COFFEE BREWING AND TASTING

Coffee brewing is the final process to get your coffee into your cup. However, there is more to this last step that meets the eye. Let’s get down to business! First, there are different methods of coffee brewing. Some basic guidelines will help you get the best coffee in your cup and taste it before serving.

Methods of Coffee Brewing

There are different coffee brewing methods, and these methods differ by the amount of water introduced into the coffee.

1. Boiling (or Decoction)

Boiling coffee grounds to make coffee is probably the oldest method of coffee brewing. It is effortless to use too.

Mud Coffee

This method requires the coffee maker to place the ground coffee in a cup, pour boiling water over it, and leave to cool. The coffee grounds sink to the bottom of the container, and the supernatant drink can be decanted or filtered for consumption.

Cowboy Coffee

Here, the coffee ground is heated with the water and allow to both boils. After boiling, the grounds sink to the bottom of the cup, and the supernatant drink can be decanted or filtered for consumption.
Boiling is still used to brew coffee, especially in home and DIY preparations.

1. Percolation

This method is outdated and often referred to as the worst coffee brewing method. It is done with a percolator that usually forces boiled water over the ground coffee in a filter repeatedly. The drawback of this method is the coffee filters into the same boiling water that forced over the coffee ground. This repeated heating makes the Coffee bitter. It also alters the taste and flavor of the coffee oil.

2. Drip Filtration

The drip filtration method is unarguably the most common method of coffee brewing. It is straightforward to learn and use. It only requires a funnel-shaped filter and a filter container. The coffee ground is placed on the screen, and hot water poured over it. The water simply filters the coffee drink into the collecting vessel. This method of brewing can also be automated. Some drip filters can be preset to function too. It is an excellent, easy, and widely used coffee brewing method.

3. Steeping

Steeping is simply an advanced method for drip filtration. However, instead of pouring hot water over the coffee ground on a filter, the coffee ground is mixed with warm water and allowed to brew for a few minutes. The steeping brewer is a small cylindrical machine that has a plunger with an attached filter. Once the coffee is brewed, the plunger is pushed down, and the screen keeps the ground below the coffee drink. Steeping is associated with the standard French press.

4. Pressure Infusio

This method is for brewing the popular espresso. Espressos are made with other excellent coffee ground not often filtered out of the drink. The espresso coffeemaker infuses hot water into the packed espresso ground under pressure and allows the hot water to brew the ground for a few minutes. The pressure is used to maximize extraction. The coffee drink is served with a lot of foam.

5. Vacuum

This method is quite complicated and dramatic. A vacuum brewer that has two chambers that are separated by a filter is used. The upper chamber is filled with the coffee ground, while the lower chamber is cold water. The water is then heated and pushed through a tube into the upper chamber. Once you remove the heat source, the lower chambers cool down and create a negative vacuum that pulls the coffee drink across the filter without the grounds. The coffee is then ready for serving.

Bottom Line!

These methods have many modifications and automation variations. However, their underlying principles are the same.

To Get The Best Coffee Brew, Remember These:

1. Keep your coffee maker clean.
2. Always use fresh cold water that is free from impurities.
3. Grind your coffee just before you brew.
4. Measure your ground and use the right coffee ground to water ratio.
5. Brew at the right temperature.
6. Keep your mixture away from oxygen if you don’t intend to serve immediately. You can store your brewed coffee in air-tight containers under refrigeration.

How to test your coffee?

Knowing the taste of your brewed coffee will provide you a great sense of reference for measuring your coffee preparation skills and those of others. There are four necessary steps of coffee tasting:

Smell

Smelling helps you to describe the aroma of the coffee. There is a connection between our sense of tasting and smelling. Before you take a sip, smell the coffee. You can simply do this by placing your hand over the coffee cup and bringing it close to your nose or bypassing the coffee cup across your nose.

Slurp

Slurping the coffee will help you get a minimal amount that will spread evenly over your tongue. This uniform spread is essential to get the best taste of the coffee.

Locate

Locate taste zones of your tongue and how the coffee tastes at each point. Take note of the weight of the coffee on your tongue.

Express

Describe your experience. Remember the experience!

Add-On!
Coffee tasting is also called coffee cupping.

Final Verdict

Coffee is brewed with hot water. However, there are different methods of brewing coffee. These methods depend on the available resources of the coffee maker as well as their menu options and expertise. Brewed coffee can be preserved for some days. It is also essential to learn how to taste your coffee to be able to pass good judgment on every serving.