Why is it necessary to calculate the proportion of hand-brewed coffee? what's the difference between the powder-water ratio and the powder-liquid ratio?

Guide reading

Before the article begins, let's think about a question: "if we brew a pot of coffee with 15g coffee powder at 1:15, do we have a total of 225g of water or is there 225g of coffee liquid in the pot after brewing?" "

The answer is: a total of 225g of water is injected instead of 225g of coffee liquid in the pot after the extraction. On this issue, friends who use bracket handwashing are often confused because the bracket holds up the filter cup, so the weight of the coffee liquid in the dripping pot is weighed electronically. People tend to forget that coffee powder absorbs some of the water during steaming, so 225g of coffee can not be extracted by injecting 225g of water.

What is the "powder-water ratio"?

The "powder-to-water ratio" is the ratio of coffee powder to the total amount of water injected, that is, the 15g coffee powder mentioned above is brewed at 1:15, we need to inject 225g of water.

Qianjie suggests that beginners of hand-brewed coffee should directly put the filter cup and sharing pot on the electronic scale and use the "powder-water ratio" to brew. The accurate amount of water injection can reduce many unstable factors. If the same "powder-water ratio" has a different taste when cooking the same coffee bean, you need to consider the degree of grinding and whether the water temperature is suitable for the coffee bean.

What is the "powder-liquid ratio"?

"Powder-to-liquid ratio" refers to the ratio of coffee powder to coffee liquid. As mentioned above, some of the water will be absorbed during cooking and steaming, so the coffee liquid extracted will be less than the total amount of water injected. Different coffee beans according to the quality-grinding degree, the water absorption will be different, generally 1.5-2 times the amount of coffee powder, so Qianjie recommends that the amount of water injected into the first stage of steaming is twice the amount of coffee powder.

For example, 15 grams of coffee powder needs to be injected with 30 grams of water, at this time the coffee powder may absorb the amount of water from 22.5g-30g, and the amount of coffee liquid dripping into the pot is 7.5 grams at most. After the first stage of absorbing water, the water injected into the back of 195g will completely pass through the coffee powder layer, so the final extracted coffee liquid weighs 195g-202.5g.

15g coffee powder extract 195g-202.5g coffee liquid, using the "powder-to-liquid ratio", then it is 1:13-113. 5.

Some enthusiasts like to use the cup for brewing, keep injecting water without using an electronic scale, and remove the filter cup when the coffee liquid dripping in the pot reaches a certain amount. In this case, it is necessary to calculate the ratio of coffee powder to coffee liquid, after all, there is no quantitative water injection, so the ratio of coffee powder to total water injection cannot be calculated.

What is the purpose of calculating the powder-water / powder-liquid ratio?

Qianjie believes that whether it is the "powder-water ratio" or "powder-liquid ratio", it is only one of the directions to adjust the taste of coffee. The taste performance of coffee is not only affected by the proportion, but also the degree of grinding, water temperature and brewing methods will affect the final flavor performance.

The calculation of the powder-water / powder-liquid ratio is to better let the brewers know that injecting quantitative water / extracted coffee liquid under such grinding degree and water temperature can better show the flavor of this coffee bean. at the same time, it can also ensure the stability of the quality and concentration of each cooking.

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