Hi everyone, it's Reika again!

Before we dive into today's topic, have you tried our seasonal blend, Aki Urara? 

It's a 1:1 blend of washed and natural processed Ethiopian coffee, the kind of blend I had been longing for. The two bring out the best in each other 
and the lovely and gorgeous flavours are so delightful to savour in your mouth!

I'm sure you would enjoy this beautiful blend coffee so check it out while we're still in Autumn!

How to appreciate all of your coffee beans

Let's say you usually follow the Kurasu standard brew guide and use 13g of coffee beans per single serve. You're about to brew yourself a cup of coffee and realize you have 19g of coffee beans left. If you use the regular 13g of coffee beans, you would be left with 6g of coffee beans which would not be enough for your next brew. Ideally, you would like to use all 19g for this single serve so you would be using up all of your coffee beans - but the question is, how?

I explained in the previous blog post that the more coffee beans you use, the more concentrated your coffee will be. Today, let's explore ways to brew delicious, well-balanced coffee by making a few adjustments on grind size and ratio depending on how much coffee beans you use. 

<Equipment>

Dripper: Hario V60

Grinder: EK43

Coffee: Peru (light roast)

<Recipe>

Kurasu recipe for Hario V60

First, let's recap on what happens if you use the recipe for 13g of coffee beans with 19g of coffee beans. 

<Coffee beans : Hot water #Grind size>
<19g : 200g #8.5>

By increasing coffee beans from 13g to 19g, the amount of flavour components to extract also increases, thus cutting off sweetness. This would result in coffee with insufficient sweetness and aftertaste compared to acidity. 

Now let's make adjustments to get a balanced cup of coffee.

1. Make the grind size finer. 

＜19g：200g #7.0＞

As explained in the first blog post, adjust the grind size to balance the flavours. Let's compare the two extractions above of grind size #8.5 and #7.0 (smaller number represents finer grind size). The ratio of coffee beans to water is the same, but by making the grind size finer, sweetness and aftertaste are extracted fully. 

2. Increase the amount of water to match the amount of coffee beans. 

＜19g：290g #8.0＞
*Same ratio as Kurasu standard recipe 13g:200g.

Simply increase the amount of hot water in relation to the increase in the amount of coffee beans to get the same ratio. You would be using more seasonings for two serves than a single serve of meal right? Just like that, adjust the ratio to get the same balance of flavours. 

To get a balanced cup of coffee, you can either adjust the grind size or the ratio.  Both methods above extract acidity, sweetness and aftertaste and avoid bitterness and unpleasant taste. 

The big difference between the two is the ratio. 19g: 200g and 19g: 290g. 

The difference in ratio results in difference in concentration level, and it's up to you to decide on the desirable taste. 

Summary 

 If you're left with more coffee beans to use than usual, you can adjust the grind size or amount of water to get a cup of coffee that suits your palate.

The more coffee beans you use, the more concentrated your cup of coffee will be. If you're using more coffee beans than usual, grind them fine and you'll get a strong yet balanced coffee. On the other hand, if you want a lighter cup of coffee, add more water to fix the ratio of coffee grounds to water. 

NOTE!

The definition of "fine" and "coarse" is quite vague. It's likely that a barista would be describing the grind size based on the taste of coffee rather than the physical size of coffee grounds. 

For example, a perfect grind size for 13g of coffee beans would be described as "coarse" compared to the perfect grind size for 19g. 

You would need to consider the ratio of coffee beans to water to determine the appropriate grind size.

I hope this blog post would help you find your favourite taste and concentration level! 

Next topic is "water temperature." How would the water temperature affect the taste of coffee? 

If you're curious, join me on the next journey!
See you soon!