Will the best cup of coffee please stand up!
So I start and finish each of my days with a piping hot cup of coffee. It is my life line, or possibly my addiction, it depends on who you ask. I can feel a sense of relief and happiness just wrapping my hands around a warm ceramic mug.
Coffee can change my mood, it can make me happy, sad, relaxed, and energetic. I like it tall, dark, and hot. Wait, am I still talking about coffee, oh yea, yes I am. So what makes a good cup of coffee? I know what I like, but is that a good cup. I have realized over the 9 million cups I have consumed that every cup is not created equal, and if you have ever drank a bad cup you know one thing to be true, you do not ever want to make that mistake again.
So is there a science to making that perfect cup?
So is there a science to making a good cup? Some say yes. There are more than 1000 chemicals in a typical cup of coffee. Now that makes me want a second cup. So I am ingesting just over 9000 chemicals a day. No wonder I have an occasional mood swing.
Coffee is made up of four key components, caffeine, an average 8 oz. cup contains 80-100 mg of what I call the happy juice. Chlorogenic acid, now that sounds scary. Chlorogenic acid accounts for 5-10% of coffee beans, a much larger amount than caffeine. Chlorogenic acid also functions as an antioxidant. Plus one for the acid. Trigonelline….tri what??? Trigonelline is a bitter alkaloid which is what produces the aroma. So let’s say trigonelline smells. And finally Kahweol which has something to do with the regulation of cholesterol metabolism.
Ok we have looked at the chemical makeup… That was pretty boring and to be truthful who cares.
Beans Beans the magical fruit.
Now let’s look at the bean. To me this is the heart of the cup, this is what counts. There are over 70 types of coffea, the flowering plant that produces the coffee beans. The little fellows that make all my dreams come true.
Believe it or not there are only two main beans. The Arabica which is the most common and counts for about 70% of the coffee market, noted for its balance of flavors and aroma and then the Robusta which has more caffeine and chromogenic acid.
Roasting the coffee beans is what crafts the special taste that we are used to. It is regarded as both an art and science. We all know that the most delicious coffee comes from fresh ground beans.
OK the beans are ground, the aroma is everywhere, and I know I am minutes away from bliss. It’s now brewing time. How to brew?
H2O
First let’s talk water, the dreaded H2O. According to a recent study, added positive ions often found in hard water are good at grabbing the flavor of the coffee. Calcium and magnesium ions are the best at snatching the flavor without effecting the coffees taste.
Steam, Drip, Press
There are several methods of brewing, now that we have our hard water, we can boil. Learned that from my Mom in that big old stainless steel percolator, or we can steep, ooh la la how French, Ok this is my favorite, call me fancy. Then there is filtering, most likely the most common. It is the process of drip. And finally pressurized, which in reality is basically shooting caffeine right into your veins and ignoring the cup.
Life tested 9 ways to brew coffee to see which one made the best cup of coffee.
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/best-coffee-brewing-method_n_5233438
There were favorites, but not one made that perfect cup of coffee for everyone.
The Perfect Cup?
After reading and testing I have found that the perfect cup of coffee exists within one’s own taste. Most coffee drinkers look at many different attributes like the body, the sweetness and acidity, flavor and aroma and last but not least the aftertaste. Is that aftertaste pleasant or unpleasant? Good coffee should not leave your mouth tasting like old shoe leather.
You can develop a palate for good coffee by experimenting with different beans, brewing methods and different roasters. Good coffee is grown with care harvested at peak ripeness, processed to remove defects, the bad little beans. It is roasted within a few months of harvest and ground within 30 days of roasting. You should brew the coffee within 30 seconds of grinding, not 25 or 45 30 seconds. And the sit in your favorite chair and enjoy the perfect cup within 30 minutes of brewing.
Good Coffee Bad Coffee
Bad coffee is coffee you don’t enjoy drinking, Good coffee is coffee you do enjoy drinking. The short, simple and utterly useless answer, is that a good cup of coffee is the coffee that gives you happiness just by wrapping your hands around the mug.
Michelle' Blog 