Coffee extraction tips

Your perfect cup of coffee is the goal, so tweak parameters until your reach it !

Try things, and most importantly : have fun !

hario V60, filter coffee, pour-over

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.
Filter coffee

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.