Filter Stories

2) Coffee Extraction

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Episode notes

How you brew your coffee dramatically affects what you taste. And I do mean dramatic! Brewing up the same bag of coffee beans can taste like a slice of heaven, or a slap in the face.

So, what exactly is happening at a microscopic level when water swirls through coffee grinds? Why does boiling water extract certain flavours, while letting the kettle cool for five minutes make it taste markedly different?

In this episode, we dive deep into the academic research conducted at the UC Davis Coffee Center so you can choose your flavour adventure: Do you like your coffees when they’re a sour bomb? A floral caress on the lips? A smokey drag on a pipe? Or a treacle of sweet syrup?

We also explore why it can be so difficult getting the same flavours from the same beans consistently. And finally, I equip you with tools so you can begin finding your perfect brew.

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Explore this episode’s sponsor Marco Beverage Systems SP 9 brewer and how it delivers consistent brews in the cafe (https://bit.ly/3Tgh18r)

Listen to the Adventures in Coffee episode about making dramatically different brews using the Aeropress: https://bit.ly/3TghsQ7

Want more to listen to more documentary podcasts about coffee? Check out Filter Stories - https://bit.ly/3zb5vnO


Want to go deeper into coffee extraction?

Mackenzie Batali’s fractionation research - https://bit.ly/3CFnvH0
UC Davis’ brewing control chart research - https://bit.ly/3CLoiGz
Take courses on coffee brewing with the Specialty Coffee Association - https://bit.ly/3EQFoVV
Study at the UC Davis Coffee - https://bit.ly/3TwSgod
Read ‘The Craft and Science of Coffee’ - https://bit.ly/3zb7bN8


Connect with my very knowledgeable guests:
Samo Smrke - LinkedIn (https://bit.ly/3EKrjtg) and Instagram (https://bit.ly/3IdrfRz)
Bill Ristenpart - Academic profile (https://faculty.engineering.ucdavis.edu/ristenpart/)
Mackenzie Batali - LinkedIn (https://bit.ly/3s7VRxr)
Peter Giuliano - LinkedIn (https://bit.ly/3yT66tv)
Danny Pang - LinkedIn (https://bit.ly/3Sd9mqq)
David Walsh - LinkedIn (https://bit.ly/3VEH7Uo)


The Science of Coffee is made possible by these leading coffee organisations:

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Trabocca - https://bit.ly/3Tjn8bV
Eversys - https://bit.ly/3CBkp6X
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