Coffee Preparation Tips

Extraction

The general principle of coffee extraction is the same, whatever the method used (espresso, filter, cold brew...). 

To make it simple : once water enters in contact with ground coffee, flavors' extraction begins.

A well-extracted coffee is balanced between acidity, sweetness and bitterness.

 

If under-extracted, coffee will probably taste sour; if over-extracted, coffee will taste bitter.

 Here are a few simple tips to fix your coffee extraction for one given recipe. 

If your coffee tastes too sour, try to :

  • Grind finer
  • Increase the volume of water in contact with your coffee
  • Increase your water temperature
  • Increase the contact time between coffee and water
 

If your coffee tastes too bitter, try to :

  • Grind coarser
  • Reduce the volume of water in contact with your coffee
  • Decrease your water temperature
  • Decrease your contact time between coffee and water

 Ideally you should change only one parameter at a time to assess its impact.

 

 

Ratio

A coffee recipe is defined by a ratio :

  • Coffee to water for filter methods, meaning that for 1 g of coffee you use 15 g of water (1:15 ratio)
  • Coffee to espresso for espresso method, meaning that for 1 g of coffee you end up with 2 g of espresso in the cup (1:2 ratio)

 

As a general rule :

  • If you want more intense flavors, increase your ratio by putting more coffee / using less water
  • If you want a lighter coffee, decrease your ratio by putting less coffee / using more water.

 

The goal is to tweak parameters until you reach your perfect cup of coffee. Try things, and most importantly : have fun !