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"A Stuart Daw Coffee Classic"
CONTINUUM TO CONTENTMENT
(Nine Variables on the Road to a Perfect
Cup)
© 1980 Stuart Daw
Knowing these nine variables
will help you become a “Coffee Diagnostician” leading you to understand
the cause of any problems encountered by the customer with your brew, which
should, after all, represent “A Perfect Cup of Coffee Every Time.”
1.
The Better the Blend the Better the Brew;
The Poorer the Blend the Poorer the Brew
(all other things being equal)
The blending of the coffee has to come
first, before you roast the beans. You can take a good blend of green coffee
and destroy it through bad handling. But you can’t do the opposite — you
can’t take a poor blend of green coffee and make it a good cup.
2.
The Darker the Roast the Darker the Liquor;
The Lighter the Roast the Lighter the Liquor
(all other things being equal)
Roasting coffee is taking it from room
temperature up to around 430 degrees Fahrenheit, changing the molecular
structure of the beans to the point where soluble solids of coffee (coffee
oil) can be extracted by hot water. Slightly different degrees of roast will
alter the flavor development of the coffee, and the darker the roast, the
darker the color of the liquid coffee, which is called in the trade “coffee
liquor.”
3.
The Finer the Grind the Stronger the Brew;
The Coarser the Grind the Weaker the Brew
(all other things being equal)
It is possible to brew coffee with whole beans, but
it wouldn’t be practical, as the extraction period would be far too long.
The finer you grind the particles of coffee, the faster the coffee can be
brewed, all other things being equal. There is only so much coffee oil in a
pound of coffee (around 5˝ ounces), so that one pound of coffee cannot be “stronger”
than another. But it can be made to seem stronger in many ways, as indicated
in these nine variables.
4.
The Better the Weight the Stronger the Brew;
The Lighter the Weight the Weaker the Brew
(all other things being equal)
This is self-explanatory as, all other
things being equal, more coffee means more coffee oil (soluble solids of
coffee).
5.
The Better the Bag the Fresher the Brew;
The Poorer the Bag the Staler the Brew
(all other things being equal)
The best of modern packaging is a
gas-barrier, moisture-barrier material that will not allow coffee volatiles to
escape the bag, nor moisture, oxygen and other contaminants to enter.
WE ARE NOW READY TO BREW
6.
The Hotter the Water the Stronger the Brew;
The Colder the Water the Weaker the Brew
(all other things being equal)
The best temperature for extracting the
soluble solids of coffee from the coffee grounds is within five degrees of 205
degrees. It is not necessary, and even harmful, to boil coffee during or after
the brewing process. But the most common error is to allow the temperature of
extraction to be too low, under-extracting the coffee.
7.
The Longer the Time the Stronger the Brew;
The Shorter the Time the Weaker the Brew
(all other things being equal)
The longer the hot water is in contact with
the coffee (often called the “infusion period”), the more soluble solids that
will be extracted, up to that point where there is no more available. As you
should only be extracting around 70% of the available coffee oil from the
grounds, to go farther is to over-extract, creating a bitter, unpleasant brew.
8.
The Better the Water the Better the Brew;
The Poorer the Water the Poorer the Brew
(all other things being equal)
A perfect cup of coffee is about 98.75%
water and 1.25% coffee oil. If the water is not good, it is obvious the coffee
cannot be. Water sources around the country vary in quality, in
parts-per-million of minerals and pollutants, with the type and quality of
minerals affecting extraction rates and flavors.
9.
The Better the Server the Better the Brew;
The Poorer the Server the Poorer the Brew
(all other things being equal)
Glass bowls are not the best containers for
the preservation of brewed coffee flavor. With heat applied on the bottom,
through convection currents the hot coffee rises and the cooler coffee falls,
while micro-fine particles of coffee stay "cooking" on the bottom of
the bowl. Through these constantly changing temperatures there is a chemical breakdown
of the flavor elements of coffee. A thermal server with no heat applied (only
gently falling temperatures) is much superior.
© Copyright 1980 Stuart Daw
