indoors? A Seed Company's Honest Answer

The first cool morning sneaks into Kansas sometime in late August. The garden is still working hard, but the light has shifted, and a gardener's...

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Maggie from Autumn Prairie Pumpkins sitting on a porch step at sunrise with a steaming mug of small batch coffee and a kraft coffee bag

What Does Small Batch Coffee Mean? A Plain Answer From the Prairie

The first cup of the morning goes out to the garden with me. It rides along the fence line while I check the vines, and...

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Maggie holding a mug of Autumn Prairie Pumpkins coffee beside staked tomato plants and a bucket of spent coffee grounds

Are Coffee Grounds Good for Tomatoes? An Honest Kansas Answer

There is a moment most mornings in late August when I am standing at the kitchen counter with the filter still dripping, and the tomato...

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Maggie gently rewarming coffee in a saucepan in a Kansas farmhouse kitchen, prairie pumpkin patch through the window

How to Reheat Coffee Without Ruining It

You carried the mug out at six to check the vines, set it on the fence post, and forgot it. Now it is nine, the...

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Maggie at a farmhouse kitchen table with a French press of dark coffee and a mug, Kansas garden through the window

Best Coffee for French Press: Roast, Grind, and Ratio

There is a stretch of morning, after the dew burns off the squash leaves and before the heat sets in, when the whole day still...

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Maggie sitting on a Kansas porch step beside a mug of coffee, a coffee bag and a jar of beans, pumpkin vines behind her

How Many Cups of Coffee in a Bag? Simple Morning Math

There is a moment every few weeks when you pick up the coffee bag and it feels lighter than it did the day before. That...

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Maggie at a Kansas farmhouse table with a cooling pumpkin pie and a mug of Autumn Prairie Pumpkins coffee

What to Serve With Pumpkin Pie Besides Whipped Cream

The first pumpkin pie of the season came out of the oven this week, a little early, and it sat cooling on the rack while...

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Maggie enjoying a mug of Kansas coffee on a wooden crate at the edge of a pumpkin patch at sunrise, warm 2D illustration

Do Coffee Grounds Keep Bugs Away? An Honest Answer From the Patch

A neighbor stopped me at the market last weekend with a question I hear every summer: does coffee grounds keep bugs away? She had read...

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