Coffee Brewing Made Simple/Complicated

It may just be human nature, but anything we do repetitively – no matter how simple – has the possibility of becoming quite technical and complicated, and it becomes important to step back, breathe, and reassess the situation. It was in this spirit, that our new coffee brewing method (debuting at our new space) was born.

First off, it’s important to remember that there are few things simpler that making coffee – “just add water”.  Basically, one adds hot water to extract a certain amount of of the soluble material; depending on how much you extract, you get a variety of flavors. Every machine, not matter how space-age looking, is simply accomplishing (to varying degrees) the same thing.

Starting from this basic understanding I decided I wanted a process that brewed coffee that met three requirements:

1.) Has the ability to extract a proper amount of soluble material, in a reasonable amount of time

2.) Simple to use to create the extraction one desires.

3.) Easy process to repeat.

Let’s take these one at a time:

The ability to extract the proper amount of soluble material, in a reasonable amount of time. There are three major factors when it comes to extraction in coffee: time, temperature, and grind size. Longer contact time, higher brew temperatures, and finer grinds increase extraction, which means the brew system needs to have the ability to hold the coffee in an insulated environment. Also, these variables play on each others, because it’s really difficult to hold the brew temp above 195º F (crucial for proper brewing) for much longer than 3:30 minutes, which means that the grind size needs to be fine enough to allow for a shorter time. If we allow all of these variables space to be what they are, we end of with a coffee brew that has a finer grind, shorter steep time, and insulated.

A simplicity of use in creating the extraction one desires. To make things simple is is often easier to break them into pieces.  In brewing coffee there are basically two major component: extraction and filtration. With the more common drip brew bar methods these components are combined, which has always made it difficult for me to find the extraction I’m looking for.  To me it became essential to have a steeping followed by a definite and speedy filtration.

Ease of repeatable results. Perhaps this is more important to me in a café setting, however, I think it’s important to have a process that can be repeated so that it doesn’t feel like you’re constantly reinventing the wheel. I appreciate that no two cups are exactly the same, but I also think if the same method produces wildly different results, you may want to check the method.

With these requirements as my starting point, we have come up with a method that works not only for the café, but can easily be done at home.  Using a double-wall glass tea infuser for our brewing vessel we accomplish the insulation factor. By grinding finer and steeping for shorter times, we achieve proper extraction within a minute. And lastly, we use a filter only for cleaning up the finer particles so the final brew is completely clean.

I’m really excited about this new brewing method and hope everyone will enjoy it on our new bar. For those interested in supporting us and learning more about brewing I suggest checking out our fundraiser.  There you can donate and receive a brew kit (infuser, filter pot, and grinder) with a lesson.