BREWING BASICS

Coffee can be a hot commodity in your cafeteria. Whether your customers are looking for a jump-start at breakfast time or a pick-me-up beverage throughout the day, brewing the perfect cup is essential.

So what does it take to brew a quality cup of coffee every time?

BEANS
To enjoy a great-tasting coffee, start with the freshest, highest-quality beans.

Buying great beans is just the first step in having a good coffee. Storing, brewing and grinding are just as important.

STORAGE
Protect your coffee beans from moisture, light and most especially, air.

Keep your coffee fresher longer by only opening the pack when you’re ready to start brewing.

When buying large quantities of coffee, store beans in several small airtight containers. Or grind your coffee just before brewing to ensure fresh coffee flavor.

Coffee that will be consumed within two weeks should be stored in airtight, opaque container or in vacuum, preserving all its organoleptic characteristics. Store in cool, dark, place between 50F and 70F.

For coffee that's kept longer than two weeks, store it in your freezer. However, do not return the coffee once it has been removed since moisture condensation will hasten flavor loss. Constantly removing and returning it to the freezer will cause moisture, which can condense and freeze on the bean.

Whole bean coffee retains its flavor much longer than ground coffee since less area is exposed to air.

GRIND
Each coffeemaker is designed to brew using a specific grind. The faster the brew cycle, the finer the grind (such as the fine grind for espresso, which takes about 25 seconds) while the slower the brew cycle, the coarser the grind (such as in coffee press where grounds steep for about four minutes). For drip brewers, appropriate grind should allow the coffee to finish dripping in several minutes.

Even with the best beans, using the wrong grind will destroy its taste. If the grind is too fine, the coffee will be bitter and can clog your brewer. If the grind is too coarse, the coffee will taste weak and sour.

The following grind work best in the coffeemakers below. Approximate Time for Blade Grinders:
COARSE
coffee press
6 seconds

MEDIUM
Most Flat-bottom Drip Coffeemakers
8-10 seconds

EXTRA FINE
Cone-shaped Filters
15 seconds

Tips:
When using blade grinder, shake it gently during grinding to achieve uniform grind.

Do not reuse grounds.

There are four methods of grinding coffee for brewing:

burr-grinding, chopping, pounding, and roller grinding

BURR COFFEE GRINDERS:
A burr-based coffee grinder is a machine with two revolving ‘tearers’ that spins, rips and crushes the beans, without any risk of the beans becoming burnt. These type of coffee grinders are generally either wheel or conical in variety, with most connoisseurs preferring the quieter, aroma-preserving, and less-likely-to-clog conical grinders.

A conical burr coffee grinder can get your coffee beans down to a very fine and consistent powder without needing to go to high speed – they work at about 500rpm as opposed to the 10-20,000 rpm of a wheel grinder – which makes them ideal for the extra fine needs of Turkish Coffee. The ability of conical coffee grinders to do their job without heating the grounds is what keeps the aroma intact, and the option of a variety of grind settings make the resulting product suitable for a wide array of coffee-making equipment, such as espresso, drip, percolators, and even French press.

The wheel-based coffee grinder, or disk-type, grinds at a faster speed than conical burr grinders, which warms up the grounds, but they do bring about a far more consistent grind, which is well-suited to most home espresso machines.

BLADE COFFEE GRINDERS (or CHOPPING GRINDERS):
Most commercially available grinders simply chop the beans into smaller and smaller pieces until you’re left with a powder, and sure, this will give you the coffee grinds needed to make a decent cup of coffee, but there’s also a downside to the chopping process.

The ground coffee from a blade coffee grinder has uneven particles which tend to be warmer, which does affect the aroma. These grinders also create coffee dust, which can clog up the works of espresso machines, or make it harder for filters to do their job. While chopping grinders are suitable for drip coffee makers, and can be very handy for chopping spices and herbs, they’re not the sort of equipment that a coffee connoisseur will have sitting on the kitchen counter.

Pounding

Turkish coffee requires that the grounds be almost powdery in fineness, finer than can be achieved by most burr grinders. Pounding the beans with a mortar and pestle can pulverize the coffee finely enough.

Roller grinding

In a roller grinder, the beans are ground between pairs of corrugated rollers. A roller grinder produces a more even grind size distribution and heats the ground coffee less than other grinding methods. However, due to their size and cost, roller grinders are used exclusively by commercial and industrial scale coffee producers.

WATER
Water is 98% of every cup of coffee.

Always use freshly drawn, cold, and light water. If your tap water tastes fine, then you may use it. Otherwise, use water filter or bottled water.

Change your water filters at recommended intervals, which is usually every three to six months.

Avoid using distilled, alkaline and tap water with chlorine. Water should be free from rust.

Salty, calcareous or hard water typical of certain areas weakens the taste.

Do not accelerate the preparation time using hot water. Always start with cold water that will gradually heat up.

Remember to not use boiled water.

Read separate post on What is hard water?

PROPORTION
This is the portion where you do a balancing act. Use the proper proportion of coffee to water or it will end up tasting too weak or too strong.

Suggested ratio is one tablespoon of coffee for every six ounces of water. A coffee cup is 180 mL of water poured though 10 g of coffee.

PUTTING GROUND COFFEE ON MACHINE
Level off ground coffee in the filter before brewing.

Do not press the ground coffee inside the coffee machine. Put it delicately, eliminating the clots

When brewing both flavored and regular varieties, designate separate brew baskets and serving containers for each to reduce crossing the delicate flavors.

TEMPERATURE
The ideal water temperature for all brewing methods with the exception of espresso is 195F to 205F or what is called "water just off the boil." To achieve it, bring water to a boil and let it cool for a few seconds.

If the water is below 180°F, you're likely to have coffee that is too weak. However, if the water is too hot, you could have coffee that’s too strong or bitter.

Never boil or reheat coffee as it boils away flavor and causes bitterness. Never add fresh coffee to old coffee.

Coffee can be kept warm over a burner for only about 20 minutes before the flavor becomes unpleasant. An air pot, vacuum server or thermal carafe can keep your coffee hot up to two hours without losing its flavor.

CLEANING YOUR EQUIPMENT
Clean the coffeemaker and permanent filters regularly. Oil residues will eventually alter the taste of your coffee.

Discard the used ground coffee and rinse the brew basket with warm water.

Wipe spray heads with a clean, damp cloth to remove coffee oil.

For new coffee machines or machines that have not been used for a long time, it is better to boil a small quantity of coffee before you use it.

SERVING COFFEE
Drink the coffee hot or just made. This is the most suitable moment to enjoy its full aroma and taste.

More info on Brewing Guide here

Learn the Seven Steps to Excellent Brewed Coffee here