Tips & tricks for the perfect coffee at home
Learning how to make the perfect coffee at home may sound daunting, but the good thing is you have all the time in the world to get it right. Once you’ve found your perfect cup, all you have to do is make sure you remember how you did it! Using a coffee machine that offers pre-set options or profile memorising is a great way to ensure consistent quality.
Tips for making the perfect coffee
- Always take care that your coffee has been ground as recently as possible. Its flavour starts to diminish as soon as it comes into contact with the air.
- Pick the right level of grind for the type of coffee you want to make: coarse ground coffee is preferable when there is prolonged contact with the hot water (French press, drip method); a finer ground is perfect for an espresso, when the contact between the coffee and water is minimal.
How to extract your coffee
Under extracted – under extraction occurs when not enough flavour has been extracted from the coffee grinds. Under extracted coffee can taste sour or strangely salty, with a “thin” flavour. Any extraction under 18% is classified as under extraction.
Over extracted – over extraction involves taking too much of the soluble flavours out of the coffee. This can make your cup taste bitter, sometimes really bitter, mostly thanks to the caffeine. Any extraction over 22% is classified as over extraction.
Balanced – a balanced extraction has a rich range of flavours that are pleasantly aromatic, not too acid and with a hint of low-level bitterness. The finish should also be palatable and lasting.
