1. Use filtered tap water or bottled water (more)
The first rule to take note of is the 20:1 rule. i.e. Use twenty parts water to one part coffee. From this it is obvious that the water used is rather important. The water that comes from the faucet (tap) in your kitchen is, in most cases, perfectly suitable. It is clean and free from impurities and bacteria. Unless it is particularly “hard” or strongly flavored, it can be used for coffee making. However, the purification process used by all municipal water treatment plants includes chlorination. The small amount of chlorine remaining in the water ensures its safety and is normally tasteless. However, coffee does not tolerate the presence of chlorine, and using municipal water will lead to a bitter flavor. You can avoid this problem by filtering the water from your kitchen supply using a filter containing active charcoal. The charcoal removes the traces of chlorine, providing much improved coffee flavor. If your municipal supply is very “hard” or strongly flavored, then use bottled water. back
2. Temperature – use water between 195 and 205 deg f. (more)
The next most important factor is the temperature of the water used. So-called experts differ on exactly what the temperature ought to be, but all say it should be above 190 deg f (85 deg Celsius) and that the water should not have boiled. Freshly drawn water contains dissolved oxygen, and boiling causes the oxygen to “fizz” away. The oxygen is alleged to impart a “fresh” taste to the coffee. Personally, I think this is an urban myth. The high temperature is needed to ensure the correct extraction of the various flavour elements (oils) contained in the ground beans. Various chemical reactions occur in water at those temperatures which result in the characteristic “acidic” highlights in the flavour of the brewed coffee. These don't happen at lower temperatures, and coffee brewed at lower temperatures tastes “flat”
Many are the customers who enjoy the coffee at Espresso Paulo, but are disappointed when they take the same coffee home and brew it with their domestic drip coffee maker. Many (perhaps most) domestic coffee makers just do not reach a high enough temperature (190+) to properly brew the coffee. This temperature needs to be achieved from the first splash of water going onto the coffee, not just at the end of the brewing cycle. Most commercial coffee brewers in the United States use Bunn drip coffee makers, which meet this standard. Unfortunately, they take about 20 minutes to warm up, so don't meet most peoples need for an instant first fix in the morning. The literature describing drip coffee makers is reticent about the brewing temperature achieved, so it is difficult for me to make a recommendation. Back
3. Quantity – use one ounce (28 grams) per 20 ounce (550 ml.) water.
The second factor in this disappointment with home brewing is the amount of coffee used. As stated at the head of this article, the ratio should be about 20:1. One ounce(30 gm.) of coffee for 20 ounces (550 ml.) of water (enough for two medium sized mugs). Should you use significantly less than this amount of coffee, then over extraction occurs, and bitter flavors are extracted (the less bitter flavors and oils are extracted first). If you find that the strength of flavor from this ratio is too strong for you, add hot water or milk to the brewed coffee until it satisfies your taste. Do not reduce the amount of coffee used in the brew. If you must use volume measures, then one, level, tablespoon approximates to 7 gram (quarter oz.). back
4. Grind – coarse for French Press, medium to fine for drip filter, very fine for espresso machines
The next important factor is the length of time the 190+ water is in contact with the coffee, coupled with the fineness of grind of the coffee. The finer the grind, the less time it needs to be in contact with the water to obtain a satisfactory brew. The extremely fine grind of espresso made coffee is only in contact with the water for 15 or so seconds to achieve the sweet, rich flavor for which it is famous. In many drip coffee makers, the contact time is between one and two minutes, so a fairly fine grind is needed. French press coffee makers usually keep the contact time to four or five minutes as a fairly coarse grind is used. back
5. Coffee – use freshly roasted, high quality coffee from a local roaster. Grind immediately before use.(more)
The other major factor in successful coffee brewing is the quality and treatment of the coffee used. Freshness is a very important factor. Ideally, you would grind the beans still hot from the roaster and immediately brew your coffee. As this is not practical for most of us, it becomes important to make sure that the roasted beans you buy came from the roaster recently. Espresso Paulo gets its coffee from a local roaster 20 miles down the road, and I can be sure that the coffee delivered on a Friday was roasted in the same week. I make sure that it is sold or used within two weeks of delivery. Many large scale commercial coffees which are to be found on supermarket shelves have “shelf lives” of several months. Note especially that the inferior supermarket coffees are sold for prices the same or higher than those of specialist, local roasters. Don't be fooled.
Roasted beans, whole or ground, don't like air or light, and especially don't like moisture. They should be stored in containers with airtight lids. The folded down top of the foil package in which you bought the coffee is inadequate for this purpose. Transfer the coffee to a storage container with an airtight lid (e.g. Tupperware ®.) . Keep in a dry, cool place. Do not use a freezer to store your ready use coffee. When the container is removed from the cold storage and opened, the first thing that will happen is that moisture in the air will immediately condense on the cold beans or grounds. Dampness is an even bigger enemy of coffee flavor than air. You may keep coffee in sealed containers in a freezer for long term storage, but you must allow it to warm up to room temperature before opening.
Ideally, you should measure the beans to used in a brew and grind them immediately before brewing. Blade grinders are better than nothing, but give large variations in ground size, which make successful brewing a hit or miss affair. Burr grinders are far superior. Ignore the timers or volume markers which indicate “x cups” . They are useless. The same is true of the “cup” measures on the sides of drip brew carafes and French presses. There is no consistency in the “cup” size used between different makers and can be anything from three to six fluid ounces (100 ml. To 175 ml.). If you use favorite mugs, determine the volume accurately, and then measure the appropriate volume of water and use with the corresponding correct weight of coffee Back
6. Serve immediately
Finally, serve and drink the coffee as soon as it is made. Do not, under any circumstances leave it on a hot plate to keep warm. Heating the brewed coffee for any length of time will cause it to deteriorate. You may keep it in a vacuum carafe or flask without significant deterioration, as no heat is being applied to the coffee. Reheating cold coffee in a microwave oven is the act of a desperate person
The best way to ensure that all the above conditions are met when making your “cup” of coffee. Use a simple filter holder and vacuum carafe. Measure the roasted beans to be used, grind them and place in the filter. Bring a boiling kettle to the filter and pour over sufficient hot water for the quantity of coffee to be made. Alternatively, use a French press, another method in which all of the important conditions can be controlled. Back
7. Decaffeinated coffee – use “Swiss water process” treated coffee
Contrary to popular belief, it is possible to have a decent cup of decaffeinated coffee. So if your medical condition bans caffeine, do not despair. A few rules do need to be observed. Decaffienation is a fairly expensive process, so expect decaf. coffee beans to be about 20% more expensive than regular. If you see decaffeinated coffee at the same price as the corresponding regular, then the processor must be using inferior coffee (or losing a lot of money). Some chemical processes used to decaffeinate coffee give an unpleasant flavor to the coffee. They may also leave traces of the chemical used which may not be a good thing. Better decaf. coffees use the Swiss water process, which avoids the use of chemicals to extract the caffeine from the raw coffee. The process is fairly simple. First the beans are soaked in water, which dissolves the caffeine, plus all of the oils and substances which provide the coffee flavor. The brew made is very strong (saturated). The dissolved coffee brew is separated from the beans by filtration, and the exhausted beans discarded. The caffeine is then removed from the saturated brew. This saturated, decaf. coffee brew is then used on a fresh batch of beans. As it is a saturated coffee brew, no coffee flavors are extracted from the beans. However, the caffeine is extracted. The beans are removed from the brew and allowed to dry. These have no caffeine, but the coffee flavor elements are largely intact. Back
8. Iced coffee – Cold brew for the best tasting iced coffee
One might think that the best way to make iced coffee would be to repeat the brewing process already described, allow the coffee to cool, and then serve over ice. An improvement could be made by taking some of the cooled coffee and using it to make the ice cubes, so that the iced coffee would not become diluted and lose flavor as the ice melts. Most coffee shops use this process, or something very similar, although only the premium, specialist shops will go to the trouble (and expense) of making frozen coffee cubes. At Espresso Paulo we do something completely different. We break the cardinal rule outlined above in the “how to make a good cup of coffee” segment. We use water below the regulation 190 deg. F (85 deg C) . Well below. We use cold water. This makes a completely different type of drink compared to the hot brewed coffee. Take 1 pound (455 gm.) of coffee (we use 25% French roast/75% medium roast house blend) grind coarsely (percolator or French press grind). Place in a clean container with half a gallon (64 oz./ 2 litres) of cold water. Leave 10 – 15 minutes for the floating grounds to become saturated, then stir to sink. Cap the container and place in the refrigerator for a minimum of 12 hours. Filter the resulting brew into a clean container . This gives a concentrate which needs to be diluted with water before serving. The easiest way to do this is to make the filtered brew up to 1 gallon (4 litres) with cold water and place in the refrigerator until needed. Serve over really cold ice (we keep our freezer at 0 deg f. (-15 deg C) ) . It is so delicious, that it will have been drunk before the ice has chance to melt. The resultant drink definitely tastes of coffee, but with distinctly different characteristics to the hot brewed coffee. Our customers are quite taken with the flavor, and new customers express amazement at its “smoothness” and “richness”. Much of the smoothness comes from the fact that the low temperature extraction leads to many of the flavor oils not being hydrolysed and forming acids. So the flavor is extracted, but the acidic nature of hot coffee is avoided. For those who need to avoid ingesting acids, this provides a means by which coffee may be drunk without fear of indigestion. At the store, we steam heat it and add cream or milk for a low acid hot coffee drink, for which a number of patrons are grateful. Back