6 ESSENTIALS OF BREWING COFFEE

Artist

What compels people to wake up early, leave the comforts of their home and spend an extra few dollars on a cup of joe?

Great coffee, prepared with the right amount of care and attention, of course!

Coffee brewing is a delicate science, and your skill in controlling the variables that effect the flavor of your brew will ultimately define your coffee shop!

This booklet reviews these variables, which we call the six essentials of brewing coffee:

The 6 Essentials of Brewing were originally constructed by Ted Lingle in collaboration with the Specialty Coffee Association of America.

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Correct coffee-to-water ratio

Proper equipment operation

Proper brew method

The right grind

Correct filter

Quality water

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TIP: Roasters develop brewing recommendations for coffee-to-water ratios for individual coffees based on a variety of factors. You should ask your roaster to provide this ratio for each coffee you serve. Gold Cup brewing standards are used as a baseline and common starting point for these discussions.

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1 Correct Coffee-to-Water Ratio

The brewing process hinges on the amount of coffee and water you begin with. Consider the way ingredient levels effect flavor when baking or cooking. Ingredients must be measured precisely, and too much deviation from the acceptable range will result in a poor product. Stockton Graham & Co. starts with the SCAA Gold Cup Standard for coffee-to-water ratio:

WATER64oz or 1.9L

COFFEE3.3-4.3oz

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TIP: Maintenance is crucial for optimal equipment performance. Start by having a regular, documented inspection and maintenance protocol. If your equipment is older, check to make sure it meets industry specifications to achieve the best brew possible.

2 Proper Equipment Operation

There are three aspects of operating your equipment that can signficantly impact the taste of your brew:

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1 Time

Temperature

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Water dissolves and extracts the chemical compounds from ground coffee at different rates, and the mixture of soluble particles changes continuously. Adjust the brewing time for optimal results for your particular coffee, grind and equipment.

While brewing coffee, water temperature should remain between 195-205F.

Water should make contact with all of the grounds in your filter. If the grounds do not receive some sort of displacement by either the water or another method, then you may end up with clumps of dry grounds at the end of your brew cycle.

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3 Proper Brew Method

People are constantly looking for new and interesting ways to brew coffee, and various brew methods can often produce completely different flavor profiles for the same coffee. When you brew coffee using a traditional auto-drip machine, it will taste more mild than the same coffee brewed in a French Press.

Finding the optimum brew method for the coffees you serve can give you a huge advantage over competing coffee shops. This is where experience and experimentation can drive your store’s reputation and sales. Customers tend to recognize quality and expertise because it doesn’t always exist in the big chain retailers.

TIP: There are no rules for selecting the best brewing method for a particular coffee. Most cafés brew using drip filtration, which is fast and dependable. If you have the right customers, single-cup offerings such as Hario V60 pourovers could be an option. Analyze your customers before making this leap. If a majority of your customers are “grab-and-go,” then lingering at your store for a pourover brew probably isn’t going to work.

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The Right Grind

Consider coffee grinding as the creation of surface area. Cutting one whole bean once down the center gains two new surfaces and about 25% more total surface area. More surface area provides more opportunities for water to interact with coffee during the brewing process.

With that in mind, it is important to use the proper grind for the brew method. Longer brew cycles like drip coffee require larger, or coarser, particles to ensure that over-extraction does not occur. Short brew cycles like espresso preparation require smaller, or finer, particles in order to provide a sufficient amount of dissolved coffee particles in the brew.

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TIP: Grinding is often the most overlooked component of preparing coffee. Any number of variables could go wrong – the grind setting is too coarse, the burrs in the grinder haven’t been properly cleaned or the beans become sticky in a humid environment. Luckily, these problems can be remedied with minimal effort through proper preventative maintenance, general coffee knowledge and experience. Let us know how we can help.

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TIP: When choosing the right coffee filter, look for a high-quality paper-based filter that is the correct size for your brewer. Also, ensure that the depth of the coffee in the filter is between one and two inches before brewing. A level bed of coffee will encourage proper extraction and prevent machine overflow.

Correct Filter

The filter’s role is to introduce water to the coffee grounds without allowing the grounds to end up in your cup. Certain filter materials allow smaller particles to pass through where others do not, so ultimately your filter will affect the body of your brew.

For example, the wire filters on a French Press will allow some sediment to pass through to your cup. But high quality cone filters will trap that sediment, resulting in a cleaner tasting cup of coffee. The quality and type of the filter you choose is important. Talk to us about your brew methods, and we

can recommend quality filters that will enable you to brew coffee to your tastes and your

store’s unique specifications.

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TIP: Some water filters are designed for different purposes, so the best way to determine how long your filter will last is to refer to the manufacturer. Additionally, filters that are ignored for long periods of time can adversely affect the quality of the water they are filtering.

Water Quality

Since a cup of coffee is made up of 97% water, your coffee’s quality depends on the quality of water that you use. If your water contains impurities, it will affect the extraction, and therefore the flavor of the coffee. Properly treating your water is especially important in areas where the hardness or softness of the water is an issue. Even once the water reaches your brewer, it is not too late to improve its quality! With the right filtration, even water with a high percentage of contaminants can be remedied to improve the coffee soluble extraction.

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blending the art and business of coffee

stocktongraham.com800 835 5943

Member Since 1994

Blending the art and business of coffee

Stockton Graham & Co. is a craft coffee roaster and wholesale speciality beverage distributor based in Raleigh, NC. From the art of sourcing, roasting and brewing exceptional coffees to the business of menu planning, beverage pricing and building sales, we are dedicated to supporting your success.