
My Two Cents About Brew Guides & Parameters
Share
When it comes to brewing and drinking coffee, everyone’s tastes are different. There are an infinite number of ways to prepare the beverage and everyone has their own opinions. I’m not here to tell you how you should be drinking your coffee, but I’d absolutely like to help if you need some guidance. I get asked similar questions all the time about the “perfect” way to brew a particular coffee or a style of coffee. The truth is there is no right way and it can take some trial and error to figure out what you like and how to brew it.
I get it. It’s frustrating when the coffee you make at home doesn’t live up to the coffees you purchase at your favourite café. That’s why I’ve added general brewing guides for various different brew methods below. However, I want to highlight that these are just guidelines and are merely a starting point. They represent how I like drinking my coffee which might will be different from how you like drinking your coffee. If you have a different method or ratio that you prefer, I encourage you to stick with what you like. What matters is what you like and how your own coffee ritual will elevate your mood.
Here are a few tips and tricks I have found useful when brewing my own coffee and dialling it in to my preferences:
- Clean your machine or brewer regularly. Limescale and coffee oil buildup will happen and it’s important to keep your machine/brewer clean. You can get coffee oil cleaners that can help with this. Always follow the cleaning instructions for your machine or you risk damaging its internal parts.
- Use filtered water. It does make a difference! Filtered =/= Distilled. Coffee needs certain minerals found in filtered water to enhance its flavour profile (if you use distilled water then you need to add mineral packets to the water for use with coffee). PSA: for those using an espresso machine, tap water will most likely harm your machine if you live in Toronto as the water is quite hard. Using a BWT or Brita filter will help.
- Drink fresh coffee. I like drinking coffee within ~30 days (give or take a few days) of its roast date. Try experimenting with this and see how the taste of coffee changes as it ages. Figure out what you like best and go from there.
General Brewing Parameters
Espresso
Dry dose: 17-20 grams of ground coffee, wet dose: 40-50 mL of brewed espresso
Filter/Immersion (Drip, Pour Over, AeroPress, French Press)
14-18 grams of ground coffee to 225-250 mL of waterMoka Pot (for a 4-cup sized vessel)
15-17 grams of finely ground coffee (like a very fine espresso grind) to 960 mL of water
This makes a strong coffee so some people choose to dilute it with more hot water depending on taste preference. I personally like it as is, without dilution.
Common issues and how to troubleshoot:
- Coffee too bitter-astringent with a watery mouth feel = increase dose OR make grind size finer OR a combination of both.
- Coffee too strong (very punchy sour and bitter flavours) or if your espresso machine hardly has any water passing through it while brewing = decrease dose OR make grind size coarser OR a combination of both.
Still having issues getting a good taste profile from your coffee beans at home? Contact me at info@moodartisancoffee.com and we can troubleshoot together.