What you can control when making filter coffee

STRONG, DARK, RICH

Strong, dark, rich. Very common words in connection with coffee. Very similar yet different. Before we go any further, we should explain exactly what they mean.

Dark: I'm sure you've heard that coffee must be hot as hell, black as the devil and sweet as love. Dark beans, however, give coffee a specific smoky, bitter taste rather than strength.

Rich: This confusing little word is often used to describe many different things, from dark roast to full-bodied (also referred to as mouthfeel).

Strong: This refers to the ratio of coffee, the amount of water, and the length of extraction. The extraction process has a direct impact on the final taste of the coffee. Basically, it is about transferring the flavor from the ground coffee to the cup. And we can only do that with proper extraction.

HOW EXTRACTION AFFECTS THE TASTE

Different particles are extracted sooner or later in alternative coffee preparation. These determine the final profile of the cup - which means that extraction affects not only how "weak" or "strong" your coffee is, but more importantly, how it tastes.

By SCA standards, the best extraction is somewhere between 18% and 22% - although some people prefer it to be above 21%.

The first notes to be extracted are fruity and acidic, meaning that weakly extracted coffee will taste sour. The bitterness and body come later in the extraction. What you want is a balanced filter coffee that favors your preferred flavor profile.

There are basically 4 variables that affect the resulting extraction:

• the amount of coffee
• the coarseness of the grind
• water pressure
• the pressurization pressure (especially when making espresso)

HOW I CAN INFLUENCE THE EXTRACTION

Extraction is determined by several factors. For us, there are 3 main factors: grind coarseness, water temperature and quality, and leaching time. There are many other factors, but these three are the most important and, for most coffee drinkers, the easiest to control.

1. GRIND COARSENESS

The coarser the grind, the faster the water will flow through the coffee. Because of this, less extraction will take place and the coffee will be more acidic, as the water flows quickly and does not extract all the flavours and aromas from the coffee.

The finer the coffee is ground, the slower the water flows through the coffee. This means that extraction takes longer and the resulting coffee will taste bitter.

For simplicity, it is useful to think of coarsely ground coffee as gravel, which has large particles between which water flows quickly. On the other hand, finely ground coffee is like sand, there is not much space between the particles and therefore the water flows slowly. For this reason, it is necessary to set the grinding coarseness correctly.

Try grinding your coffee from a good roaster on their professional grinder and then compare it at home with your ground coffee from your hand grinder. Finding the right grinding coarseness takes time. Remember that each alternative coffee preparation needs a different type of grind.

2. WATER

If you think you're comfortable with the coarseness of the grind, but there's still something off about the taste, try looking at the water - its quality, the ratio of water to coffee, and the amount of turbulence (at what points the water comes into contact with the coffee).

To improve quality, we suggest using water filters: they are affordable, easy to use and have a noticeable impact on the final taste of the coffee.

Turbulence refers to how much the coffee/water moves and interacts with each other. Pour water in concentric circles to ensure the most even extraction. A gooseneck kettle is best suited for this .