Brewing

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How To Brew The Best Cup Of Coffee

Proper brewing methods are extremely important for creating a quality cup of coffee.  The finest roasted; highest quality coffee can be easily destroyed through improper brewing technique.  You’ll find all sorts of different methods of brewing coffee from the french press to the espresso machine.  Here are the basics of brewing the best cup of coffee.

The Essentials in Brewing Great Coffee

• High Quality Coffee
• Proper Grind
• Water Quality
• Coffee to Water Ratio
• Brew Time

The Coffee

• Use high quality, freshly roasted Arabica beans
• Ensure the coffee is freshly ground, moments before brewing

The proper grind for your brewing method

It is very important to have the proper grind for your brewing method. The size of the ground coffee dictates the amount of surface area that is exposed to the water. Therefore the grind size relates to the length of time the water will be exposed to the grinds. Too fine of a grind will create a bitter, over extracted coffee. Too coarse and you will have weak, watery coffee, without the full flavour.

Grind the coffee shortly before brewing for maximum freshness and best flavour. Coffee stales after it is roasted, but that staling is accelerated tenfold by grinding. Within 2 hours of grinding, you will notice a loss of quality.

The ground coffee should be very consistent in size and shape of grind to ensure even extraction.

The proper grind for each method is as follows

Very coarse (#12-13)
Used for – Commercial Percolator

Coarse (#10)
Used for – French Press (Bodum)
- Home Percolator

Medium (#5-7)
Similar in consistency to granulated sugar.
Used for – Drip Coffee makers (cone or basket)

Fine (#3)
Similar in consistency to sand
Used for – Stovetop espresso
- One-cup cone filter

Very Fine
Grinds should stick together when pinched
Used for – Espresso

Extremely Fine
Similar in consistency to flour
Used for – Turkish coffee

The Water

Use fresh clean water without flavour or aroma impurities. The most common impurities found in tap water are Chlorine – Many municipalities over-chlorinate their water supply. Chlorine has a cleaning solvent-like aroma, easily detectable by smelling the water. Chlorine reacts with coffee negatively to produce medicinal like flavours that are noticeable in very small amounts. When noticed chlorine must be removed with an activated carbon filter before brewing.
Dissolved Solids (water hardness) – Water hardness is measured in PPM (parts per million). Less than 300 ppm is ideal for brewing. Anything over 300 ppm should be filtered prior to brewing. If the water is not filtered it will not allow the coffee flavours/aroma’s to dissolve completely into the water, creating a weaker and less flavorful cup. Hard water can be detected by a visible calcium buildup on the hot water tap. A machine that breaks down frequently may also be a sign of overly hard water, due to calcium clogging the lines.

The water temperature

The ideal temperature for brewing coffee is just below boiling point 195 – 205 F.  The temperature should remain constant throughout the brew cycle
Some brewing methods (percolator, stove top espresso) use above boiling point water temperature to brew, however this will harm (burn) the coffee, but is unavoidable with these methods.  Water temperature should always be measured when installing a brewer.
Coffee to water ratio
First of all, a given amount of coffee only contains so much of the precious oils that give it the flavour and aroma we love. Once all of the oils are extracted, the only things you’re getting from the grounds are bitter tasting elements. This is called over-extraction. One of the most misunderstood facts about coffee is that bitterness is caused by using more coffee when in fact, the opposite is true. Bitterness is a result from over-extraction.

1.3 cups (11fl oz) of ground coffee per 64oz of water, to meet proper brewing standards as recommended by the SCAA.

Commercial coffee brewers come preset to output 64oz of water however we have noticed variations in output based on water pressure. Therefore it is important to check the water output when installing a new brewer, and adjust if necessary.

Brew Time

The brew time varies based on the brewing method, the brew time will be quicker when the grind is finer, and slower for courser grinds. For example; an espresso shot will brew in approximately 30 seconds whereas a percolator can take 20+ minutes.

Our standard commercial drip brewers should take very close to 4 minutes to properly brew the coffee. A major variation in the brew time will result in improper extraction.

Coffee Cupping

Coffee cupping is referred to as the formal method of tasting and analyzing different aspects of a particular coffee bean, roast or blend.  A complete description of the process and what we are analyzing throughout can be found on our coffee cupping instructions page