Preparation Guide
There is a belief that in order to prepare a "proper" coffee we need a large number of artifacts, some of them quite expensive, and we frantically launch ourselves into the purchase of hundreds of products, which, although they may be necessary, do not in themselves guarantee only we get the result we have in mind.
After years of experience, and with all kinds of results, we have drawn up this short list of what we consider necessary, if not basic, to get the best out of the coffee we are going to prepare.
TIPS FOR PREPARING A COFFEE
1. Always use exact or precise measurements
The first thing is to find our personal "point". There are people who prefer their coffee a little stronger or a little lighter... that is something exclusively personal and requires a little practice and a few trials to find the ideal amount of coffee for us.
To do this, the first thing is to have a digital scale. And a good one, because although it seems exaggerated, any variation of 1gr or even less, makes us obtain very different results. We are going to use the scale to measure both the coffee beans and the water. After years and years of experience, one could obtain such mastery that one could "eyeball it", but if it is perseverance that is sought, it is impossible to obtain it without one.
3. Find the correct proportions of coffee and water, always according to your taste
This, as we mentioned before, will vary depending on your taste, but it also changes from one coffee to another and from one brewing device to another. After several tests, for our varieties and their characteristics, we recommend using 10 to 12 grams of coffee for every 120ml of water.
Trick:
If the result is weak coffee, adjust the grind to a finer point and vice versa if the coffee is too strong.
2. Whenever possible, use freshly ground coffee
If you have reached the point of having a digital scale, it is because you are truly passionate about coffee, so we assume that you do not consume just any coffee and that you have a good grinder. If you are thinking of buying one, you have several options in the market and everything will largely depend on how much you are willing to invest. There are manual, electric blades and others with conical grinding wheels. Grind all grind; What makes the difference, in addition to the quality of the pieces since the cheap ones tend to break relatively quickly, is the precision of the desired grinding size.
Remember that once the coffee is ground, its natural oxidation process begins. If you grind all the coffee you have, try to keep it in containers prepared for it, such as our containers with degassing valves. Glass jars and metal cans are very decorative, but they are not the most convenient option for optimal coffee preservation. That is why we recommend grinding the precise amount that is going to be consumed at that moment.
TAKE IT EASY AND ENJOY ITS PREPARATION STEP BY STEP
4. Use the correct grind size for each type of coffee maker
The size of the grind varies from one coffee to another but also from one coffee maker to another, since there is a correlation or dependence on the amount of water to be used. It is one thing to prepare drip/filter coffee and another to make an espresso, for example. We will develop a specific guide for the most common methods of preparation in which you can obtain more information and if you have questions, ask us.
5. Use the correct extraction time
It is very easy to under-extract coffee. That is, get it out early. And in the case of Mokka coffee makers, it is very common to over-extract it, that is, to leave it on the plate/stove, only causing the coffee to burn and become more
bitter.
Therefore, the time the water passes through the coffee is essential to obtain a good, balanced infusion that allows us to perceive all the aromas and flavors of the coffee we have selected.
The time of passage of course will vary depending on the coffee maker that we use; we have for example the Aeropress whose preparation can take about 60 seconds approx, up to the 4 or 5 minutes needed for a French press.
It may seem a bit exaggerated, but it does not hurt to use a clock or better, a stopwatch to ensure that the coffee infusion time is correct and to be able to replicate it on other occasions.
Do you have a specific question about the world of coffee and can't find the right answer?
AND IF WE DON'T KNOW, WE'LL TRY TO FIND OUT FOR YOU. WE WILL PUBLISH WHAT WE FIND IN THE "PREPARATION GUIDES" SECTION OR WE WILL CREATE A POST ON PURPOSE ON OUR BLOG
6. Use good quality water
The water we consume in most countries is drinkable, but it may be the case that we perceive a somewhat peculiar taste and it may simply be due to an excess of calcium. Depending on the palate of each person, even being drinkable it can have a certain flavor that will alter the final result of the coffee. If this is the case, we recommend the use of filtered water.
We, both in Colombia and in Spain we use tap water in our preparations.
If the issue of odors and tastes in the water is constant and they are annoying, you can use carbon filters that eliminate them quite well.
7. Cleaning
This is a fundamental factor and there are several theories about it. What we all agree on is carrying out the cleaning tasks once the coffee has been prepared. Remember that it is convenient to let it rest a bit once repaired, so we will have a couple of minutes to clean the used coffee maker.
We are not friends with using any type of soap or anything other than tap water to rinse coffee pots.
In case of having small remains of coffee wells, we clean it with kitchen paper and that's it. We have been doing it this way for several years and the results continue to be excellent and the machines are in perfect condition.
To conclude, we can only tell you to take it easy and enjoy every step of the preparation.
At the beginning it will take you a little time and the occasional mistake to find your sweet spot. Try to do the tests in the most rigorous way possible, that is by making measurements, so that once you have found the proportion that you like, you can replicate it over and over again.
MOST COMMON
BREWING METHODS
We have prepared a series of posts for you on our blog to learn a little more about the history and preparation characteristics of the most widely used coffee machines in the world, both professionally and individually.
