Brew Coffee
Many people grind their beans themselves, to ensure a fresh and flavorful cup of coffee. But not as many people roast their own. Whether you are a home roaster or not, knowing the different roast levels and their taste characteristics can be helpful when purchasing coffee.
What exactly does roasting do? The sugars, fats and starches that are within the bean are emulsified, caramelized and released. This creates the delicate coffee oil. This oil is what gives coffee its distinctive aroma and taste.
In general, lighter roasts are sharper and more acidic than the darker roasts. Darker roasts have a fuller flavor. Beans that have been over roastedwill take on a burned, smoky or charcoal fflavor Also, there is less caffeine in the darker roasted coffees than in the lighter ones. The roast alone doesn’t determine the resulting coffee taste or quality. The origin of the beans makes a big difference. A bean from Ethiopia will taste differently than a bean from India, even if they are both French roast.
Here are the basic roast terms. Many are used interchangeably, so be careful.
The bean is light brown, and dry (no oil visible). The flavor is baked or bready, like toasted grain. There will likely be definite sour tones. There is not much body in cinnamon roasted coffee.
A term not as frequently used as the others, though this roast is apparently common in the eastern United States. It’s a little darker than the cinnamon roast, but without the grainy flavor. New England roast will still have some sour tones to it.
Medium light brown beans. This roast is the norm for eastern USA. This roast (and sometimes cinnamon as well) is the most often used for cupping or professional tasting.
The color is darker still, more of a medium brown (think chocolate). This roast is common in the western parts of the USA. This roast is a good choice to taste the differences between varietals.
Medium dark brown beans. The beans will start to show some oily drops on the surface with this roast. Full City will have caramel or chocolate undertones.
Beans are starting to get dark brown, and French roasted beans are shiny with oil. There is less acidity, but with burned undertones. This roast is often used when making Espresso. Many people think this is the darkest roast available, but that’s not true.
Similar to regular French, but more so. Darker and oilier looking, and with a stronger burned flavor.
Darkest roast of all. Color is nearly black, and the flavor is flat with a charcoal undertone.
Brewing: Twelve Tips for Brewing A Perfect Cup of Coffee!
1. Grind your own coffee just prior to brewing. If you don’t already grind your own, you should consider doing so. It’s a key factor in getting the greatest amount of wonderful flavor from your coffee.
2. Use the correct grind for your method of brewing. If your coffee is bitter and overly strong it may mean that you’re using too fine a grind and thus slowing up the brewing process too much. If your brew lacks flavor or strength it may mean that you’re using a grind that’s too coarse for your method .
3. Use freshly drawn cold water. Hot water has a tendency to be flat and stale.
4. Use the right amount of coffee. Suggested proportions are two level tablespoons (or 1 standard coffee measure) of coffee per twelve ounces (one coffee cup) of water. Adjust the amount of coffee to your own taste, but strongly brewed coffee tastes better.
5. Clean the coffee maker and server often. Be sure to “descale” your automatic drip coffee maker often…especially if you have a lot of minerals in your water.
6. Make sure the water temperature is as close to 200 degrees as possible. If you’re using a pour over drip method or plunger pot, just heat the water to boiling, and then let it cool off a minute or two before pouring through the coffee. If you use an automatic drip coffee maker, test the temperature of the water as it comes out into the ground coffee chamber. If it is substantially lower that 200 degrees (cheap coffee makers often are), invest in a new high quality coffee maker.
7. Make a full pot. When using an automatic drip coffee maker it is best to brew to full capacity. A drip pot made to brew six cups of coffee will make its best tasting coffee if you brew all six.
8. Never re-use grounds. If using plunger method, pour and serve as soon as brewing is complete.
9. Serve coffee immediately after brewing. With drip methods stir the brew before serving. Coffee holds its flavor very well for about 20 minutes, and is usually still drinkable for up to an hour. Don’t serve coffee that has been on the hot plate for an hour… only bad restaurants do that.
10. Do not reheat cooled coffee. And, don’t mix old coffee with new. Consider a thermal vacuum coffee carafe. It will keep freshly brewed coffee hot for eight hours at full flavor.
11. Don’t use bad tasting water to make your coffee. If your tap water isn’t pleasant to drink, use bottled or purified water for your coffee.
12. Use 2 Spoons Fresh Roasted Coffee! When combined with the above tips, you’ll have the greatest cup of coffee in the world…every day of the year.