On Becoming a Coffee Snob
I think most people who know me would recognize and acknowledge than when I get interested in something I go through a phase of intense interest in the topic. Seeking out as much information as I can (in a short period of time).
And that is what leads me to coffee today.
While on vacation my wife bought some coffee for her sister, only to realize after opening the bag that she had bought beans instead of grounds. With no coffee grinder in sight, we set about seeking other relatives. But, to no avail. No one owned a grinder.
I was not disappointed however. With no one else owning one, we kept the beans and thus I had a reason to buy a grinder. And did so. It arrived yesterday. And I discovered just how poor the quality of the information available to the average consumer is.
So what have I learned? Not a whole lot. Buy a burr grinder and not a blade one otherwise you might as well stick with pre-ground coffee. And... you should probably do so anyway!
Well, that last part is kind of joking. But, with an ounce of truth. Namely, if you're not up for a lot of experimentation, then you may want to run back to the comforts of what you already know.
As for the burr grinder, many articles echoed the same thing. There isn't anything inherently wrong with store bought ground coffee. And, if you can't get a consistent grind without applying too much heat (hence the need for a burr grinder), then your coffee will likely taste worse than the pre-ground stuff anyway. It was actually refreshing. Experienced people, by the bucket load all saying the same things and those things being largely practical.
Basically, freshly ground beans from a decent grinder will deliver a more aromatic and more complex flavor. But, conceding that it is better to stick to grounds if you can't sort out the grinder or don't want to deal with freshly grinding each time.
This advice however is only one part of the equation. The next questions come down to how fine to grind and how much to use. There are general guidelines, but every coffee maker and every coffee drinker is different. On top of that, it isn't always inherently obvious how to adjust for your tastes.
Yesterday, when we got the grinder I switched it to the default recommended grind for drip coffee makers and proceeded to grind up a bunch of beans. I was a little too lazy to grab my usual coffee measuring device and tried to eyeball it. The coffee came out incredibly weak tasting (bland, not bitter). But, both my wife and felt super jittery. So, by one measure the coffee was absurdly strong, and by another absurdly weak.
What do we do? More ground or less? Finer or coarser?
Well, with a bit of research I *think* I discovered what happened. The coffee felt strong, because it was. But, the coffee tasted bland because it was under extracted. In short, bitter coffee doesn't mean strong coffee. Bitterness is a result of how thoroughly all of the compounds have been extracted from the coffee. But, it seems like the caffeine must be easier to extract than the compounds that make it bitter. And thus, using too much of the grounds will produce something that tastes weak but leaves you feeling like your heart will explode.
Prior to this, I always thought bitterness and strength were more directly related.
So, my gut theory, upon initial taste (before the caffeine hit me) was that next time I needed to add more grounds. But, that could have actually made things worse. Potentially making it both more caffeinated and less flavorful.
After reading a bit, my second thought was; finer grind. That would have potentially addressed the flavor. But, would have done nothing for the intensity of the caffeine. In fact, again, it could have even made it stronger.
The answer I tried today, which worked was; less grounds. With the water filtering through fewer grounds, they get a more complete extraction which brings up the bitterness and other flavors while bringing down the net amount of grounds to extract caffeine from.
It makes sense when you understand what is going on. But, laughs in your face when you don't. And to make matters worse, there are points beyond which all of this falls apart as well.
For instance, if I reduce the amount of grounds far enough, we'll reach a maximum level of extraction and the water will simply start diluting the water. So, where I needed to reduce the grounds to get more bitterness today, if I reduced them too much, it would start getting less bitter again.
And none of this even touches on how heat affects extraction.
The beer maker in me thinks this all makes perfect sense now. But, the beer maker in me also fears that even all of this is far too simplistic a way to look at it. Different temperatures and different rates of soaking the grounds may (as is the case in mashing) result different compounds being extracted at different rates and affecting the final flavor. Likewise, the rate the water pours over the grounds and leaves the filter may impact chemical reactions.
I haven't read anything thus far which would indicate that these are serious factors. But then... it sounds like the other factors already focused on are hotly debated enough to keep a sane person busy for years.
Anyway the conclusion I hit was this. Most advice on how to adjust your brew focuses on one factor like the bitterness or caffeine content, but then suggest changes which affect multiple factors. For instance, if I like how bold my coffee was, but wished it packed more of a kick; the sites I read would recommend adding more grounds, grinding finer or increase the temperature. All of these have the potential to draw more caffeine into the final product. But, they will also all change the flavor profile as well.
Rather, you likely need to experiment with 2 or more changes. Such as a finer grind and more of it. Or more grounds and a higher temperature. Or some mix of the above.
For me, my wife and I enjoyed the flavor of today's cup. But, I didn't reduce the grounds by much compared to yesterday, so, I'd kind of like to reduce the strength further, while keeping the flavor in the same ballpark. I'm thinking I'll go with fewer, coarser grounds. Using fewer grounds will definitely reduce the maximum amount of caffeine that can be extracted. And, using a courser grind will offset to some degree the increased extraction rates caused by reducing the amount of grounds.
As for overall recommendations. I may be a convert. If I can get this down to an art, I can grind just the amount of beans I need for the volume of coffee I'm brewing with the coarseness adjusted to give the flavor and strength I want.
It won't make a single bag of beans infinitely flexible. But, it certainly makes it more flexible than a single tin of pre-ground coffee.
And that is what leads me to coffee today.
While on vacation my wife bought some coffee for her sister, only to realize after opening the bag that she had bought beans instead of grounds. With no coffee grinder in sight, we set about seeking other relatives. But, to no avail. No one owned a grinder.
I was not disappointed however. With no one else owning one, we kept the beans and thus I had a reason to buy a grinder. And did so. It arrived yesterday. And I discovered just how poor the quality of the information available to the average consumer is.
So what have I learned? Not a whole lot. Buy a burr grinder and not a blade one otherwise you might as well stick with pre-ground coffee. And... you should probably do so anyway!
Well, that last part is kind of joking. But, with an ounce of truth. Namely, if you're not up for a lot of experimentation, then you may want to run back to the comforts of what you already know.
As for the burr grinder, many articles echoed the same thing. There isn't anything inherently wrong with store bought ground coffee. And, if you can't get a consistent grind without applying too much heat (hence the need for a burr grinder), then your coffee will likely taste worse than the pre-ground stuff anyway. It was actually refreshing. Experienced people, by the bucket load all saying the same things and those things being largely practical.
Basically, freshly ground beans from a decent grinder will deliver a more aromatic and more complex flavor. But, conceding that it is better to stick to grounds if you can't sort out the grinder or don't want to deal with freshly grinding each time.
This advice however is only one part of the equation. The next questions come down to how fine to grind and how much to use. There are general guidelines, but every coffee maker and every coffee drinker is different. On top of that, it isn't always inherently obvious how to adjust for your tastes.
Yesterday, when we got the grinder I switched it to the default recommended grind for drip coffee makers and proceeded to grind up a bunch of beans. I was a little too lazy to grab my usual coffee measuring device and tried to eyeball it. The coffee came out incredibly weak tasting (bland, not bitter). But, both my wife and felt super jittery. So, by one measure the coffee was absurdly strong, and by another absurdly weak.
What do we do? More ground or less? Finer or coarser?
Well, with a bit of research I *think* I discovered what happened. The coffee felt strong, because it was. But, the coffee tasted bland because it was under extracted. In short, bitter coffee doesn't mean strong coffee. Bitterness is a result of how thoroughly all of the compounds have been extracted from the coffee. But, it seems like the caffeine must be easier to extract than the compounds that make it bitter. And thus, using too much of the grounds will produce something that tastes weak but leaves you feeling like your heart will explode.
Prior to this, I always thought bitterness and strength were more directly related.
So, my gut theory, upon initial taste (before the caffeine hit me) was that next time I needed to add more grounds. But, that could have actually made things worse. Potentially making it both more caffeinated and less flavorful.
After reading a bit, my second thought was; finer grind. That would have potentially addressed the flavor. But, would have done nothing for the intensity of the caffeine. In fact, again, it could have even made it stronger.
The answer I tried today, which worked was; less grounds. With the water filtering through fewer grounds, they get a more complete extraction which brings up the bitterness and other flavors while bringing down the net amount of grounds to extract caffeine from.
It makes sense when you understand what is going on. But, laughs in your face when you don't. And to make matters worse, there are points beyond which all of this falls apart as well.
For instance, if I reduce the amount of grounds far enough, we'll reach a maximum level of extraction and the water will simply start diluting the water. So, where I needed to reduce the grounds to get more bitterness today, if I reduced them too much, it would start getting less bitter again.
And none of this even touches on how heat affects extraction.
The beer maker in me thinks this all makes perfect sense now. But, the beer maker in me also fears that even all of this is far too simplistic a way to look at it. Different temperatures and different rates of soaking the grounds may (as is the case in mashing) result different compounds being extracted at different rates and affecting the final flavor. Likewise, the rate the water pours over the grounds and leaves the filter may impact chemical reactions.
I haven't read anything thus far which would indicate that these are serious factors. But then... it sounds like the other factors already focused on are hotly debated enough to keep a sane person busy for years.
Anyway the conclusion I hit was this. Most advice on how to adjust your brew focuses on one factor like the bitterness or caffeine content, but then suggest changes which affect multiple factors. For instance, if I like how bold my coffee was, but wished it packed more of a kick; the sites I read would recommend adding more grounds, grinding finer or increase the temperature. All of these have the potential to draw more caffeine into the final product. But, they will also all change the flavor profile as well.
Rather, you likely need to experiment with 2 or more changes. Such as a finer grind and more of it. Or more grounds and a higher temperature. Or some mix of the above.
For me, my wife and I enjoyed the flavor of today's cup. But, I didn't reduce the grounds by much compared to yesterday, so, I'd kind of like to reduce the strength further, while keeping the flavor in the same ballpark. I'm thinking I'll go with fewer, coarser grounds. Using fewer grounds will definitely reduce the maximum amount of caffeine that can be extracted. And, using a courser grind will offset to some degree the increased extraction rates caused by reducing the amount of grounds.
As for overall recommendations. I may be a convert. If I can get this down to an art, I can grind just the amount of beans I need for the volume of coffee I'm brewing with the coarseness adjusted to give the flavor and strength I want.
It won't make a single bag of beans infinitely flexible. But, it certainly makes it more flexible than a single tin of pre-ground coffee.
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