This is one of the most common questions I heard during my years at Starbucks. Whether making a coffee at the Bar, taking orders at the POS or while clearing tables, even during those Coffee seminars and Coffee workshops. This very query turns up almost every time, in fact, not just me, my colleagues used to hear the same from guests, and to ensure a flawless sipping experience. We always had the answer saved in our heads. The query was somewhat like this…
“I buy the same beans you use. I have a branded machine at home. But why does my first sip of coffee never taste as ‘alive’ as the one you just handed me?”
To clear the air, the truth is that the “magic” of a cup of Coffee brewed by a professional at a cafe isn’t magic at all. It is a disciplined war against variables. In the industry, we call this “Dialling In,” and it relies on four fundamental pillars that most home brewers overlook.
Four Fundamentals Of Brewing
The Proportion (Ratio)
A proportion or ratio is a major fundamental of coffee. The ideal ratio of Coffee to water is marked at 1:18, which suggests using 1 gram of coffee for every 18 grams of water. Why is it important? Because coffee extraction is a Chemical process, if you use too much water, over-extraction occurs, and the woody, bitter fibres of the beans will be lost. Similarly, adding less amount of water results in under-extraction and the sweet sugar will stick to the beans, making your coffee dull and salty.
The Grind
The brewing method has a significant impact on the grind of the coffee. Use a “coarse grind” if you’re using a French press; always use a medium grind for flat-bottom drip. For the cone method, use a fine grind; for espresso, use an even finer grind. The grind actually determines how much surface area the water touches, and how long coffee and water are in contact, and how much flavour is extracted from the bean. The coffee will taste watery if the grind is too coarse, and bitter if the grind is too fine. and it is very important to grind the beans just before you start brewing.
Water
Before we begin, it must be noted that coffee is 98-99% of water. make no mistake quality of water directly impact the quality of your coffee. Use filtered or boiled water and avoid water that tastes and smells like chlorine and iron, and tap water which contains minerals like calcium which can make the coffee taste dull. In a cafe, the equipment is calibrated to achieve a specific “TDS” (Total Dissolved Solids) count. After stripping the water, those machines make sure it contains precisely the right amount of calcium and magnesium to “grab” the flavour oils from the coffee during extraction.
Freshness
Freshness is the fourth fundamental of coffee. To maintain the freshness of your coffee, store coffee in an air-tight opaque container at room temperature. Finish using the coffee within a week of opening the packet. Coffee should be kept away from oxygen, moisture, heat and light. Never store coffee in your refrigerator or freezer because every time you open the container, moisture inside the refrigerator will condense on the coffee, damaging its flavour. Coffee has a very fragile flavour, and it is not ideal to keep coffee on a burner for more than 20 minutes to keep the flavours intact. And avoid reheating coffee.
Just a little something extra for you
The 90.5°C Rule for Thermal Stability
- Temperature is the catalyst for the entire
- extraction process. Most home kettles boil water to 100°C.
- Pouring boiling water directly onto coffee grounds “scalds” the delicate oils, resulting in that burnt, ashy taste people often associate with “strong” coffee.
- Professional espresso machines and brewers are set to a precise range—usually between 90.5°C and 96°C.
- High-end machines use a PID controller [PID – Proportional Integral Derivative] to ensure the temperature doesn’t fluctuate by even half a degree. But the home machines likely lose heat the moment the water travels from the tank to the filter, leading to an uneven, “thin” brew.
The “Human Touch” in the Machine
Beyond the chemistry and the physics, one must not overlook the Steps of Service and forget the fact that “coffee is a living product”.The moment a bean is ground, it begins to oxidise, and if a shot of espresso is kept simply for 15-16 seconds without adding water or milk, the crema[foamy layer on top of a freshly brewed espresso] breaks down, and the flavour becomes bitter. No matter how good the beans are, this is why we say the speed of a barista is as important as the quality of beans.