The flavor of hand-brewed coffee is not right? These brewing parameters need to be adjusted

Regarding hand-brewed coffee, I believe many people know that hand-brewed coffee seems simple, but for a long time, there are several variable factors that affect hand-brewed coffee: 1. Coffee beans; 2. Grinding degree; 3. Water; 4. Equipment; 5. Steaming time.

Coffee Beans

Choosing coffee beans that suit your taste is an important criterion for determining whether your cup of hand-brewed coffee is "delicious". Many people say that it is too light, astringent, or has mixed flavors. The first thing we consider is the coffee beans. If the coffee beans are roasted too lightly, it is easy to have astringency because they will be undercooked. So I still recommend that novices choose beans with medium to dark roasting degrees, and wait until they have figured out the skills, or if they really want to drink lightly roasted beans, then buy lightly roasted beans to try.

Grinding degree

The coarseness of coffee powder is inversely proportional to the degree of extraction.

The finer the coffee powder is ground, the higher the extraction degree. When the powder is too fine, the flavor tends to become bitter.

Medium grind: Medium extraction, may have a sweet flavor.

The coarser the coffee powder is ground, the lower the extraction degree is, and the flavor extraction remains at the acidic level.

In addition, the grinding scale must be determined according to the brewing method and utensils used. Choosing the brewing utensils that suit you can greatly enhance the fun of drinking coffee.

Extreme under-extraction - To brew an extremely under-extracted cup of coffee, you can adjust the grind size to be very coarse and use a low water temperature below 80°C. If you are brewing coffee with a French press, you can halve the soaking time; if you are brewing with a filter cup, try to only collect the first half of the coffee liquid (don't waste the rest, collect it first and decide whether to drink it later).

Extreme overextraction - the exact opposite of the above, you can adjust the grind size, use just-boiled water, steep for twice as long, and only drink the end of the filter cup hand-poured; whether it is steeping or dripping, add a lot of exaggerated stirring action...

In addition, you can also use various experiments to experience the performance and changes of coffee under different extraction environments, try using different water, different coffee powder-water ratios, different water temperatures, different grinding degrees... In short, break your own standard limits on hand-brewed coffee parameters, break the golden rule of your brewing system, and do not be crazy, you will not become a Buddha, and you will not be able to establish without breaking. As long as you make a big enough change, you will understand the impact of this parameter, and understand the definition standards and principles of this parameter in various brewing schools. As long as you understand the impact of each parameter on brewing, you can make targeted and accurate corrections to specific parameters.

Freshness

Fresh grinding is the first condition for good coffee, which ensures the taste of coffee. When coffee is ground into powder, it will accelerate the oxidation speed of coffee powder, and the aroma will begin to dissipate in 40 seconds. If the aroma of coffee powder is seriously lost, the flavor of natural coffee will disappear.

Cloth powder

After pouring the coffee powder into the drip cup, you need to shake it gently to make it flat. This is a step that is very easy to overlook, or shake it too hard or too much, which is not advisable. The flatness of the powder surface determines the uniformity of the steaming and extraction of the hand-brewed coffee, which directly affects the taste of the coffee.

water

The solubles that make up a cup of coffee actually only make up a very small percentage, with most coffees being 98-99% water. This means your water is actually a very important factor.

If you don’t like the taste and flavor of the water you use to brew your coffee (yes, water has flavor), it’s no surprise that you won’t enjoy your cup of coffee.

If you suspect that there is something wrong with the water you use to brew coffee, you might as well try using some mineral water. As for purified water and distilled water, it is not recommended. There is also a kind of "coffee water" on the market, which is a "formulated water" that adds specific minerals to distilled water or reverse osmosis water to facilitate coffee extraction and flavor display. Objectively speaking, "coffee water" is suitable for most people and coffee, but not all.

Water temperature

When answering questions in the background, the editor is often scared. Some novices don't pay attention to the water temperature, but in fact, the water temperature has a great impact on hand brewing. It is important to say it three times: pay attention to the water temperature, pay attention to the water temperature, pay attention to the water temperature! ! Generally, it is recommended to choose a water temperature between 85-95 for hand brewing. Too high water temperature will make the bitterness of coffee stronger, and low water temperature will make the sourness stronger. Suggestion: Dark roasted coffee beans are suitable for a temperature of 80-85 degrees, and medium and light roasted coffee beans are suitable for a water temperature of about 90 degrees.

Water Flow

There are only two things to note when injecting water: one is to keep the flow rate stable, and the other is not to inject water at a certain point for a long time, except in the middle. In addition, the following are some common mistakes:

A. The water column is too large and the direction is too inclined, which will cause the water flow to punch a hole in the side of the powder layer and run directly out of the filter paper, resulting in insufficient coffee extraction.

B. If the water column is pulled too high, the water flow will damage the coffee powder, easily inject bubbles, and the coffee extraction will be uneven. It will also cause the water column to have too much contact with the air area, and the water temperature will be affected. Therefore, the water column must be as close to the coffee as possible.

C. The water flow is unstable. Sometimes it rushes violently, and sometimes it drips and stops. This causes different areas of the coffee powder to be soaked to different degrees, and the taste of the coffee will be affected.

Powder-water ratio

I won't talk about how important the powder-water ratio is, let's take a look at this question first:

Suppose you have a bag of high-quality specialty beans on hand, and they are roasted very well, perhaps with a distinct jasmine aroma, red apple flavor, round taste, and honey sweetness, how would you brew this coffee?

You have a few options: For many, drip coffee is the ideal way to savor the nuances of coffee. Longer brewing time, lower strength, clean taste.

In contrast, espresso is a short-brew, strong drink that is characterized by amplifying two or three of the main flavors in coffee. These two types of coffee have different ideal powder-water ratios, grind coarseness, brewing time and other conditions.

Espresso: Very finely ground coffee with a short brew time (usually about 25-30 seconds) and a very small amount of water, usually in a ratio of 1:1 to 1:3. Long brew times are called lungos, and short brew times are called ristretto.

Generally speaking, immersion coffee (such as French press, AeroPress or cupping coffee) uses coarser ground coffee and takes longer to brew. For drip/pour-over coffee, the ideal grind size and brewing time are somewhat different. Immersion and pour-over require more water and coffee to brew, for example, you may see a coffee to water ratio of 1:15 or 1:18. Usually, immersion coffee requires less ground coffee and less water than pour-over.

These descriptions can help you create your own brewing recipe, but to find the best way, you still need to experiment on your own and try different coffee powder:water ratios.

Filter cup material and cup shape

At present, the common filter cups on the market include V60 conical single-hole filter cup, KALITA three-hole trapezoidal filter cup, and basket filter cup. Different filter cups have different tastes. We cannot simply and roughly say which filter cup is good or bad. There is no good or bad difference! ! We can only say that the expression is different. What is important in the filter cup is the material. The material is very important for retaining the aroma of coffee. At present, the common materials on the market include resin, ceramic, glass, stainless steel, pure copper, copper plating, silver plating... They also have their own advantages and disadvantages.

filter paper

Please use high-quality filter paper! It doesn't have to be unbleached, just choose a big brand, no odor, and moderate thickness. Many people use low-quality filter paper to save money. It is very thin and leaks easily. Some filter papers filter water very slowly, and only water is injected but not drained. This will inevitably lead to excessive coffee extraction and affect the taste. Everyone is still wondering why they bought good coffee but it tastes bad. The reason is the filter paper.

Hand brewing kettle

I've mentioned the hand brewing kettle before. Anyway, you have to choose according to your own level. For beginners, it is recommended to use a long and narrow spout. And pay attention to cover the lid when brewing. Otherwise, the temperature will drop while brewing. Then don't come to ask me why my coffee is so sour...

Steaming time

Steaming is actually just using the hot air generated by hot water to open the fibrous structure in the coffee powder, so that the coffee can be extracted more completely. Friends who have the conditions can try extraction without steaming, which will definitely have the taste of insufficient extraction. Generally, less water is used for steaming. Water is poured outward in circles from a small stream in the center until the coffee powder is wet, and then the coffee powder is allowed to expand and breathe. The steaming time is generally from 15 to 35 seconds. The steaming time of deep roasted beans is generally shortened accordingly, and the steaming time of shallow roasted beans can be increased accordingly. Moreover, the bag will be smaller when steaming shallowly, and the bag will be larger when steaming deep. The reason why steaming requires a smaller water flow is that if the water flow is too large during steaming, it will destroy the infiltration structure of the surface of the coffee powder, and the water hammer effect caused by too large a water flow will directly flush a lot of fine powder to the bottom of the filter cup, affecting the subsequent coffee extraction.

If your brewed coffee doesn't taste right, then make a new one. Maybe that's the problem. To make a good cup of coffee, you need to be very careful in every aspect! Diligent practice is also essential.

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