Methods of Brewing Coffee

Brewed coffee is a flavored water of roasted ground coffee beans. There are two types of brewing methods; drip brewing and French press. The freshness of roasted ground coffee beans is very essential to the creation of a good and very satisfying cup of brewed coffee. One must also know the proper methods of brewing roasted ground coffee beans to achieve the same effect.

To make sure that your coffee will always be fresh, ground only the amount of coffee beans you are planning to use each day.

The most common method of brewing coffee especially in the United States is by drip brewing. When you are aiming for a satisfying cup, the coffee has to be properly brewed. The flavor and aroma of roasted coffee beans come from its precious oils, when all of the precious oils are extracted from the roasted coffee beans; all that is left are the bitter tasting elements of it. This is what you call over-extraction. The bitterness of coffee is one of the misunderstood facts when it comes to brewing coffee. Most people believe that coffee becomes bitter because of using too much coffee when brewing which is entirely incorrect. The bitterness of coffee is caused by the over-extraction of it when it was being brewed and not the amount of it.

If you refer to have a weaker coffee but with the same personality and not that much bitterness in it, all you have to do is brew your coffee full strength and add the desired amount of hot water to the brewed coffee before drinking it. Diluting your full strength brewed coffee with water just like a concentrate will not alter any of the taste personalities of your coffee except for the fact that you’re making it a little bit weaker.

The time and temperature is also very essential when it comes to drip brewing. If the coffee has been extracted too fast it will be “under-extracted”, making the coffee weak with fewer aromas. If the extraction is too slow, the coffee will be “over-extracted” thus making it bitter. Brewing only small portions of coffee or when you need only a few cups let’s say 4 cups or less at one time, drip brewing will not be a very good choice. Proper temperature doesn’t get up fast enough for some coffee machines when you need only two cups or more.

French press brewing is the most recommended method when you’re only planning to enjoy a few cups of brewed coffee. This method is also preferred by many coffee enthusiasts. To enjoy a French press brewed coffee, these are the things you have to do. First, put a recommended amount of ground coffee beans in the coffee machine’s glass pot. Pour in water at around 200 degrees temperature and then place the push-down filter under the lid. Don’t press yet to hold the heat in. let the coffee steep for three to four minutes. Once the brewing time is already completed, then it’s the right time to slowly press the filter rod down to push the coffee grounds to the bottom of the glass pot. Once the coffee grounds are pushed to the bottom, it’s ready to be served and ready to be enjoyed.