Page 92 - #53 English

CTI Class

Extraction is very very closely tied to the flavours ex- a refractometer is much better at not turning up to work hun-
perienced in a cup of coffee. There are many flavours in coffee gover or with toothpaste in its mouth.
that consistently occur alongside certain levels of extraction. “I never agree with the results from refractometers.”
You could call them extraction-specific or extraction-indicating I doubt you could disagree with the refractometer. It
flavours. When aiming to brew a coffee as well as possible, I’m doesn’t have an opinion. It’s much more likely that you disagree
trying to steer away from those flavours that indicate over or with the standards other people have applied to their coffees
under-extraction. The result will be a well extracted coffee and shared with you. Perhaps you heard 18% extraction is the
that’s true to the beans used. best, but you don’t like it when your coffee is extracted to 18%.
When performing the same task with a refractometer, Or maybe espresso above 8% doesn’t float your boat, but every-
you can get to the same result faster, with more precision and one else likes to drink it around 10%. That’s not you disagreeing
accuracy (more on this later). In this case, the refractometer is with the refractometer, that’s you disagreeing with what others
helping you achieve taste-based goals; a long way short of “noth- like.
ing”. Everyone should be using refractometers to measure
Measuring extraction does not tell you if a coffee tastes the coffees they like to drink. Then, it becomes much easier to
like citrus or milk chocolate. You might be able to get this kind find that spot again. I like to think of it as a handrail. You can
of data from expensive gas chromatography, but I digress; “tast- explore and move around the staircase, but if there’s a handrail
ing” a coffee is not within the scope of a refractometer. That’s you can always return to where you were.
your job. You are absolutely entitled to your own opinion and
“I heard refractometers don’t measure anything preferences about coffee. What you taste is what you taste, no
meaningful. They’re just another toy.” matter what anyone else says. The refractometer is a tool that
This couldn’t be further from the truth. As above, can help you execute those personal preferences consistently;
refractometers help you measure extraction, which is closely no one has to agree with them.
linked to flavour. There’s a couple of other insanely useful
things that can also be garnered from this information: The Coffee Control Chart
Technique - if your grinds distrubution, pouring tech-
nique, tamping pressure or any other technique-related skills Brewing Ratio: Grams per Liter
fall short, it can be detected by a refractometer. If you make 2.00 80 75 70 65 60 55 50
two cups of coffee with identical recipes and equipment but
differing techniques, the extraction will be higher when the 1.75 45
technique is better, and lower when it is worse. Area Covered by
Roasting - More important and relevant than any color coffee Brewing 40
Control Chart
measuring device is the refractometer. It can tell you if a roast 1.50
is under/overdeveloped, help you monitor consistency and aid 35
the analysis of different roast profiles. 1.25
Equipment - Same experiment as above, put two prod- 30
ucts to the test by brewing identical recipes and seeing which 1.00 Rango oil
Optimum Balance
gets the higher extraction. This works for baskets, tampers, STRENGTH -Solubles Concentration (Strength&Extraction)
grinders, burrs, showerscreens, pumps, espresso machines,
pourover cones; anything that influences the way the coffee and 0.75
water interact.
“We already make coffee well enough.” 0.50
No. You don’t.
“Taste buds are much better than a refractometer.” 0.25
Yes, they are. Taste buds are sensitive to an incredible
array of flavours and are linked directly to your brain. They’re
a marvel of biology, sensitive enough to detect a pinch of salt in 51 01 52 02 53 03 5
a swimming pool. Hats off for taste buds. EXTRACTION -Solubles Yield
The only problem with taste buds is that they’re at-
tached to a human. An inconsistent, biased, emotional, volatile
creature designed for anything but objective measurement of a
liquid solution.
Refractometers are incredibly consistent, accurate, and
precise. Three things we suck at. So why don’t we team up?
With a refractometer on your side, you become more
consistent and accurate. Your off days can be detected, your
preferences can be recorded and returned to, your prejudices
can be exposed. Yes, your taste buds are better at tasting, but
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