Batch brew also commonly known as filter coffee is starting to become super popular across Perth. If you’ve ever been into our roastery you’ll know we’re pretty obsessed with it and love nothing more than a fresh pot of batch brew to soothe our Grouchy souls!
When starting out on your batch brewing journey it can often be frustrating when you finish your brew and it just doesn’t taste quite right.
Here are our top 5 tips to brew the best batch, each and every time!
1 - Choose good coffee
We know it might sound like common sense, but trust us when we say it’s not!
Firstly don’t even think about buying something from the supermarket, you will be left feeling underwhelmed and pretty grouchy with the results.
When choosing your coffee look for something that is either filter roasted or a bean with a lighter roast.
Filter or a light roast coffee will ensure that when you brew you get to taste all of the amazing flavours found in your beans. If you use a darker roast you will get a more bitter extraction and will miss out on all the beautiful flavours you look for when having a batch brew.
If you are drinking your batch with milk, make sure you pick a bean which blends well with milk (look for a washed Colombian or a light roast blend)
We stick with a 1/16 ratio. So every 1 litre of water to 60 grams of coffee.
2 - Rinse your filters!
It’s so important to give your paper filters a rinse before you start brewing. It helps wash off any paper particles which would otherwise end up in your brew. Nobody wants to be tasting paper instead of coffee in their brew.
3 - Get your grind size right
Having the correct grind size when brewing batch is really important and has a huge impact on the final taste of your brew.
If your batch is tasting weak, watery and slightly sour then you need to increase the contact time between the coffee and water. So next time make your grind slightly finer.
If your brew is tasting bitter, dry and harsh in your mouth then you need to reduce the contact time between the coffee and water. Next time you brew, make your grind slightly coarser.
Remember when adjusting your grind to make small movements vs. huge differences. Often if only requires a small adjustment to make a difference in overall taste
4 - Let the coffee bloom
Allowing your coffee to bloom helps release the carbon dioxide present in the coffee, if you don’t allow your coffee to bloom you’ll often get a brew that is flat and lackluster in taste.
How do you let your coffee bloom? It’s simple.
When you begin brewing, wait for the water to cover all coffee grounds for 15-20 seconds, you will notice the coffee almost foaming. This is the blooming process underway.
5 - Agitate your coffee
Most batch brewers don’t have the ability to automatically agitate your coffee grinds, which is integral to a well rounded and brewed coffee.
By agitating your brew you ensure that all the grinds are saturated with water. If you don’t agitate you may get channelling (this can also happen by pouring water too quickly or in an irregular motion, which is why we bang on about goose-neck kettles & concentric pouring motions).
Once your coffee has bloomed for 15-20 seconds use a spoon to gently agitate all the grounds, especially at the bottom, making sure that all the grounds are saturated.
Ensuring your coffee bed is agitated will disperse the grounds and, in doing so, help ensure even extraction.
Following these 5 tips will help you get a delicious brew time and time again, which at the end of the day is what we’re all after!
Happy batch brewing
