How to find the gold extraction ratio of each bean?

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Gold extraction ratio refers to the perfect balance between the ratio of soluble matter and water in coffee to extract a perfect cup of coffee. One of the biggest obstacles we hear when talking to each other about the extraction of coffee is what is the correct ratio of coffee to water. Quickly find the right coffee extraction ratio for a coffee bean, which can reduce the number of trial and error and waste.

Extraction ratio

BREW RATIO

The extraction ratio is just a simple guide to figure out how much water and coffee powder it takes to extract a cup of coffee before extracting coffee. With regard to the extraction ratio, we should first keep the following points in mind:

Because 99% of a cup of coffee is water, the larger side of the proportion refers to the amount of water. This explanation is because most of the time, the description of the proportion is not uniform, and sometimes someone will say 18:1 or 1:18. Therefore, it may bring some confusion. In concentration, we will call it the powder-to-liquid ratio, that is, the ratio of coffee powder to extracted coffee liquid, which is usually between 1.81 and 1:3, but the same constant is that the larger side of the number refers to the liquid volume.

Another key message is that in the unit of measurement of water, most people will be used to "milliliters = grams". Therefore, if someone says that they use a "ratio of 20 grams of coffee to 100ml of water", that is, 20 grams of coffee to 100 milliliters of water, the ratio is 1:5.

Here, I would like to say that the "golden cup criterion" of SCAA is that the best extraction rate of coffee is to extract 18% 22% of the soluble substances in coffee powder, and the best coffee concentration range is 1.15% and 1.35%. According to these studies, the proportion of gold extracted by hand-brewed coffee fell in the range of 1:15 to 1:18.

How to find the golden ratio?

TESTING THE GOLDEN RATIO

You can explore the appropriate "gold extraction ratio" for a particular coffee bean in a controllable test. Make this a simple one-step process so that each time you change a bean, you can quickly test its appropriate extraction ratio. In that case, how to calculate the golden ratio?

Choose your extraction ratio range: 1:20, 1:18, 1:15 and 1:13, recommended by various bakers and cafes.

Take four wide-mouthed cups or bowls and label the bottom of each cup with the labels A, B, C & D for easy comparison.

Grind about 30 grams of medium-fine ground coffee powder, adding 5 grams, 5.55 grams, 6.69 grams and 7.67 grams per cup respectively. Please also clearly mark it on the label.

Heat the water to 93 degrees Celsius. Because the temperature of the water may decrease due to some conditions, the temperature that can be heated can be a little bit too much.

Then pour 100 grams of water into each cup and wait 4 minutes.

After 4 minutes, keep the timer running while picking up a spoon and skimming the coffee from the top of the liquid. If your coffee is shallow roasted or roasted for a long time, the coffee powder will contain less carbon dioxide and the coffee powder may sink to the bottom.

After skimming off all the coffee powder at the top of the liquid, wait 12 minutes before you can taste the coffee. This gives the coffee time to cool down, when the coffee tastes more balanced and more inclined to its own taste.

Try to find your favorite cup of coffee. After tasting, look at the label at the bottom to find the right golden ratio for this cup of coffee.

Of course, you will want to adjust the proportion after extraction, depending on the extraction method and taste preference you use, but this test will help guide you to understand the appropriate extraction ratio of coffee in the right direction.

If you find the extraction ratio you like, it doesn't mean you have to follow an extraction ratio all the time. The gold extraction ratio should be flexible, depending on the roasting time of coffee beans, personal taste preferences and extraction methods.