How to Brew Coffee: Key Factors to Consider for the Perfect Cup

Brewing coffee is a true art that requires attention and precision. Surprisingly, the final taste and aroma of your cup are influenced by many factors that you may not initially consider. Although there’s no single correct recipe for coffee, certain parameters can vary within accepted standards. It’s worth taking a moment to understand which specific elements affect the preparation of an ideal brew, allowing you to enjoy the full richness of coffee every time. Today, we’ll explore the most important aspects of coffee brewing—from the choice of grind size, filter selection, water quality, and temperature, to extraction time.

You’ll learn how each of these factors influences the final outcome and which techniques can help you create coffee that delights even the most discerning palates. Prepare for a fascinating journey through the nuances of coffee, which can transform your approach to preparing this exceptional beverage. So, let’s get started.

Table of Contents:

• What Affects the Flavor of Coffee
• Grind Size
• Ratio – How Much Water for How Much Coffee?
• What Water is Best for Brewing Coffee?
• Water Temperature
• How to Choose the Right Filter?
• How to Determine Brew Time?
• What’s the Deal with Turbulence?
• In Brief

What Affects the Flavor of Coffee

The key parameters that affect the flavor of our favorite coffee include:

• grind size
• ratio, or the weight ratio of coffee to water used
• water quality, including alkalinity, hardness, and overall mineralization
• water temperature
• filter permeability
• brewing time, which is determined by ratio, grind size, and turbulence
• turbulence, which is the sum of mechanical factors like stirring, pouring height, or the water stream’s thickness

Grind Size

The grind size directly impacts brewing time by influencing how quickly water passes through the coffee grounds. Faster brewing risks under-extraction, leading to a sharp, acidic taste that lacks sweetness and depth. Finer grounds slow down the brew, reducing water flow, but be cautious: over-extracted coffee can taste bitter and intensely sour.

Ratio – How Much Water for How Much Coffee?

The coffee-to-water ratio greatly influences the final taste. It’s easier for 100 grams of water to dissolve six grams of coffee than fifteen. A smaller coffee dose yields higher extraction, bringing more flavors out of the grounds. On the other hand, more coffee results in a more concentrated brew but with fewer flavors extracted.

What Water is Best for Brewing Coffee?

Water quality is crucial as it makes up the majority of the brew. Too many minerals in hard water can overshadow the coffee flavor, making the brew harsh. Too soft water lacks minerals, resulting in a flat and bland taste.

Water Temperature

Lightly roasted coffee requires a high water temperature due to its dense components. As James Hoffmann puts it: “the hotter, the better.”

How to Choose the Right Filter?

The filter’s shape and permeability influence coffee flavor. Chemex filters are the thickest, lending a lighter body to the brew. V60 filters are thinner, while Aeropress filters are the thinnest, affecting coffee texture and body.

How to Determine Brew Time?

Brew time depends on coffee quantity, grind size, and pour technique. Faster extraction is achieved with coarser grounds, a smaller coffee dose, and a quicker pour.

What’s the Deal with Turbulence?

Turbulence is worth being mindful of and can be advantageous. It refers to any agitation of coffee grounds, whether by swirling the vessel, using a spoon, stirrer, or water stream. Each added energy boosts extraction strength.

In Brief

With so many crucial parameters, we recommend simplifying coffee brewing as much as possible. Always use high-quality beans from the Specialty segment and ensure the water is adequately soft. Mixing demineralized water with bottled water at a 1:1 ratio achieves mineralization between 100 and 150 ppm. Alternatively, a filter pitcher like Dafi or Brita will suffice.

If you want to perfect your coffee, experiment with grind size and remember to adjust only one parameter at a time to observe its impact on flavor. Changing several things simultaneously will make it difficult to verify what really worked.

If that doesn’t help, feel free to join us at JAVA University for a coffee course where all your doubts will be resolved, and you’ll gain extensive coffee knowledge! Check out our offer and book a session, and everything will become clear – our trainer Michał will take care of the rest.

This article has been prepared for you by Michał Żmuda, JAVA University Trainer.

Photos: JAVA Coffee Roasters