How to control the concentration and extraction rate of hand-brewed coffee? What does the powder and water ratio, concentration and extraction rate of hand-brewed coffee mean?

For a cup of coffee, concentration is as important a parameter as extraction rate. The extraction rate represents how much soluble matter we dissolve from the coffee, while the concentration represents the proportion of coffee-soluble matter in the coffee liquor to the weight of the total liquid. The higher the concentration, the higher the proportion of substances dissolved from the coffee in this cup of coffee liquor, and the stronger the taste and fuller the taste of the coffee will be, and vice versa. So we can know that the concentration of a cup of coffee will directly affect the taste and taste of coffee, and is a very important parameter.

Everyone's taste preferences vary, with some preferring a stronger coffee, while others prefer a lighter coffee. So if we want to brew a pot of coffee that suits our taste preferences, then learning to adjust the concentration is very important. Although in the first two days of "The way to make bad coffee better" was actually... Add some water?" In this tweet, Qianjie shared that we can adjust the concentration by adding water to the coffee after brewing. However, this is an after-the-fact remedial action that can only dilute the concentration of coffee but not increase it. Therefore, under normal circumstances, Qianjie will recommend that you use the right parameters at the beginning and directly pour out a cup of coffee with a concentration that suits your taste preference. The main extraction parameter that can determine the concentration of coffee is the ratio of powder and water.

The ratio of powder to water refers to the ratio of the coffee powder we use to the hot water used for brewing. The greater the ratio, the less hot water will be used to brew the coffee powder, and the stronger the coffee will be when the extraction rate remains unchanged; The smaller the ratio, the more hot water will be used to brew the coffee powder, and the lower the coffee concentration will be when the extraction rate remains unchanged. Therefore, by adjusting the proportion/hot water used for brewing, we can control the concentration of coffee. However, everyone needs to note that the increase or decrease of water volume will directly affect the extraction rate. Because the more water, the more solvent will be used to extract the coffee, and the longer the extraction time will be, the more things will be extracted, and vice versa. What does this mean?

This means that if we only want to change the concentration of coffee without affecting the extraction rate of coffee, then it is best to adjust it along with other parameters to correct the impact of an increase or decrease in water volume on extraction. For example, the parameters used by Qianjie when brewing Qianjie Essi Huakui in the bean list are as follows: powder amount 15g, powder and water ratio 1:15, grinding degree of fine granulated sugar, 75%~80%, extraction time 2 minutes.

The concentration of this Huakui coffee, which is brewed at a ratio of 1:15, has a concentration of 1.48%, and the extraction rate is 20.36%. It tastes elegant white floral, strawberry, citrus, oolong tea and other flavors. The taste is solid and clean, with a lasting finish. So if Qianjie wants to make it lighter and less dense, then the ratio of powder and water can be increased to 1:17, which means adding 30ml of water to the original.

If other parameters remain unchanged, the coffee brewed at this ratio takes 2 minutes and 12 seconds, the concentration of coffee is 1.35%, and the extraction rate is 21.4%. It tastes similar to the former, but the overall flavor concentration will not be so high, it can capture more flavors, the taste is relatively light, and the aftertaste is equally long-lasting.

It can be seen that the extraction rate of coffee has been slightly improved on the original basis due to the increase in water volume. Because Huakui, this bean, is relatively resistant to extraction, and because the parameters used in Qianjie are relatively conservative, the coffee does not have obvious bitter or miscellaneous taste. But if the extraction parameters we use are very extreme at the beginning and have high extraction efficiency, then we need to adjust the water temperature of the coffee, or grinding, or time, or brewing method. The direction of adjustment is to lower their extraction efficiency. The purpose is to correct the increase in extraction efficiency caused by the increase in water volume, so that the risk of over-extraction can be avoided, and the concentration of coffee can be reduced while the extraction rate remains unchanged. Coffee can taste better while maintaining the same taste.

The same goes for espresso coffee, reducing the amount of water used for extraction. Then if the extraction efficiency is not high enough, then the extraction efficiency of other parameters needs to be improved to prevent insufficient coffee extraction. It should be easy to understand ~ The above is all the content shared by Qianjie this time. It is worth mentioning that Qianjie does not recommend that everyone start adjusting the concentration from the beginning. Qianjie Association recommends that you first brew coffee according to the parameters recommended by the merchants, first brew a pot of coffee with a suitable extraction rate, and then adjust the concentration according to your own taste. This can actually have a higher efficiency. Help us find the right parameters and brew a pot of delicious coffee that suits your taste preferences ~

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