How to brew good coffee? 5 secrets to successful brewing

Do you want to make yourself a cup of good coffee, but often get stuck in the different equipment recommendations and introductions on the Internet? In fact, good coffee is not that hard to come by. Mastering some basic knowledge and operations can make your coffee taste completely different from before. Here are 5 tips on how to make a good cup of coffee!

Is it necessary to buy professional and expensive equipment to brew coffee?

It doesn't matter whether you plan to make coffee at home or make it professionally in a cafe. Professional equipment can make terrible coffee, and amateur equipment can also make very good coffee. It is not recommended to buy those super professional but also super expensive machines, because without enough fine raw materials and enough skilled operating techniques, professional equipment can only improve the quality of your cup of coffee very limitedly. Of course, don't choose some overly cheap toy machines or street stalls. If the service life is not long, the cost performance is actually very low.

The main difference between coffee machines of different prices (including professional commercial coffee machines and home coffee machines) lies in the quality of the parts and the design of the details. There is basically no difference in function (even if you have one, you may not be able to use it). So in a word, you should eat according to your own taste.

Fortunately, if you are making hand-brewed coffee, the equipment used at home and in a professional coffee shop can be quite similar, so we don’t need to worry about too many differences in equipment.

1. Coffee beans.

Make sure your coffee beans are fresh and of high quality. Also, try to learn more about the beans: what variety, where does it come from, how is it processed?

Where does it come from? Is it a blend, single origin or estate coffee? 100% Arabica or does it have some Robusta in it? What are the sub-varieties? Where is it grown and harvested?

Processing method: natural sun drying? double washing? anaerobic fermentation? honey processing? wet hulling? ...? With so many different methods, there are naturally so many different flavor types!

Organic production? The impact of fertilizers and pesticides on crops is very simple: organic farming means cleaner and healthier. What about coffee from sustainable sources? Will there be a unique taste of "socially sustainable coffee"? Of course! No... These organic, environmentally friendly, and sustainable labels are more about bringing you a kind of "moral" satisfaction and pleasure, and have nothing to do with the quality of coffee.

Roasting technique and roasting degree - is a technique that uses time and temperature to fully display the flavor of coffee. Roasting has a huge effect on the flavor of coffee. The taste is like a treasure locked in the coffee beans, which can only be revealed bit by bit through the Menard reaction and caramelization reaction.

Packaging: There are many different packaging materials, different sealing types and venting solutions for roasted coffee beans. It is also important to remember to store the coffee beans in the original packaging, even if you change to other sealed containers, and place them in a cool, dry and dark corner.

2. Water quality and temperature

Water plays a huge role in a cup of coffee. Fresh, clean drinking water is the basic requirement. For more advanced quality requirements, we also need to evaluate whether there are any substances in the brewing water that have a negative impact on the coffee, whether the minerals are balanced, and whether adjustments need to be made...

According to the Specialty Coffee Association (SCA), the water temperature for brewing coffee should be between 90-96 degrees Celsius (well... basically excluding medium-dark roasts and above). Of course, different coffee beans are suitable for different water temperature parameters, so you might as well experiment more around this range to see which value is more suitable for brewing!

3. Powder to water ratio

The coffee powder to water ratio determines how much coffee powder and water we will use to brew coffee. According to the SCA's recommendation, the best coffee powder to water ratio should be "55g coffee powder/1000ml hot water ± 10%". A simple conversion is 1:20.

In many people's minds, the concentration of coffee is sometimes confused with the richness of the coffee flavor. However, the concentration represents the amount of soluble matter in the brewed coffee, while the antonym of rich should be refreshing and bland.

4. Extraction

Extraction, in simple terms, means: dissolving the flavor molecules hidden in the coffee powder into the water. But not all brewing methods have the same extraction rate and degree. We need to consider the following factors:

Grinding degree: The coarseness is selected according to different brewing methods and equipment, which is mainly related to the brewing time.

Extraction method: drip, immersion or pressure extraction?

Equipment: Americano, Aeropress, Chemex, syphon, French press, Hario V60 and similar espresso machines…

Filter type: If using filter paper or cloth, remember to rinse it well!

When brewing hand-poured coffee, it is easiest to control the steaming process. We can use the steaming process to remove excess carbon dioxide from the coffee powder and adjust the coffee powder layer for the subsequent brewing and extraction.

If we want to increase the extraction rate, we can add stirring. By stirring, the coffee powder and water can be rubbed and flowed, and the extraction is faster.

5. Cleaning Equipment

There is no need to say much about cleaning equipment and utensils. We all know how dirty coffee stains are and how bad bad coffee tastes: dull, greasy, burnt and bitter, it can ruin our next beautiful day at any time! You can use a brush and clean water to clean it daily, but remember to use a detergent to remove scale and stains regularly.

Bonus tip: Fresh coffee = best coffee.

Coffee does not need to be brewed an hour in advance and put into the decanter. Believe me, no one likes to drink fully oxidized coffee. Especially for those coffee machines with built-in heat preservation function, you must be careful about your coffee. Long-term warm will bring you oily taste, sharp acidity, bland aroma, and obvious bitterness and dryness.

Always maintain consistent brewing parameters and techniques!

No matter which brewing method you use, if you find the perfect ratio and parameters, keep the same brewing parameters and techniques for a period of time. Because if you change one parameter, the final taste will definitely change. If you want to try other brewing effects, then stick to "only change one parameter at a time." For example, if you want to change the powder-water ratio, don't change the steaming time at the same time.

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