We've been reading a number of blogs about the
science of brewing coffee and last time we talked about buying good coffee
beans, grinding right before brewing, proper storage, water to coffee ratio and
technique. You’ll find them archived on
our blog site and here are some more hints:
Use quality tools: You're going to get better results from high quality tools
than you will with junk from the bargain bin. Yes, it's more of an upfront
investment, but in the long run it's worth it. Good tools last longer and make
the entire brewing process much easier.
The grind size of your coffee beans: Grind size affects
the extraction rate because it affects surface area. Beans that are coarsely
ground have less surface area than the same amount of finely ground beans,
making it more difficult for the water to penetrate and extract the coffee
solids. A uniform grind size means that the extraction rate of the oils and
acids in the coffee will be consistent. You won't have large pieces that
under-extract and small pieces that over-extract. It's for this reason that
you'll often hear coffee experts exhorting people to invest in a good burr
grinder. And guess what? They're right.
The temperature of your water: Temperature affects extraction rate
because solids dissolve more quickly at higher temperatures. Temperature also
affects flavor because it determines which solids get dissolved. Using water
that's too hot will lead to sour coffee since it releases unpleasant acids from
the coffee beans. For this reason, we recommend brewing with water between 195
and 202 degrees. And remember, measure the water actually in the coffee and not
just what you're pouring. There's often a difference.
The amount you agitate your coffee grounds during brewing:You can further
manipulate the brewing process by agitating the coffee grounds as the water
passes through them. Agitation works because it accelerates the spread of
dissolved coffee solids throughout the water, exposing the coffee grounds to
fresher water more quickly. But agitation also has the effect of cooling the
water, which we know can affect the process. In the end, it's just one of those
things that you learn through trial and error.
The ratio of water to coffee: Strange how it keeps coming back to this,
right? The key difference here is that when you're fine tuning, you aren't
sticking strictly to the Golden Ratio. Instead, you're adjusting to taste. To
make adjustments more easily, invest in a scale. You can be more precise by
using weight—instead of volume—to measure your coffee and water.
Pretty
scientific, huh?
The Kona Cowboy Coffee Company is proud to provide the
finest coffee available for you to brew scientifically. You’ll get a great cup of Joe with PANIOLA
100% Kona Cowboy Coffee, grown on Hawaiian volcanoes and roasted in the Rocky
Mountains … the one with no bitter aftertaste and no acidity. CAFÉ PINON de Nuevo Mexico is the Southwest’s
favorite with pinion nuts and a perfect way to improve your coffee experience
during the day. And our MOKA-JAVA is a
medium dark roasted blend of Indonesian and Ethiopian coffees that just might
be high octane! We also make COWBOY
ACTION COFFEE, the Official Coffee of the Single Action Shooting Society! If you are a Chai drinker, you’ll love the
Coconut Spiced Chai we bring in from Honolulu. The
Kona Cowboy Coffee Company has updated our website with new prices, new
products and more! Go to www.KonaCowboyCoffee.com and
look at the coffees. Go to the “Chocolates”
page and find our new Cowboy Coffee Choco-Drops, a coffee caramel smothered in
milk chocolate and dusted in cocoa powder!
We have new Mescalero Morning Cowboy Coffee Candles on our “Bath
Products” page, too.
The purpose of this blog is to unite Kona coffee lovers
and perhaps learn a little about coffee and all the benefits of coffee at the
same time. Join up, become a member,
comment and have fun! You can find the
Kona Coffee Fiends group on Facebook and we’d appreciate it if Facebook users
would “LIKE” the Kona Cowboy Coffee Company page at www.facebook.com/pages/Kona-Cowboy-Coffee-Company/222070817858553. Just copy and paste to your browser. You can also find us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/#!/jackshuster. And on the web at www.KonaCowboyCoffee.com to
order your gourmet coffee and coffee products.
You know you’re a
coffee fiend when you walk twenty miles on your
treadmill before you realize it's not plugged in! So enjoy your coffee, make
it Kona, and remember, Kona is the home of the Hawaiian cowboy…and we had
cowboys in Kona before there were cowboys in Texas!
