Finally, we have arrived at the final step in our journey of coffee: the brew.
At this point, 90% of the work has been done. Begun as the seed of a coffee cherry, then picked, processed, exported, and roasted–all that remains is to brew it in hot water. Simple, right?
Not so fast. This last step of brewing the coffee is absolutely crucial because it carries with it all the work that came before. The coffee farmer who labored for months to cultivate and grow the plant, the workers who hand-selected each cherry for ripeness, the men and women who raked and turned the beans as they dried–all of that hard work is at stake. It’s entirely possible for everyone in the supply chain to have done their jobs excellently up to this point, only to reach this step and mess it all up.
When it comes to the brewing process, the three things we think most about are grind size, water temperature, and brewing method.
First, the grind size. It’s difficult to overstate just how important grind size and consistency are when it comes to the final result of your coffee. Grind size affects extraction–the rate at which hot water pulls the soluble compounds from the coffee grounds. Too fine a grind and it’s easy to over-extract the grounds, resulting in a bitter cup; too coarse and it’s easy to under-extract the grounds, resulting in a sour cup. This is why having a grind size that is consistent is so important! You want all of the coffee particles to be the same size so that some aren’t being over or under extracted, but all are being equally extracted at the same rate, resulting in a beautifully consistent cup of coffee. Of all the things to invest in when it comes to brewing your own coffee at home, we would always say to prioritize investing in a high-quality burr grinder. Variety might be the spice of life in other contexts, but when it comes to size of coffee grounds, it’s the last thing you want. Grind size matters.
Secondly, water temperature. Again, what’s at stake here is consistency in extracting the flavor compounds of the coffee grounds. Coffee is full of different soluble compounds like acids, sugars, oils, and aromatic molecules. Water temperatures that are too cool (less than 195°) will under-extract flavors because the water is not hot enough to dissolve these compounds. Temperatures that are too high (higher than 205° typically), on the other hand, will over-extract the good flavor compounds and pull out undesirable compounds linked to bitterness and astringency which dissolve at higher temperatures. When it comes to lighter roasts, whose cell structure is more dense, a higher temperature is required to dissolve these compounds. Since virtually all of our coffee here at Sagebrush is a light roast, we work with slightly higher temperatures, such as 208° in our on-bar pour over recipe.
Lastly, let’s talk about the brewing method. Which brewing method you choose will actually have an impact on all your other brewing decisions, like grind size and water temperature. This is because different brewing methods require faster or slower rates of water flow depending on how they’re built. For example, because a Chemex has a thicker filter which slows down the flow rate, it requires a faster flow of water through the grounds in order for over-extraction not to occur. Therefore, the grind size will be a bit coarser (think: sugar in the raw) since the coarser the grind, the more air between particles, the faster the flow of water. A V60 Pour Over, on the other hand, has a thinner filter. In order not to under extract the grounds, the flow rate needs to be slowed down, so a finer grind (think: finer than table salt but not as fine as powdered sugar) is required since the finer the grind, the less space between particles, the slower the flow of water.
When it comes to brewing methods, there are other variables that we could discuss here, like the ratio of water to coffee grounds, water quality, type of coffee beans, etc. But these three factors are probably the most influential when it comes to this final stage of the journey of coffee.
At Sagebrush, our goal is to put on display the hard work of coffee producers. We pay attention to the details of the brewing process to ensure the high quality beans we receive are displayed at their absolute finest once brewed. And now, equipped with a little more information, you can do the same thing!
