Welcome to Beans and Burrs!
An approachable guide for any coffee lovers.
Thank you for being here. We are Audrey and Cedric, and we crave to share useful tips from our own experience to help you get started with espresso and coffee in general.
We hope to demystify everything about a good sip of coffee. We are here to help you to select the right gear at the best possible value. So every morning, you can reward yourself with a fantastic cup of coffee in the comfort of your home.
People often, rightfully, perceive coffee connoisseurs as snotty and dismissive; you know the type. We want this website to be just the opposite. There is no right or wrong way to appreciate coffee; it’s all about preferences and new experiences. Our goal is to talk about coffee among friends, answer questions you may have, and provide you with ideas about new things to try.
On various coffee groups on Social Media, we keep seeing people asking how they can start, what gear they need to purchase, how can they improve their skills? We intend to help you with all these questions. Easy to follow advice, a roadmap, a reference guide, and reviews about the material to buy without breaking the bank, and reviews about coffee beans.
Meet Cedric
Because of my engineering background and professional experience in product management, I tend to be very analytical and precise. I love to tweak the parameters to achieve the best results. Born and raised in Belgium, I traveled intensely to develop new markets, mostly in Asia & Eastern Europe. I have always been fascinated by each country possessing its unique personality. In 2008, my company offered me to move to the United States to create a complete product range and marketing strategy for the North American Market.
I enjoy a creative break from work. My hobbies are designing and making modern wood furniture, perfecting my photography skills, experimenting with a new recipe on the grill, or learning about Whiskey, my other liquid obsession. I do a lot of research about my domains of interest to find the perfect balance between quality and cost.
Coffee was foreign to me until my mid-twenties. My first coffee memory was a delicious small cup of Turkish coffee with cardamon in Egypt. While traveling, I started to enjoy espresso. I am obsessed with Italian industrial design. For my 30th birthday, I received one of these little Francis Francis espresso machines that looked like they were coming straight from a Fellini movie from the 1950s. Trying various coffee types from different origins and pulling the perfect espresso shot became part of my daily life. When we moved to the US, the espresso maker, and the grinder were part of the voyage (flanked with a massive 2000W step-up transformer on the countertop, ruining the Italian design if you ask me :).
After 13 years, I retired the Francis and got my dream machine, which enabled me to make the silkiest steamed milk and attempt myself at latte art, still a work in progress. More recently, I began roasting green coffee myself. Don’t worry; you do not need to get that far to have a good time.
My enthusiasm is contagious, and over the years, I advised and influenced many friends. Beans and Burrs is my creative way to spread the word that coffee can be approachable, affordable, and accessible.
Meet Audrey
I am a coffee newbie, and I will make sure to keep this site easy to follow, attractive, and fun! I will prevent my husband, Cedric, from boring you with nerdy details and provide a creative and feminine touch.
Being a stay-at-home parent for our children, I immersed myself in blogging. I will provide different types of articles, more about the lifestyle approach and the history of coffee. I am involved in editing articles, implementing SEO strategies, running the website, establishing a strong social media presence, and promoting the blog through platforms such as Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook, and Twitter, managing the mail subscribers audience and so many other things!
When I am not brainstorming post ideas or furiously writing, you’ll find me experimenting with a new recipe, reading a book, designing and working on wood furniture with my husband, or perfecting my photography skills.
My favorite coffee drink is a chocolarreto, 😋!
Meet the crewmates
Let us introduce you to our crewmates: the espresso maker (Rocket Mozzafiato Type V) and the coffee grinder (Mazzer Mini).
If you’re reading this, you are probably looking to expand your knowledge about better coffee. We guarantee you, you will not go back to Starbucks or your Keurig, nothing wrong with either, just so much more to discover. Find your pace and join us in this flavorful journey.
Audrey & Cedric