Coffee Brewing & Extracting

How to

Brewing: FAQ

How Much Coffee Should I Use?

Grind

Match The Grind To Brew Time

Different Extraction Methods Require Different Grind Settings

HOW MUCH COFFEE SHOULD I USE?

Specialty Coffee Association recommends 8.25g per 150ml of water. This is also refered to the "Golden Cup Standard".

Home Brewers use 2 tablespoons per cup, approximately 10 grams.

If you want to really Geek out on coffee. Measure your coffee with a TDS meter. You would want 11.5-13.5 tds (total dissolved solids) and use the SCA Brew Chart to see where it compares with the ideal "Gold Cup" Standard. If you are outside the standard or personal preference you would make changes to dose, grind, temp, etc. to manipulate the extraction to your liking. It's good practice to only change one variable at a time in order to be able to repeat results.

Brewing: FAQ

GRIND

Match the grind to your brew cycle.

The brewing or water contact time with the coffee grounds is primarily determined by grind size and bed depth. Larger particles will require longer brew times for water to penetrate.

Recommended Contact times by grind.

Fine 1-3 min
Drip 3-6 min
Coarse 6-8 min

Grinding for specific brew methods

This is an area of control that can be experimented with as a home roaster and brewer. Espresso is a fine grind. Where a pour over or French press will use a coarse grind. The finer you go with the grind the more total dissolved solids (TDS) you will extract. Be careful not to over extract but if you do that's not a bad thing...it's all about learning :)

Brewing: FAQ