While I savor the delicious notes of a Geisha variety coffee, prepared in Chemex, continue with the exciting task of transmitting in this blog all our experience in this fascinating world of specialty coffee.
In the previous entry I told you about what in my opinion is the perfect cup, to conclude that the perfect cup is something subjective and personal, taking into account that, according to tradition, custom and even fashion, each person has their own definition of what that cup would be.
On this occasion I will share our 4 basic steps to prepare an exquisite cup of coffee, in this way I hope to help in the construction of your own coffee experience or your PERFECT CUP.
STEP 1. RECIPE
The recipe is something that sometimes generates controversy, but we come to understand that each person enjoys the intensity of their coffee differently. Mild (almost similar to tea), medium intensity and the traditional strong coffee, for this reason we leave you a rule that helps us find the ratio of water and coffee that we need. We recommend 16 grams (2 tablespoons) of coffee for every 200 milliliters of water. If this seems too strong to you, you can add a little hot water to the already prepared coffee.
In a simple way, the amount of water used takes out the percentage of coffee depending on the intensity you want to obtain.
Example:
WATER COFFEE (%) INTENSITY 100 ml 7% Soft
8% Medium
10% Strong
STEP 2. TEMPERATURE
As they read to us from different cities at different altitudes, the boiling point of water would be different, for this reason our recommendation regarding the ideal temperature would be: boiling temperature minus 8 degrees Celsius. If you do not have equipment to measure the temperature, you can bring the water to a boil, remove it from the heat source and wait a minute before adding it, so we will lower the temperature, allowing us to extract the best from our coffee.
STEP 3. GRINDING COARSE
The type of grinding is very important because the extraction time is estimated depending on the thickness of the ground grain.
Fine Grind: Perfect for pressure and espresso methods, it is important to keep in mind that depending on your coffee maker you must adjust the grind so that you can obtain the desired intensity.
Medium Grind: It is ideal for the large family of drip methods (Chemex, V60, Melitta, Kalita, and electric drip coffee maker).
Note: keep in mind that the thicker the grain, the slower the extraction and with finer grains we will have much faster extractions.
Coarse grind: We use it for immersion methods like the French press and when cold extraction is done like Cold Brew.
The invitation is always to practice with different types of grinding and create your own recipes.
STEP 4. EXTRACTION TIME
Depending on the extraction method, the time may change:
Pressure Methods: According to your coffee maker.
Drip Methods: Between 3 and 5 minutes.
Immersion methods: Between 4 and 6 minutes.
The 4 previous steps will help you create your own recipes and extract delicious flavors from your coffees. As I always say, making coffee is simple, we just need to like coffee and keep in mind these 4 steps that will surely help you achieve it.
Thank you for joining us on this trip and see you at our next stop.
