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Thumb Roast Coffee - Specialty Coffee made simple The temperature of water can have extreme effects on the taste and smoothness coffee. 195°-205° is the ideal range for hot brewing because it leads to a well-balanced coffee. Water over 205° brews bitter and abrasive coffee, while water below 195° doesn’t extract traits from the coffee grounds which often leads to a sour and undeveloped taste.
To acheive this temperature, bring a pot or kettle to boil on the stove and after it boils, let is rest for about 30-40 seconds. Or, bring it to an "almost" boiling point. Or, there are several temperature controlled water kettles on the market. One of the ones we use is THIS (click link) or THIS (click link) one that has a goose neck spout for more control of the water (used for pour over or Chemex method) We recommend Cold Brew be prepared at refrigerator temperature (41° or below), and brewing time depend on how strong you want your coffee. The main choices for the type of water to use when brewing include hard tap water and distilled water. Tap water is the most accessible option, but it’s important to remember the differences in every individual’s tap water. Some people have soft water with few minerals. Soft water will brew flat tasting coffee. Most people have hard tap water with a lot of minerals. Hard water brews more flavorful coffee but if the water has too high of a mineral count the coffee can become bitter. Distilled water is good for the brewing equipment due to the total lack of minerals but will brew an exceedingly average cup of coffee. Our vote: use tap water!
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The optimal brewing option for each individual can also be impacted by time demands. Each brewing method has different time and attention demands.
A French press - typically people enjoy a brewing time of 3 to 5 minutes, but it is subjective and depends on personal preference (not including grinding time, or setup). This is something we suggest you play around with to test what you like best. The pour over - should take 3-4 minutes. This method is longer for a medium/light roast and slightly shorter for a darker roasted coffee (darker coffees are typically less dense). This should take no longer than 4 minutes as after this amount of time, the water has fully saturated the coffee and will begin extracting only the outer shell of the bean and can result in a bitter taste Chemex, takes 4-5 minutes to brew, and a few minutes for setup (same as pour over on ideal timing) The automatic drip machine takes as little as 5 minutes and as long as 10 minutes to brew a full pot depending on one’s drip machine. This is one of the longer methods, but is automatic, so it doesn’t require any attention or effort. The freshness of the coffee beans can have a direct impact on the quality of the coffee.
Sugars in the coffee bean begin to setup during the roasting process and continue forming through 3-5 days after the day of roasting. Grinding and brewing the coffee after the 3-5 days will yield the best possible extraction that the coffee can provide. After those days, as the coffee is exposed to oxygen, it will be oxidizing and loosing the oils and flavor after about 3 months. This is why it is best to purchase as freshly roasted coffee as possible. Then, the next hurdle is not grinding the coffee until just before use. Two weeks after opening a sealed container of ground coffee the grounds will become stale and over-oxidized. If the grounds are kept in a sealed container they can last up to a month. When grinding the beans immediately before grinding, one has more control over the grind size, the oxidation, and ensures that the beans oils, and taste, won't be lost through the water molecules in the air. |
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Thumb Roast Coffee © 2024 HQ 30 N. Howard Ave. Croswell, MI 48422 Phone: (877) 863-6320
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