Hand extraction | when steaming, use 2 or 3 times more water than coffee powder, what's the difference?

The longer I have been in the coffee circle, the more I feel that hand-brewing coffee has gradually become a course worthy of further study. We pay attention to every detail that will have an impact on coffee extraction, learn to control those factors that are not easily quantified and uncertain, and understand the extraction principle and apparatus characteristics of coffee. Technical techniques are used to fine-tune coffee extraction.

In the whole process of coffee extraction, the most important step is steaming, that is, a "preparation and awakening" step before coffee is formally extracted. The purpose is to discharge the carbon dioxide gas produced by the coffee beans during the roasting process and can not be discharged, so that the coffee powder can be better in contact with water, and the coffee can be fully extracted. When steaming, we need to use more water than coffee powder, let coffee powder absorb enough water, and then emit carbon dioxide.

Sometimes we choose to use 2 or 3 times as much water for coffee steaming, so when steaming, what effect does the choice of water have on coffee extraction?

Effect of the amount of steaming Water on Coffee

There is no doubt that the amount of steaming water will affect the final taste of coffee.

Sometimes, we think it would be too much to steam with three times as much water. When there is too much water, because the gas in the coffee powder is not discharged, the sparse contact between the coffee powder and the water will not fully extract the soluble substances in the coffee in the front steam. too much liquid flowing into the next pot will dilute the final coffee and have a certain impact on the overall alcohol thickness, layering and flavor of the coffee.

When the amount of steaming water is too little, it will have the opposite effect. It will not cause excessive extraction, but it will lead to uneven extraction. Sometimes, twice the amount of water may not be enough to infiltrate the powder bed, allowing all coffee powders to come into contact with water for uniform extraction. Therefore, steaming when stirring is a good little skill, but compare the test of cooking strength and skills, improper operation will cause serious over-extraction.

How to determine whether to use twice or three times as much water?

In general, when steaming, the decision on how much water to use is closely related to the coffee beans themselves and other parameters in hand-brewed coffee.

The coffee bean itself

For the coffee bean itself, what we have to consider is its baking degree and its freshness. The extraction rate of coffee beans with shallow roasting degree is slow, and because of the short baking time, they do not contain much carbon dioxide, so we use twice as much water for steaming in order to increase the concentration of coffee and to show the flower and fruit flavor trend in coffee. And vice versa, for deep-roasted coffee beans, due to the long roasting time and more carbon dioxide gas sealed in the coffee beans, we usually use three times as much water for steaming.

The longer the coffee is roasted, the coffee beans will become "lazy" due to the influence of oxygen and humidity in the air, and we tend to steam with twice as much water during extraction.

Extraction mode

Not only does drip coffee need to be steamed, but soaking extraction is also needed. However, due to the extraction principle of immersion extraction, under the appropriate cooking method, the overall extraction efficiency of immersion extraction is low, and it is more convenient to extract the soluble part, and the taste is more balanced, less irritation and higher fault tolerance. Therefore, immersion extraction is more suitable to use 2 times water for steaming.

Other parameters

When you adjust the amount of steaming water, you should also pay attention to the adjustment of water injection at different stages, as well as the adjustment of other extraction parameters that have an impact on the concentration of coffee. The longer the extraction time, the stronger the flavor, the higher the concentration, the more obvious the sour, sweet and bitter feeling, while the shorter the extraction time, the softer the flavor and the lower the concentration. If you have a long extraction time in the extraction scheme, you can try to use 3 times the amount of water for coffee steaming, which can also reach the target concentration, and vice versa.

What other factors do you need to pay attention to when steaming?

First of all, the time of steaming is as important as the amount of steaming water. After steaming and injecting water, we can clearly see that the powder layer begins to swell and the best time for coffee steaming to end is when all the carbon dioxide in the coffee beans is released and the coffee powder layer begins to dry up. The steaming time of some extra fresh deep-roasted coffee beans can be extended by 40-45s; the steaming time of coffee beans about a week from the baking date is about 30-35s, while the steaming time after two weeks is about 20s.

Secondly, we use the method of water injection when steaming. When injecting water, the flow should be gentle and fast and uniform, and soak the coffee powder bed evenly with water.

"gentleness" is to reduce the impact of water on coffee powder, and to slow down the speed of water flow as far as possible, and prolong the contact time between water and coffee powder.

The purpose of "fast" is to make the soaking time of all coffee powder as consistent as possible and reduce the probability of uneven extraction.