Batch brew: why have it in your cafe and how to make it?

FILTER COFFEE AS A SIGN OF A GOOD CAFÉ

Thelever coffee machine still remains a fundamental and dominant element in coffee shops. Espresso and drinks based on it complement coffees prepared in an alternative way. Cafés that offer filter coffees thus cater to their customers who like abigger cup of black coffee. In addition to the larger volume, filtered is also characterised by the gradual release of flavours and the chance to discern even the subtle details and characteristics of a particular coffee in the cup.

When a café has filtered coffee on its menu, it shows that it really cares about and understands coffee. Trained staff knowledgeable in the proper preparation of coffee should be a prerequisite for any café. In spite of this, there are also establishments called cafés or cafés where coffee is more of a complementary product and the staff is not very involved in its preparation.

If as a guest you come across a café that offers filter coffee in addition to the traditional espresso, you can assume that they know their way around coffee. From the opposite perspective, as a café owner or manager, you may find theinclusion of "filter" in the menu equally beneficial. A way of letting your guests know from the first gl ance that you arereally into coffee.

HAND FILTER OR BATCH BREW COFFEE?

When it comes to preparing the filter coffee itself, you have a multitude of methods to choose from. The basic distinction is whether you prepare the "filter" manually or automatically using a machine. When you prepare coffee manually, you have a choice of several preparation methods depending on thegadget you choose . The most common machines you will see in coffee shops are the Hario V60, Aeropress, French Press or Chemex.

The positive fact we mentioned above, that the filtered coffee on offer highlights the barista's skills, can turn into a negative. This happens when acafé has multiple employees at different barista levels. In order to achieve a consistent quality of your filtered coffee, the best option is to get an automatic coffee machine - dripper for your cafe.

BATCH BREW COFFEE, WHAT IS IT?

Inaddition to the aforementioned benefit in the consistency of the quality of each cup, adrip or batch brew machinebrings an advantage in the speed of preparation. Speed plays a particularly important role, especially during the busy afternoon hours in the café. An automatic filter coffee machine guarantees a well prepared cup of coffee in a short time.

Italmost preparesthe coffee itself and makes a larger quantity at once, which it keeps in a thermos. The barista simply pours the coffee into the cup when ordering a "batche". Any product on offer that uses less of the barista's time in preparation is more financially beneficial to the café.

CHOOSING A BATCH BREW COFFEE MACHINE FOR YOUR CAFÉ

The popularity of "batch" with customers means a higher demand for automatic drip brewers. This pressure motivates their manufacturers to make these machines available in many variations. So you choose your drip machine according to the specific conditions and expected interest of your customers. Perhaps the most important consideration when choosing a dripper is the amount of coffee it prepares.

First and foremost, you choose machines that will produce as much coffee at once as you are able to sell in a short time. It is best to consume the batch brew within about 1 hour of brewing. This is when the coffee is fresh. Despite the fact that a thermos can keep coffee warm for a long time, longer times then reflect on the expiration of flavors and aromas in the coffee for which we like to drink it so much.

SMALL DRIP OR BATCH BREW FOR A LARGER VOLUME OF COFFEE?

The volume of coffee brewed must not only be consumed within a certain time, but at the same time, in larger operations, it must be sufficient. If you buy a "small" decanter for a busy coffee shop, it may mean that you will be brewing more and more batches.

The basic calculation is to estimate the number of cups of batch brew coffee you will sell per hour and from that derive the required volume of the dripper. So, if you are counting on a 200 ml cup of coffee and you estimate that an average of 5 customers will order it per hour, you will focus your attention on the range of drippers that will brew 1 l of coffee at a time.

BATCH BREW ACCESSORIES

The dripper itself needs a quality grinderto go with it . This differs from an espresso grinder in the degree of grinding. And of course, you also need to have good quality basic ingredients for the batch brew, i.e. roasted coffee and good quality water.

You can get good water suitable for making coffee if you use some form of water filtration. Water filtration is a must when making espresso. Filtered water has a similar effect on the resulting taste when making a batch brew. Therefore, it is a good idea tomonitor the quality of the water when using this method of coffee preparation as well.

INSTRUCTIONS FOR BATCH BREW COFFEE

Although batch brew is made in an automatic machine, it is still the barista who determines the taste of the coffee prepared in this way. The barista has the possibility to adjust the extraction by changing the input parameters. This means that he decides the recipe. He determines how many grams of coffee to use and how finely it will be ground. Depending on the type of machine, he can also regulate the extraction time or the temperature of the water.

The basic recipe for making a batch brew is based on the ratio of ground coffee to water, called the brew ratio: 60 g per 1 l. So , first of all, find out the amount of water your coffee machine uses and adjust the starting brew ratio accordingly. Prepare a batch and taste it. Depending on your judgement, decide whether to adjust the coffee dosage or the grind level. Again, the extraction process follows the same rules as espresso and is therefore adjusted in a similar way.

BATCH BREW RULES

Inaddition to the recipe itself ,external factors also influence the taste and quality of your batch brew. Therefore, above all, do not forget about the cleanliness of the machine, thermoses and utensils. With batch brew, as with manual filter coffee methods, make sure torinse the paper filter thoroughly before use so that the aftertaste from the paper is not transferred to the brewed coffee.

Pour the exact amount of properly ground coffee onto the rinsed paper filter so that the coffee is evenly distributed. An uneven coffee bed would extract unevenly. You know this principle from making espresso. Once the dripper has finished brewing, be sure to stir the finished coffee in the container. This will bring together the flavours that tended to layer on top of each other during the extraction process. The result will be a coffee with complex flavours in every cup you fill from it.

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