Coffee (filter / aeropress? Definitely espresso). 'Rule of thirds.'

[mrs quoad]

I've just been brewing a particularly anal* morning cup, and it struck me that this might be of interest to some of the Ubranites who've begun using aeropress.

I'm pretty damned sure it applies equally well to filter, too. (I loosely judge when to stop pouring not only by time soaking / volume; but also by the colour of the coffee 'crust' formed by the grounds).

http://www.home-barista.com/espresso-guide-good-extractions.html

The early part of the extraction contains a predominance of the acids and the portion derived from fines. The central part of the extraction contains a predominance of the sugars and caramels. The final part of the extraction tends towards bitterness, but will also be fairly weak, sometimes almost tasteless. Among enthusiasts, this is known as the rule of thirds.

So, if the espresso is too sour, or worse, has the citrus peel acridity from high grown fines (a bright lingering bitterness mainly on the roof of the mouth), let the first second or two of the flow go into the drip tray. This is an old Italian barista trick for dealing with rioy Brasils, but it can also be used on gourmet blends containing a lot of acidy high grown coffees.

On the other hand, if the espresso tastes flat or bitter-dull, stop the extraction at a darker color to reduce the proportion of weak bitterish coffee, and increase the proportion of the intense flavors from early in the shot.

If the espresso is not sweet enough, you can do both by capturing the flow after a few seconds and ending while the flow is still darker. This "center-cut" shot will favor the sugars and caramels in the extraction.

That can (obv) be used to tinker with a cup, too, regardless of whether or not it's borked to begin with.

If a bean's getting older (back end of a fortnight 2 to 3 weeks), I'll often stop the flow a couple of seconds (or several seconds) early - because the cup's probably getting pretty thin / bitter towards the back end of the extraction anyway, and there's no reason to emphasise what's already likely to be the worst characteristic of the cup.

And if I'm just not enjoying a brew, I'll often tinker. Like, pulling out the middle third of a shot (and separately cupping the 1st and 3rd third) is one way of picking apart what's going on (and what's going wrong). And of - hopefully - getting at least a drinkable third of a cup.




*this morning's particularly anal coffee involved Hasbean's Jailbreak blend, approaching 2 weeks old, and getting distinctly minchy / bitter / thin around the edges.

And 3 cups.

The two 'main' cups got the first 2/3 of one of the first two shots, each. And then the first third and the second third (respectively) of the third shot.

Whilst the third cup got the third third of all three shots, and a big dollop of steamed milk.

Which - all in all - resulted in three really rather pleasant brews, instead of three borderline minging and distinctly unsatisfying cups.

(Should probably clarify that this was from a lever machine that produces 1-1.5oz shots; so 3 shots adds up to a bit more than a conventional double.)

[/geek]

And before anyone asks, hell yeah, Mellow Birds is fine, too

 

[mrs quoad]

On a side note (related to thirds), here is Home Barista's infographic on judging endshot by foam colour.

tbh, I'm pretty bloody sure it's meant to show a whole lot of other things, too. But in the 4 or so years I've spent (very) occasionally bouncing off it, I'm still not entirely sure what those things might be.

It's not the most awesomely clear presentation of data ever. IMO.

 

[butcher]

I have just read the freezing pages. These people need to get some lovin' back into their lives.........................

 

[mrs quoad]

I have just read the freezing pages. These people need to get some lovin' back into their lives.........................

It's the most dysfunctional coffee-related website I know of. I don't really visit or use it, but it's great as a very selective / brief source of info.