Recently many of us here at Portland Roasting have been involved in some very exciting events, most recently, the Coffee: The World in Your Cup exhibit at the World Forestry Center. At these events we like to showcase some interesting single origin coffees using brewing methods that seem to intimidate the average coffee consumer. I have noticed that fans of the Chemex or French Press get frustrated trying to prepare a good cup of coffee using these brewing methods. I would like to share a few brewing fundamentals that will greatly improve your coffee’s flavor.
The Coffee Brewing Handbook by Ted Lingle lists six essential elements of brewing that, when followed, will consistently yield a tasty cup of coffee.
Coffee to Water Ratio 60 grams coffee to 1 liter of water a great golden rule to follow (maybe a little more coffee in some cases), but I know that not everybody carries a gram scale around with them. I find that 1 rounded tablespoon of ground coffee per cup of water works depending on the coffee.
Grind The particle size of ground coffee greatly affects the flavor of the finished product. The finer coffee is ground, the more surface area each particle will have, which will increase extraction and vice-versa. I find that when my cup of coffee is too weak I usually grind the coffee a little more fine as oppose to adding more coffee.
Brewer Operation I find that each brewer has its own technique so performing a little research and reading the instructions goes a long way. Here are a few tips to brewing that nearly every brewing method follows. The temperature of the water should always be between 195°f -205°f (about thirty seconds off boiling). Brew time should be between 3 to 5 minutes. The size of the grind will affect how long the brew time will be. The finer the grind the longer it will take to brew and vice-versa. The actual movement of the coffee grounds during brewing is referred to as turbulence. Coffee grounds will extract more if they are being stirred or moved around by water.
Brewing Method Each brew method has its own specific effect on coffee. Again, reading directions is helpful when preparing different types of brewing methods. For example Chemex considers 5oz a “cup” of water, so when their 3-cup brewer is actually 15oz not 24oz. Bodum recommends using 1 teaspoon of coffee per “4oz cup”. I have found that these overlooked details tend to be the reason for the common consumer’s frustration with these brewing methods.
Water Quality Coffee is 98% water, so filtered water is essential. I find that tap water imparts many different ‘off’ flavors and many bottled waters are too filtered. I am completely happy with my Britta filter when brewing at home.
Filtration Different filtration methods greatly affect the final outcome of coffee flavor. Paper filters typically yield a cleaner, softer, more acidic cup of coffee. Non-paper filtered methods such as the French Press tend to taste more robust, full, but many times fairly gritty. I find that rinsing paper filters with hot water before use yields a sweeter cup, and pouring coffee extracted in a French Press tastes less gritty if it is poured into a thermos after brewing.
I hope that reading these fundamentals will encourage you to be adventurous with coffee and stop scratching your head in confusion.
