No More Bitter Coffee Face (and what is caffiene)?

With a little know-how, even she will smile!

 Prior to the "Boston Tea Party of 1773", American colonists enjoyed a hot cuppa tea as their preferred pick me up in a cup but this historic and rebellious event lead to the need for a "new brew", thus began our love affair with mojo, bean juice, java, joe, liquid-life, go-juice....COFFEE!!

(1-proper ratios; 2-fresh coffee; 3-fresh water, temp & time) 

  Now I have heard over and over again people saying to me that they don't like "stong" coffee, when in reality I know different.  What people really don't like is "bitter" coffee, the strength of the brew is not the issue.  Now, uneducated logic tells us that the answer to bitter coffee is to use less in the brewing process.  The reality of this solution is that it makes the bitterness even worse!  The reason is because of something called over-extraction.  When we brew a cup of coffee, our goal is to extract the good oils, sugars and desirable flavors held inside the coffee bean, but there is a point where brewing goes beyond extracting the good, rich flavors and into extracting the deeper, bitter elements.  Ok, imagine that you are holding a slice of ripe, fresh, juicy, red watermelon.  You take the first few bites and the flavor is sweet, sugary, watermelony(?) but you stop biting down into the slice once you reach the green rind because you know from experience that the green is where the good flavors stop. 

 Well, in similar fashion, by using less coffee we are brewing all of the good out of that small amount and continue the brewing process into extracting the bitter elements.  

Even though it may seem counter intuitive, part one of the answer to the problem of bitter coffee is to use more, NOT less (or, more precisely, the proper ratio of coffee to water, which to many is quite a bit more).  Which begs the question: 

(1)-"Dave, what is the proper coffee to water ratio?"  

  I am soooo glad you asked!  According to the SCAA the proper ratio of coffee to water is:

• 2 Tablespoons fresh ground coffee
• Per 6oz fresh water

  So, for example, you want to brew 4 cups (6oz = 1 standard cup) of coffee, that is going to be 24 oz of water to 8 Tablespoons of fresh roasted, fresh ground coffee.  This, to many, will seem like quite a lot more than they are used to using but it is the proper amount of coffee to ensure the brewing process doesn't delve into the extraction of the bitter elements.  To the doubters, I say, take a chance and give it a try at least one time and please share the results by posting your comments below. (p.s. - To make it even more easy, you can buy a 2oz Coffee Measure scoop from practically any store for under $1.50)

  Ok, this brings us to Part (2), Fresh Coffee.  Now this may seem like a silly question but I couldn't be more serious, here it is; The last time you bought a two liter of soda, did you have the checker at the store remove the lid at the store for your convenience?  The answer is of course not, the soda would loose its carbonation and go flat and flavorless very quickly.  Ok then, think of the whole, un-ground coffee bean as the vessel (just like the 2 liter plastic bottle for the soda) that holds and keeps fresh the oils, sugars and rich flavors we want in our cup of coffee.  Once the coffee is ground, those oils and sugars are exposed to the oxygen and begin quickly to evaporate.  Now, I have heard the rebuttal of what about pre-ground vacuum packed grocery store coffees, surely this process keeps the coffee fresh?

A master roaster and his machine.

Answer, short and sweet is NO.  In fact, you know that nice phwissssssh sound and smell you get when you first break the seal on that can of pre-ground coffee, well, that is actually force pumped back into the can the instant before being sealed and packaged.  We chant the "fresh is best" mantra for everything we want to put on our tables from fruits, breads, meats, dairy products etc. but we have been convinced to ignore this mantra when it comes to our coffee, simple one word question, WHY? (the detailed and lengthy answer lies in economics, large scale mass production and what we will tolerate, or settle for, as "good" coffee).  To wrap up Part 2, suffice it to say that fresh roasted (within one to two weeks max), unground coffee is what you want if you are seriously looking to say goodbye to the bitter coffee face.  Do a google search for local coffee roasters, read some reviews and let the adventure begin.  Now roasting coffee is a whole other art which we will not go into here but it is incredible and be aware that just because someone advertises that they roast their own coffee does not necessarily mean they know how to roast GOOD coffee or that they source quality Arabica coffee so it may take some time and sleuthing to find the real deal but once you do you are well on your way to coffee magic!  The one piece of equipment you will need is a good coffee grinder.  The blade grinders you see at Target or Wal-Mart, or just about any other store, are a step up but they cannot grind to a uniform size (which is important) as a burr grinder can.  So if you can find (google "burr grinder") and afford a burr grinder, which is what I recommend and use myself, then it is well worth it, but if you just are starting out and want to experiment then a blade grinder will do an adequate job.  Which brings us to the last part.

Part (3) Fresh water, temp. & time.
  If you take your cell phone and dial 918-477-1000, you will get the temp. and time but that isn't the time & temp. I am talking about here, so here we go.  Fresh water is very important in eliminating bitter coffee.  A cup of coffee (and tea) is, by volume, around 90% water, so if the water that you are using to brew your coffee tastes bad or odd then even if you are using the finest, freshest roasted coffee in the world, your cup of coffee is going to taste bad or odd.  If your tap water tastes fine then by all means, use it.  But if it tastes unpleasant, I suggest filtering and then use it.  Now by fresh water, I also mean fresh drawn water for each pot of coffee.  Once you boil a kettle of water you activate elements of the water that are essential to the coffee (and tea) brewing process, so I do not recommend reboiling a kettle of water for optimum coffee flavor.  This bring us finally to temp. and time.  The best temperature of water for extracting the desired coffee oils and sugars is between 190 - 205 degrees Fahrenheit.  Basically, bring your kettle of fresh drawn water to a whistling boil, set it off of heat for 10 seconds and then it should be at the desired temperature.  Optimum brewing time of water contact to coffee grounds is between 4 to 5 minutes.   So bottom line breaks down to these points:

1. Fresh roasted, whole bean un-ground coffee & coffee grinder (don't forget coffee to water ratio)
2. Quality and fresh drawn kettle of water 
3. Bring water to between 190 - 205 degrees Fahrenheit
4. Grind coffee ( if using a blade grinder, hold the button down 12 - 15 seconds) right before water reaches temp. Pour water over ground coffee making sure to saturate the entire bed of coffee.  Let steep 4 - 5 minutes and enjoy a new level of coffee flavor and personal alertness!  A lert, my mom used to tell me that the world needs more lerts? (what the??) Anyway, my mom aside, what is it about the caffeine in coffee that gets us motivated and awakened?

CAFFEINE!!

  Well, if you are still with me in this article (by the way, I am very much enjoying a fresh, properly brewed, cup of Kenyan AA coffee as I finish this last bit and it is just what I needed, ahhhhhhhhhhhh!)
  This won't take long, this is the final lap.  Ok, drowsiness is believed by most to typically be caused by a buildup of a neurotransmitter inhibitor in the brain called "Adenosine".  For every hour an organism is awake, Adenosine binds together and builds up in increasing levels in the brain leading to drowsiness and ultimately sleep.  Caffeine inhibits the ability of Adenosine to bind together and build up in the brain which leads to heightened brain activity, alertness and the release of good ole' Adrenaline, therefore, we are wired and ready to go! (see, I can keep it short and sweet...... occasionally)
  However, I would add that you need to be aware that the effects of caffeine are experienced differently in each person.  Some, if not most, have a positive response to the effects of Caffeine, while some can experience an over or hyper reaction to the Caffeine while others still will have a very mild reaction to the Caffeine even to practically no reaction at all.  The bottom line is to be aware of how Caffeine effects you!

  In the year 1674, women banned together to protest the drinking of that evil brew, coffee, by the men of that day (this is so true, I am not making this up, look it up).  Anyway, here is an excerpt from the protesters of that day:

“Coffee leads men to trifle away their time, scald their chops, and spend their money, all for a little base, black, thick, nasty, bitter, stinking nauseous puddle water.”

Oh deary dear!

Until next time, wishing you all the very best,

Barista Dave!