Brewing a great cup of coffee depends on a number of things such as the quality of the coffee bean, the quality of the water being used, the type of brewing being done, and the grind of the coffee. Now quality of bean and water is something you can easily take care. Just use good quality beans and pure water. However the relationship between the grind of the coffee and the type of brewing being done is more detailed and could use a little explanation. Now we all know that we make coffee by passing hot water over crushed coffee beans. However for it to really work well we need to understand just how long the water should be passing over the beans. The purpose of this article is to help you understand how to match your coffee’s grind to the type of brewing you are doing in order to make the best coffee possible.
Generally speaking, the ‘soaking’ time relates directly to how coarse the coffee is ground. This means that smaller coffee grinds need less contact with the water, and coarser grinds need longer contact. Espresso coffee is only exposed to water for 20-30 seconds and as a result is made using extremely fine grind coffee. A French press coffee maker can take as much as 4 minutes and uses an extremely coarse grind. If coffee is left contacting water for too long for its grind size, unwanted extracts emerge and make the coffee taste bitter. Of course if the grind is too large and the water passes very quickly (like using french press grind in an espresso maker), very little of the caffeine and flavors are extracted and will result in a poor flavor.
Of course filters play an important role in managing the balance between over and under brewing your coffee. Not only do they keep the grind out of your cup, but they also control how fast the water passes over the grinds. Paper filters are the most common, but many people are also using metal varieties. Paper filters are quite good. However they can absorb some of the coffee flavor, and some people claim they can taste the paper in the final coffee. Metal filters are normally made from stainless steel or gold plated mesh. They have very fine weave and filter out the coffee grinds very well. They also do not alter the taste of the coffee at all. Metal filters are also more environmentally friendly than the paper alternative. Metal filters you will need to clean after each use to ensure it does not clog or alter the taste from stale coffee still in the metal filter.
Whichever you choose, be sure to buy decent unbleached filters. Poor filter quality will alter the taste of your coffee.
Brewing a cup of coffee is not that hard. Brewing a great cup takes a little more understanding, but isn’t any harder. Start with fresh beans and good clean water and then match your brewing style to the proper grind and then mess around with the exact proportions and pretty soon you will be brewing killer coffee every time.
Pappa T preferred method of brewing is the V60 Pour over. This method seems to give us the best flavors from our coffees. This requires the purchase of a good burr grinder, scale, variable temperature goose neck kettle and a V60 Pour Over Kit. You can find these items in this shopping list I put together if you are interested in exploring this brewing method. V60 Pour Over Kit
I generally coarsely grind 40 grams of coffee, wet the filter before putting ground coffee in filter. Then wet grounds with 60 grams of water and allow the coffee to bloom for 30-40 sec. Finish with another 590 grams of water. Allow for all water to finish dripping through filter and then poor your Fresh Cup of Coffee and Enjoy!
We hope this is helpful in your next coffee brewing adventure with TnT Coffee Roasters Fresh Roasted Coffee! Be sure to order today!