On its path to the consumer, coffee is treated with the greatest
care by the hundreds of people who ensure that the end-user gets the
best possible product. When a cup of coffee is not good, as is often
the case, the problem is usually in the brewing.
Making a good cup
of coffee is not difficult. Brewing is simply a way of keeping
coffee in contact with water long enough for the good flavors to
pass out of the coffee and into the water. Each method of brewing
will take into account three factors - coffee, water and time - and
strike the right balance between them. In some cases the machine
will practically think for itself; with other methods it helps if
the person brewing the coffee understands a few basic principles.
The variable water factors are the amount of water, its condition
and its temperature. The variable coffee factors include the amount
of coffee and its surface area - which is, of course, the degree of
grind.
If the coffee liquid turns out to be weak and insipid, it is
under-extracted and may be the result of too short a contact of
coffee and water. It may also be because the water was not hot
enough, or because the coffee was too coarsely ground for the method
of brewing, or because there was too little coffee for too much
water. In this cases, the coffee liquid may be both weak and bitter,
in which case the coffee was over-extracted, as the water was able
to penetrate it and take out too many flavor compounds; the final
thing the coffee grounds surrender to the brew is bitterness.
On the other hand, if the coffee liquid is too strong and
possibly over-extracted and may be the result of too long a contact
of coffee and water. It may also be because the water was too hot,
or because the coffee was too finely ground for the selected method
of brewing, or because there was too much coffee for too little
water.
Coffee strength is a matter of personal taste. For all the
brewing methods given below, except for Turkish and espresso, a good
ratio of coffee to water is 55 to 60 grams of dry coffee per liter
of water, or 4.5 to 5 rounded tablespoons of coffee per pint of
water.
