Brewing Tips
Brewing great tasting coffee takes time.
There are so many cool ways to brew coffee. It's easy once you find your favourite recipe and method. And it's so fun and therapeutic at the same time!
Top points to remember:
- Always use freshly ground coffee.
- Taste your water when hot, it should taste clean and without taints. Coffee is at least 98% water, tasty water produces tasty coffee!
- Choose the right grind size for the brewing method. Too coarse or too fine ground coffee won't produce balance in the cup.
- Have a recipe and stick to it. As a reference, use 60 grams of ground coffee per litre of water.
- Brewing tasty coffee takes a few minutes and it doesn't happen in an instant!
French Press
The French Press or plunger is a type of immersion brewing method where ground coffee is fully immersed in hot water for a set amount of time. Always pre-heat your plunger with hot water before brewing.
Recipe: 60 grams of ground coffee per litre of water
Method: Pre-heat the plunger with hot water. Place the ground coffee in the plunger. Pour in the water (94C, not boiling), stir for 15 seconds, then place the mesh filter on top. Brew the coffee for 4 minutes then plunge the filter down. Serve the coffee in pre-heated cups.
Pour Over (V60, Brewista, Chemex and other cone or flat bed drippers)
Pour over methods have gained popularity over the recent years. There are endless coffee devices to choose from depending on your aesthetic preferences and particular brewing style. These devices usually differ in material (ceramic, wood, glass, plastic), capacity (1 to 6 cups), filtration media (paper, metal, cloth, even stone filters) and design. The brewing method however is similar in all pour over devices, flow of water and therefore extraction of coffee could vary quite a bit depending on the device and the brewer's technique.
Recipe: 40 grams of coffee per 480 ml water
Method: Place the filter paper in the brewing device then pour hot water in to wash the paper, pre-heat the device and vessel. Discard the water. Place the ground coffee in the filter, level it off by giving it a shake then pour in some water to wet and bloom the coffee. Blooming helps prepare the coffee bed for an even extraction, use 80 grams of water to bloom 40 grams of coffee for 40 seconds. After blooming, pour in the hot water (94C) in a circular motion to fill the device, let the coffee drip then fill the device as you go until all of the water has been poured in. Brewing time should be at least 2.5 minutes, up to 4 minutes. Keeping your water pour rate and grind size the same every time you brew will keep brew time consistent. Serve the coffee in pre-heated cups. Tip: If the coffee is too intense for your liking, add a bit more hot water to dilute coffee. If the coffee is too weak, use 440 ml water next time instead of 480 ml.
AeroPress
AeroPress is a super fun brewing method and there are actually AeroPress competitions around the world held every year! Read more about the AeroPress at www.aeropress.com/
Recipe: 20 grams of ground coffee per 200 ml water
Method: Pre-heat your coffee server or cup. Fit the filter paper in your AeroPress. Place the ground coffee inside and pour in hot water (85C). Stir the coffee for 10 seconds, brew for 1 minute then press down for 30 seconds. Easy and so tasty! Tip: If the coffee is too intense, "bypass" or add more hot water to your coffee.