Before you learn how to make a better cup of black coffee, can you distinguish what is black coffee? If you forgot, you can review it by clicking here.
How to make better black coffee, not only you must keep practicing, you should be clear about tips on what to do when making coffee. Here, we share not only some must-know coffee tips but also more coffee know-how for you, hoping that no matter which coffee beans you choose, you can make a cup of black coffee that you like.
Core Tips for Brewing Black Coffee
When making the perfect cup of pour-over coffee, you must know the following facts.
Q1: How fine does coffee powder need to be ground to achieve perfect extraction?
The best coarseness of pour-over coffee powder is in the middle between espresso (No. 1~No. 2) and French press (No. 5~No. 6), that is, the particle size is around No. 4, the smaller the number means the finer the ground powder. If you use a traditional hand-cranked grinder, the particle size suitable for pour-over coffee is half the size of brown sugar, but the disadvantage of a manual grinder is that it is easy to have uneven coarseness and fineness. The too-fine coffee powder will be over-extracted, easy to coffee impurities also be extracted; the too-coarse coffee powder will be under-extracted, and the taste will also be light.
Q2: How should I control the size of the water injection when pouring coffee? And how to control the direction and speed of water injection?
When brewing coffee, the first step is to go through the steaming stage, which lasts about 15~30 seconds to let the coffee powder absorb water. Usually, the amount of water used for steaming is twice as much as the coffee powder, for example, for 1 oz of coffee powder, pour about 2 fl oz of water to let the coffee powder absorb the water.
The purpose of smothering is to smother the aroma of the coffee and prepare it for the second brew; the water temperature for smothering should be 199.4°F, fill the water from the center of the bean powder, circle 2-3 times so that all the bean powder can absorb the water evenly, and 3-5 drops of water are the best; the bean powder will expand after absorbing the water, and change from the previous flat to a rounded shape that is raised upwards, at which time you can smell the faint aroma of the coffee powder. This step is one of the decisive factors in determining the success of a cup of pour-over coffee.
After the steaming is done, the action of water injection is carried out. It is generally recommended for beginners to use a hand brewing pot with a thin mouth, such as a gooseneck pot so that the water injection will not be too much and will not be easy to fail; the water injection is just beginning and it is easy to extract the coffee. The ideal time for the entire water injection is about 1.5 to 2.5 minutes, if you want the coffee to taste thicker, the speed can be slowed down.
Q3: Different coffee filter cups, will affect the taste of coffee.
There are three common types of pour-over coffee filter cups: trapezoidal, conical, and wave filter cups, all of which may affect the taste of coffee. The key is the speed of water flow, which can affect the flow rate of coffee extraction due to the different designs of the water guide grooves.
Traditional trapezoidal filter cups have smaller holes and a slower flow rate, so the taste of pour-over coffee will be thicker, but the disadvantage is likely to flow too slowly, resulting in stagnant water that will easily have a bitter taste.
A conical filter cup is a large hole, the flow rate is faster, but the taste may be lighter.
The wave filter cup is because flat bottom, with wave filter paper, through the grooves on the filter paper to guide the water flow down, the water flow is the smoothest, filter out of the watering coffee taste is also the most uniform.
Q4：Can the filter cup replace the filter paper?
Currently, there is a metal filter cup on the market, which can achieve the effect without using filter paper, and the stainless steel material is also quite durable. The advantage of the metal filter cup is that it can save the filter paper, and also save money and eco-friendly, and it can also retain more coffee oil to make the taste stronger, but also because the holes of the filter are too fine, the coffee powder can easily pass through, more or less will drink some powder, it is recommended to use a sifter to filter the fine powder before pouring so that the taste will be cleaner.
How to Extract Better Beans?
So does the different roasting of coffee beans also have an effect?
Next, we will share how to extract the coffee beans according to different roasting levels to make a better cup of black coffee.
●Deep Roast Coffee Extraction Method
Deep-roasted coffee refers to French or Italian roasted coffee after the second burst in the roasting stage. This type of coffee is meant to enjoy the strong bitterness, the sweetness from the bitterness, and the long-lasting finish, so it is more suitable for strong extraction, and it is difficult to enjoy its strong texture if extracted lightly.
The bitterness of coffee cannot be removed or reduced, but what kind of bitterness it belongs to is also important. Some bitterness is as refreshing and pleasant as gin or mint, and some bitterness is as bad as antibiotics or herbs. Only by carefully blending them can you extract a quality bitterness that is pleasant to the mood.
To extract a stronger flavor, a larger amount of coffee is usually used. Increasing the amount of coffee will give you more coffee content and thus a stronger coffee. Roughly, to extract a cup amount of 4 fl oz use 0.7oz of coffee. To extract more coffee content, you can also extend the extraction time (2.5 to 5 minutes). Because this will make the coffee contact with water longer, it can dissolve more coffee ingredients. Deeply roasted coffee beans, which have a strong aroma, are usually extracted at low temperatures for a long time (176°F to 179.6°F, 2.5 to 5 minutes) to enhance the texture while suppressing the bitterness.
Tips:
1. Set the water temperature to about 176°F and extract 4 fl oz of the extract with 0.7-1oz of coffee.
2. Without smothering, use 50 seconds to 1 minute to extract the first drop of the extract by dripping or injecting a small amount of water separately.
3. Start normal water injection after the first drop of extract, be careful not to over-extract in the later stages of extraction, and keep the overall extraction time within 3 minutes.
● Light roast coffee extraction method
Light roast coffee is the degree of roasting from the first burst to the second burst in the roasting stage. The main purpose of light roasting is to enjoy the diverse aromas that raw coffee beans contain. That is, to reduce the coffee aromas that develop during deep roasting and to bring out more of the characteristics that come with the raw beans. So the point of choosing a light roast coffee is in the freshness of the raw beans and the richness of the aromas that they contain. The more advanced the coffee market or raw beans, the easier it is to get access to light-roasted coffee.
In lightly roasted coffee, the coffee cell tissues have not yet fully expanded and the capillaries that assist in extracting the coffee have not yet fully formed. Therefore, acidity is more prominent. If you use the usual extraction method, it may not fully reflect the good taste. Adding several variations of the process to the basic extraction method is the only way to come up with a good coffee with more flavor.
When using a 0.35oz coffee powder to extract 4 fl oz, extracting 2 fl oz first and then adding about 2 fl oz of water is sufficient. The extraction is done at a high temperature of about 194°F. Grind the coffee relatively finely to bring out the aroma and bitterness as well as the fullness.
Lightly roasted coffee is finely ground and its extraction speed is slow, plus the roasting process is not fully expanded and there is almost no space inside the cellular tissue, so it is difficult for the coffee to float on the water surface and easily sink, which hinders coffee extraction. Because of this, if the target amount is extracted using the usual extraction method, then the extraction speed is slow and causes over-extraction, and thus the bitterness, woody taste, and, other unpleasant flavors become strong. Into press unpleasant flavors, extract 50% of the overall extraction volume that reflects the best flavor, and supplement the remaining portion with water.
Tips.
1. Perform a smothering process for about 30 seconds.
2. Use the normal water injection method to inject water in stages.
3. Extract 50% of the overall extraction volume first.
4. Use water to replenish the rest of the extraction. Do not use the water left in the hand brew kettle, it is better to add hotter 194°F water directly.
● Why is it important to do a good smothering process?
Regardless of the method used to brew coffee, the first step in brewing coffee is usually smothering.
What is smothering? After making the coffee powder, first, pour a small amount of hot water evenly over the coffee powder, then wait a few dozen seconds to let the coffee powder exhaust evenly.
Why do we need this treatment? Coffee beans produce a lot of carbon dioxide gas during the roasting process. If this step is not done, these gases will wrap around the surface of the coffee powder particles, blocking the contact between the coffee powder and the water, and an under-extraction will occur.
How long to smother the steam? The fresher the bean, the more carbon dioxide it contains, and the longer it needs to be steamed. About 30 seconds. If the beans have been in the oven for about half a month, you can reduce the steaming time by, say, 20 seconds. The more deeply roasted the beans, the higher the carbon dioxide content, so you can extend the steaming time, for example, 40 seconds.
How much water should be used for steaming? Generally, you will use 2 to 3 times the amount of water used for coffee powder.
How to Make Iced Black Coffee Better?
When it comes to black coffee, besides hot, there is of course cold black coffee. Simply put, coffee beans extracted through a non-hot water method can be called cold-brewed coffee.
There are many methods of making cold brew coffee: ice-drip method, ice-cold method, cold brew method, etc. Among them, cold brew is a simple and convenient extraction method.
Cold brew coffee is currently the more popular practice, according to the extraction of the water temperature, there are no more than three: room temperature, cold water, hot water extraction, and then quickly cooled down to cool down. The more common is to steep the coffee powder for a long time, usually 12-24 hours, and then filter out the coffee powder to get the coffee concentrate. The concentrate can be added to water, milk, or cream to make different coffee drinks. Sometimes you can also add some ice cubes to adjust the taste.
Tips:
1. Coffee powder
The degree of grinding of coffee beans depends on the time the coffee is refrigerated, and the degree of grinding is generally between medium-coarse to medium-fine.
The shorter the resting time, the finer the coffee beans will usually be ground; if the resting time will be up to 24 hours, they can be ground coarser to avoid over-extraction of coffee, and the flavor will become very strong.
2. About the powder-to-water ratio
The 1:6-1:8 powder-to-water ratio mentioned before, that is, the volume of coffee when drinking. If you need to add milk, cool water, or ice cubes when drinking, to avoid excessive dilution affecting the taste of coffee, consider using a powder-to-water ratio of 1:4 when extracting, and after filtering, add the same amount of milk, cool water or ice cubes as the coffee liquid, the taste is also more appropriate.
3. About resting time
In some books, the resting time for cold brew coffee is 6-12 hours. Through comparison, we found that coffee with a resting time of 12-24 hours tasted better and softer. If you need to save time, you can grind the coffee beans finer to facilitate the extraction of coffee.
4. Ice drip device
The extraction principle is basename on ice extraction. The operation method differs according to the ice drip device. BasiIceer is used at a rate of 1 drop per second for slow extraction. The extraction powder-to-water ratio is also about 1:6-1:8. After the original ice drip is extracted, it is usually then placed in the refrigerator for 24 hours before the fermentation rhyme occurs.
The difference between cold brew coffee and iced coffee
- Production process
Iced coffee: made with hot water, with ice cubes
- Length of time
Iced coffee: 3-5 minutes, up to 1 hour
- Production
Cold brew: can be diluted with water, milk, etc., or with ice
Iced coffee: add water, ice, resistance, cream, syrup, etc.
- Taste
Iced coffee: ice melting is diluted, and the original taste of coffee is reduced
- Appreciation period
Cold brew: refrigerated and properly handled, up to one month
Iced coffee: Enjoy as soon as possible, the original flavor is lost after 10 minutes
Final Thought
Black coffee is a very classic coffee drink, it seems very simple, but if you look deeper, you will find that even if you adjust the water temperature, even the type of filter paper, in the steps of brewing coffee, you have to change something. So, no matter which way we choose to brew coffee in the end, make sure you are not afraid to try.
Bring coffee back to its original purpose and enjoy the beauty of hand-brewed coffee. Trust me, you'll love pour-over coffee.
