[FrontStreet Coffee Barista's Notes] Pour-over Tips - How to Extract Coffee Based on Coffee Grind Size

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FrontStreet Coffee Barista's Notes: Pour-over Tips - How to Extract Coffee Based on Grind Size

I recently met many coffee enthusiast customers, and during our conversations, they would ask similar questions: "When brewing coffee at home, why does the taste vary so much? Sometimes it's good, sometimes it's not. Moreover, I often don't know how to control the grind size of the coffee grounds. I particularly want to know how to extract when the coffee grounds are relatively coarse, and conversely, if the coffee grounds are too fine, how should I extract them better?" Today, I'll share some pour-over tips that FrontStreet Coffee usually uses when brewing coffee~~

I chose Gesha Village Gold Label Gesha, a bean with obvious floral and fermented aromas, for this brewing session.

Gesha Village Coffee Estate Rarity Label

Gesha Village · Gold Label Gesha

Region: Bensa, Guji

Altitude: 1909-2069m

Variety: Gorigeisha

Processing: Natural

Flavor: Floral, Citrus, Tropical Fruits, Creamy, Tea-like

*Gesha Village

Actually, regarding Gesha Village Coffee Estate, it's completely different from most Ethiopian farms. It's not a small farm but a large 500-hectare farm with its own washing station and laboratory, located in the southwest near the Sudan border. The most special thing is that the entire farm only grows Gesha varieties, not the general Ethiopian native varieties whose exact types cannot be determined.

Construction of the farm began in October 2011, with the first harvest in 2015. Due to enthusiastic responses from all parties, with the assistance of Panamanian coffee farm owner Willem Boot, they provided 21 micro-lots at their first international auction held on May 31, 2017, of which 19 lots had 120 kilograms each, with a few smaller batches. Bidders from Europe, North America, Asia, and Australia responded with unexpected enthusiasm, and the final winning bid price was $85 USD/pound, breaking all previous African bean auction prices.

Brewing Process

The above is the basic information about the beans. Next, FrontStreet Coffee will brew coffee using three different grind sizes: [BG-5M], [BG-5R], and [BG-6M]. The grind sizes from fine to coarse are: [BG-5M] > [BG-5R] > [BG-6M].

BG-5M (Finer Grind)

Parameters & Technique: 15g coffee/1:15 ratio/90°C/grind size BG-5M (China standard 20-mesh sieve pass rate 64%), 30g water for 30 seconds bloom, pour to 121g then segment, wait for the coffee bed to appear before pouring to 227g, remove the dripper when the coffee bed appears, total extraction time: 1'37".

Flavor: Jasmine, citrus, peach, plum, tea-like, overall relatively rich and mellow.

BG-5R (Medium Grind)

Parameters & Technique: 15g coffee/1:15 ratio/90°C/grind size BG-5R (China standard 20-mesh sieve pass rate 60%), 30g water for 30 seconds bloom, pour to 125g then segment, wait for the coffee bed to appear before pouring to 229g, remove the dripper when the coffee bed appears, total extraction time: 2'00".

Flavor: Jasmine, citrus, peach, plum, creamy, black tea, overall relatively smooth, with fruity tea sweetness and acidity in the aftertaste.

BG-6M (Coarser Grind)

Parameters & Technique: 15g coffee/1:15 ratio/90°C/grind size BG-6M (China standard 20-mesh sieve pass rate 50%), 30g water for 30 seconds bloom, pour to 124g then segment, wait for the coffee bed to appear before pouring to 230g, remove the dripper when the coffee bed appears, total extraction time: 2'19".

Flavor: Jasmine, fermented aroma, citrus, berries, obvious sweet and sour juice sensation, overall slightly thinner in body, but with clearer flavor layers.

Conclusion

Through three different grind sizes, it's clearly evident that [BG-5M] (China standard 20-mesh sieve pass rate 64%) extracted in 1'37". Because its ground coffee is relatively finer, the surface area of the coffee particles increases, and the larger the contact area with water, the higher the corresponding extraction rate. Therefore, FrontStreet Coffee shortened its extraction time to avoid over-extraction of the coffee.

The [BG-5R] (China standard 20-mesh sieve pass rate 60%) grind size is what FrontStreet Coffee usually uses for brewing light roast coffees. Previously, FrontStreet Coffee continuously calibrated the grind size and brewing, finally concluding that this grind size allows coffee extraction to be completed within the commonly recommended 2 minutes. Its grind is relatively uniform, avoiding inconsistent coffee extraction, and also allows the dissolution rate of coffee flavors to reach a relatively saturated state.

The grounds of [BG-6M] are coarser than the previous two grind sizes. The larger coffee particles release flavors relatively slowly, so FrontStreet Coffee extended the extraction time to 2'19" to increase its extraction rate, avoiding under-extraction.

Speaking of which, FrontStreet Coffee has a small personal suggestion: when extracting coffee, different extraction methods require matching different grind sizes. Additionally, the freshness of the coffee beans should also be considered when adjusting extraction plans to achieve complete extraction of your coffee. Of course, factors affecting pour-over extraction are not just the coarseness of the coffee, but other factors can also influence coffee extraction~~

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473