The secrets about coffee brewing

When hot water comes into contact with ground coffee, the aroma, flavour and colour constituents are released. Just how many of these components finally end up in the cup is determined by the grind size, water quality and quantity and brewing temperature, as well as the length of time the water is in contact with the ground coffee (brewing time). Very simply, fine ground coffee, a high temperature and a longer brewing time result in more of the components being dissolved and released. If too much of the content is removed in this way, the coffee tastes strong and negative bitter. Grind size, contact time and temperature should on one hand allow extraction of many of the water soluble components, but on the other hand prevent extraction of negative bitter components.

Centuries of coffee brewing

It is therefore hardly surprising that the search for optimal quality in coffee as a beverage gave rise, especially in the 18th and 19th centuries, to the development of a whole host of infusion methods, most of which have since disappeared. Many of these methods served to prepare the ground for today’s brewing methods. The idea of boiling the ground roasted coffee in water comes from Arabia.

The principles of brewing great coffee

The principles of brewing great coffee are always the same, no matter which
type of equipment you use:

• Always make sure your coffee maker is clean
• Use fresh water to brew the coffee
• Rinse the coffee pot well before you start
• Use fresh coffee. After opening the packet, keep the coffee in a tightly-sealed container
• Buy the correct grind for your machine
• Use the same amount of coffee each time, in order to gain as consistent a flavour as possible
• Make sure the coffee is evenly distributed within the filter bag
• The best drip filter and French press coffee is brewed at around 96 degrees Celsius. Moka express and Espresso coffee is ideally brewed at 90  degrees Celsius. The ideal temperature to serve it at is around 80 to 85 degrees Celsius.
• Coffee is at its most delicious directly after being brewed.
• For a uniform flavour, the coffee in the pot should be stirred before pouring.
• Do not leave coffee standing on the hot plate for too long, or the fine aromas will be lost. If you wish to keep the coffee longer, use a thermos flask.
• Remember to de-scale the coffee machine every so often. How often you need to do this depends on the hardness of the water in your area.
• Use clean crockery

My coffee grinder quite on me yesterday evening!  Problem!

Was grinding up some Mokk-a Cafe Italia to give to some friends….and it just stopped!  Really bad timing!  They did send me a note saying the coffee was verrukkelijk!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

In Dutch that means “marvelous”!!  Thanks guys!