You have one shot at starting your day right and you don’t want to mess that up. Well you’re in luck, we are here to tell you exactly what factors you need to consider for brewing that perfect cup of Blaze Coffee. Don’t believe us, try it and let us know in the comments how much better your coffee tastes afterward. You deserve the best cup of coffee in the world each and every morning.
There are many variables that can affect the taste and aroma of your coffee. Including but not limited to the quality of the green beans, how they were roasted, and how long after they are roasted that you are making your coffee. It is important to remember that roasted beans reach their peak 4-6 days after roasting, which is why it is important to know the date they were roasted. For great tasting coffee, the roasting date is more important than the expiration date.
Step 1: The Coffee Beans
As stated above, the fresher and better sourced your beans increases your chances greatly of brewing the best coffee for you in the morning. You have five great roasts to choose from.
All of the coffee you purchase from Blaze Coffee Roasters is specialty grade; and this means that it is the prime pick of the entire world coffee stock. This stock comprises precisely 3% of the global coffee bean yield.
Coffee that is described as specialty grade goes through a rigorous classification process, meeting the strictest of standards before being chosen.
Step 2: The Ratio of Water to Coffee
The ideal ratio of coffee to water is 2 tablespoons / 30ml of ground coffee for every 6 ounces / 177ml of water. If we break that down to an actual 16 ounce cup, you would use 80ml of coffee to brew that perfect cup.
Step 3: The Type of Grind
For the freshest best tasting coffee you should be grinding your beans right before brewing in order for all of the coffees aromas and flavours to be extracted properly. That is why we sell only whole bean coffee to you our most discerning consumer. Now depending on your brew method, you will need to set your grinder at the setting which best fits your brewing method. The best type of grinder for your needs will be a burr grinder with multiple settings. We understand you may not have a burr grinder and don't worry a blade, disc or conical grinder will suit your purposes just fine.
Step 4: Your Preferred Brewing Method or Equipment
Let’s be honest your best brew method is the one you already have at home. It could be French Press (Immersion), Chemex (Pour-Over), Vacuum, Hybrid, Drip Coffee Maker (Batch Brewing) and Rapid Extraction (Espresso). The most important factor and we can’t stress this enough is choosing the right grind size for the equipment you use at home. Also important is the evenness in brewing, and what that means is that you get more consistency with your Drip Coffee Maker than you may with your Chemex (a human that pours water can not match the consistency of your drip coffee maker). And finally, maintaining a steady brew temperature is also very important (We’ll cover that in greater detail later on).
Step 5: Proper Brewing Technique/Operation
Extracting the right amount of flavour from your coffee beans is a lot like goldilocks and the three bears. If you aren’t careful, you can under extract or over extract your coffee. What you are looking for is the one that is just right for you. This can be done by controlling 3 different variables with your preferred brewing method: water contact time, water temperature and turbulence (this is the agitation of the grounds created when the hot water moves through and around the grounds). You can achieve turbulence from the natural agitation of the hot water hitting the coffee grounds and stirring with a spoon when using the pour-over method.
Water contact time: If you brew your coffee too quickly, the water may not have enough time to properly extract all of the rich flavours and aromas you want, and if your water moves through the coffee too slowly your coffee may become over-extracted which can lead to bitterness.
Water temperature: What is very important for your perfect Blaze Coffee is to make sure the water isn’t too hot or your coffee will be over-extracted and bitter, but if it’s too cold it will be under-extracted and weak. The current standard is for a water temperature range between 91˚ Celsius (195˚ Fahrenheit) and 96˚ Celsius (205˚ Fahrenheit). Did you know that there are kettles on the market that can modulate the temperature to fit this range? There are a plethora of choices from Oster, Bonavita, Cuisinart and Mr. Coffee.
Turbulence: Looking to increases the efficiency of your coffee extraction, controlling turbulence is a great way to do this. Factors involved in controlling turbulence in a normal auto-drip brewer are; adequate delivery speed, grind particle size, bed depth (the weight of coffee and size of filter basket) and the filter composition are just a few. It is recommended that your bed depth (the level of grounds in your filter) is 1-2 inches high and vary it for your preference from there.
Hand Brewing: Controlling turbulence in hand brewing comes down to the manual agitation (stirring), your brew water velocity, filtration/flow and bubbling.
Now we know this is pretty technical but basically what you need to keep in mind is that how you do your pour-over matters and the water contacting the grounds in a coffee machine also matter. Making sure the water gets evenly distributed over the grounds in your coffee machine and of course make sure the water temperature is hot enough in your coffee maker.
Step 6: The Quality of your Water
This may surprise you but your water is a huge determining factor in brewing a perfect tasting Blaze Coffee. Your water should be odour free and contain no visible impurities. Your water needs to contain approximately 150mg/L of total dissolved solids (some dissolved solids are needed to brew your coffee, but water in excess of 250mg/L of dissolved solids will inhibit the extraction of your coffee), 3 to 4 grains (51-58ml/L) of calcium hardness (excess calcium compounds diminish the perception of acidity in your brewed coffee), no chlorine and a pH of between 7-8.
Step 7: Your Chosen Filtering Type
There are three different filtering methods you can use for brewing that cup of joe.
Metal Coffee Filters
Metal coffee filters like what is used in the Chemex can let in more insoluble solids. While it may give your coffee more body, it will give your coffee a cloudy appearance with the oils and fats that filter through.
Cloth Coffee Filters
A perfect middle ground is the cloth coffee filter, while it may let in some oils and solids, your coffee will be a touch less cloudy, although they can be impractical for most due to the fact they are much harder to clean.
Paper Coffee Filters
The most common type out there that more than 90% of people use is the paper coffee filter. Now you can expect a smooth cup of coffee but most report their coffee having a papery taste. The cure for this is to pre-soak your filter in hot water and let the filter sit for a couple of minutes before use.
Now let's get brewing!
We would love to know how you make your coffee and how this article helped you. Leave a comment below or reach out to us on social media and let's start a conversation.
