Coffee brewing
In years passed, coffee drinkers didn't know how coffee was produced or brewed. Coffee was cheap, tasted bitter, and was purposed for medicine or fuel. But over the decades, coffee has been elevated to craft level.
Filter or drip coffee can taste smooth and sweet like chocolate or taste fruity. The expansion of flavours is partly due to new roasting techniques. Roasting at relatively low temperatures for a shorter time tends to bring out the flavours of the bean itself and where it was grown.
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High-quality coffee is more expensive, and spending a bit more means your coffee is more likely to be ethically produced.
Coffee producers have historically been exploited, and even fair trade prices are not always enough. Where possible, buy your coffee from roasters who purchase their beans ethically.
- Coffee stays fresh only for a limited time. The person making it must know how to brew it properly.
- Even the best beans brewed the wrong way can produce a bad cup of coffee.
- To enjoy coffee, look for places with lots of information about their coffee displayed, and/or staff who can answer your questions about the coffee.
- To brew at home, you're best off learning how to brew well by hand, using a kettle to boil water and one of the dozens of manual coffee devices available on the market.
Freshly boiled water acts as a solvent to the coffee molecules. The molecules that contribute to the acidity and sweetness tend to extract more quickly than those that contribute to bitterness.
An under-extracted cup that wasn't brewed long enough makes the coffee taste too sour. An over-extracted cup makes the coffee taste overly astringent. The correct timing depends on your device and coffee you're using. The size of your grounds also influences the timing. For beginners, the classic French press is recommended, using very course grounds and brewing for eight minutes. Medium to medium-fine grounds works best for pour-over devices.
Milk and sugar are often added to coffee to balance the bitterness of flavours. With the right high-quality coffee, you may not need these extras.
The more coffee you use, the stronger your cup will be. A ratio of between 1:15 (1 gramme of coffee to 15 grammes of water) and 1:17 is good to start with. Then experiment to discover what you like best.
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Not all coffee is brewed in the same way. Different brewing styles can cause changes in the flavor and strength of the drink. Here are just a few brewing styles that you may incorporate in your shop:
- Drip Brew: Ground coffee is added to a brew basket and placed in an automatic coffee machine for this brewing style. Gravity is used to pass water through the grounds, resulting in a traditional cup of coffee.
- Pour Over: This brewing style is achieved by pouring boiling water slowly through coffee grounds as they sit in a filter basket. The coffee then drips into a single cup, resulting in a potent brew.
- In Europe, iced coffee is more like a Frappuccino - a coffee milkshake with whipped cream, chocolate syrup, and crushed ice.
- The Japanese method involves brewing hot coffee and pouring it over ice, drawing out its fruity tastes.
- Cold brewing consists of mixing coffee grounds and water and letting it sit in the fridge for at least 12 hours. It is more caffeinated and has a nutty, chocolatey, and less acidic flavour.
Coffee is worldwide famous for its flavor, smell and energetic effect. According to experts, however, the real coffee has only one flavor, without any added cream or sugar and, above all, without be reheated in the microwave.
On the other hand, farmers, roasters and so on will invite you in the universe of various flavors, that could make anybody fall in love with at least one coffee kind.