What is Coffee Extraction?
Coffee Extraction:
When making coffee, the most important thing to consider is extracting the most flavors out of the coffee. Whether you add in sweeteners, creamers, or spices, you always want to receive the most out of your coffee in terms of its flavors.
Aroma, bitterness, and strength of the coffee all contribute to the overall flavor of the coffee. With so many taste factors for your coffee, you wouldn’t want to lose the taste of any when you extract the grounds.
What is coffee extraction?
eExtraction yield” and “solubles yield”) involves dissolving the soluble flavors that are found in coffee grounds. When the grounds are dissolved with water, the soluble flavors are released, emitting the true flavor of the coffee. The parts that are released are known as brewed coffee. In terms of solubility, the parts that are extracted from the grounds include acids, lipids, sugars, carbohydrates, and caffeine.
HOW DOES COFFEE EXTRACTION AFFECT THE COFFEE?
The amount of coffee in a cup is determined by the coffee extraction. The yield percentage (how much is brewed or the weight of the liquid) is affected by the amount of coffee that is extracted from the grounds. The solubility and extraction can be changed by the size of grind, the characteristics of the coffee grounds, and the roast degree of the coffee beans.
Part of the ratio for brewing coffee involves extracting the correct degree of the flavors. Extracting too much (over-extraction) will result in bitter coffee that does not taste as good. Whereas extracting too little (under-extraction) will give you a salty taste, as if it were in its coffee bean form, which can be undesirable for some people.
The type of coffee bean that is used for coffee extraction plays a crucial role in the solubility levels. For Arabica beans more grams of coffee are needed because they are less soluble and thicker than the Robusta beans. To extract the Arabica beans, a higher temperature is needed (than that of Robusta), while using a standard water temperature ratio.
Under-extracting coffee results in a coffee that tastes salty, sour, and acidic. Over-extracting coffee results in a coffee that tastes hollow, bitter, and less of the actual coffee taste. You don’t want to extract too little but at the same time you do not want to extract too much.
