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