How to make a perfect cup of coffee?

The ratio of 1g of coffee - 16ml of water, soaked in hot water 91 - 96 degrees C for 2-4 minutes (or 20-30 seconds), adding little salt to reduce bitterness, . are some of the many ways to help create a perfect cup of coffee, according to scientists' recommendations. What else and why should I do that? Please consult the opinion of chemist Andy Brunning.

Instructions on how to make standard coffee without adjustment

Often coffee connoisseurs will tell you that a good cup of coffee is never too bitter. However, if you already have a coffee powder that is said to be delicious, enough tools but still unable to create the coffee as expected, it is too bitter, too light, not strong enough. , . the main reason is that we have not made coffee according to science.

In fact, science can help us create a better cup of coffee, explaining why it is so rich that it is more delicious. But before going through those things, take a look at why Coffee is bitter?

Why are some types of coffee bitterer than others?

There is a surprising fact that until now, we still don't know exactly why some types of coffee taste more bitter? (Here we consider "real" coffee, regardless of the bitterness created by certain types of toxins added by humans). Scientists have discovered two compounds, chlorogenic acid lactones and phenylindanes, that are present in mild to medium roasted coffee, and they think this may be a contributing factor to the bitterness of coffee. At the same time, these two compounds also appear in strong, dark and strong roasted coffees.

A summary of the smell of coffee

Adding a little salt to the coffee will help reduce the bitterness, increase the richness

It has long been said that adding a little salt to coffee can help reduce the bitterness of coffee. In 1997, scientists conducted an experiment to clarify this. They mixed salt into bitter tastes and gave the volunteers a taste test to evaluate the bitterness. Result? Most volunteers believe that mixtures with added salt will be less bitter (the bitterness concentration of the two salt and non-salt mixtures is the same). A study published in Nature magazine points out. that giving salt to coffee will provide sodium molecules that help to inhibit bitterness, enhance the strong taste of coffee.

Balance ratio between water and coffee: 60g of coffee for 1 liter of water

Creating a balance between water and coffee is important! Too much water, the coffee cup will be pale, too little to be bitter! In addition to adding salt to reduce bitterness, choosing the right water - coffee ratio will help solve the problem of bitterness of coffee in the whole stretch of the problem. Through the survey, scientists determined that about 60g of coffee for 1 liter of water is balanced. In other words, 1 gram of coffee needs 16ml of water, and 1 espresso shot needs 7g of coffee for 16ml.

Coffee soaking time: depending on what you mix, time can be 20-30 seconds or 2-4 minutes

Coffee soaking time is also an important factor. At a simple level, the process of extracting the coffee powder chemical into a cup of coffee that we drink goes through 3 stages. First, fruity-flavoured acidic compounds will be separated first. Then there are more neutral compounds, like the caramel smell, and finally the bitter taste compounds will be separated. Therefore, shortening the time of coffee soaking will stop the extraction process at the stage where the bitterness has not been too much.

Each type of coffee and each brewing device will correspond to the different soaking time. Typically, a glass of espresso should only be in contact with coffee for 20-30 seconds. But when mixed with the pot plunger, the time can be up to 2-4 minutes.

Water temperature: 91 - 96 degrees Celsius

Coffee water temperature also affects bitterness. The ideal temperature is between 91-96 degrees C. If higher, you will "burn" a cup of coffee and increase the concentration of bitter taste. Lower temperatures cannot remove all the contents and lead to a light cup of coffee. However, using a method of cold coffee filtering (cold brew) may help reduce the concentration of bitter tastes, but the price to pay is a very long soaking time.

Type of coffee and the degree of grinding is small or big

We even have the perfect coffee technique but still don't have a good cup of coffee if it's a poor quality coffee powder. There are two main types of coffee: arabica and robusta, in which arabica is more popular because it has more and more widely accepted flavors. Robusta contains high concentrations of chemicals such as phenol, pyrroles, and sulfur-based substances so it has a very strong flavor, expressed as harsh and smelling of rubber.

The size of the coffee beans after grinding also affects the bitterness and the overall quality of the coffee cup. The seeds are too big, the extraction process will be ineffective, leading to a cup of coffee. But grinding too well, coffee beans are too small, the compounds will be separated more, faster and consequently bitter. And so, the size of the coffee beans is the factor that makes a perfect cup of coffee that we have to look for.

Sugar, milk and coffee

If you do all of the above, but you still do not do so, have a bitter and moderate coffee, you can find ways to use milk or sugar. Simple milk will help cover the taste, but it contains lactose and leads to sweetness. On the other hand, sugar makes coffee molecules "closer together" and it also has the ability to mask the bitterness of coffee.

The above are the opinions of scientists to help you make a proper cup of coffee, less bitter. However, creating a perfect cup of coffee seems impossible. Today's hurried life gives us too little time to 'find a perfect cup of coffee.