Our Coffee
Just crush some coffee beans and add hot water, right? Most coffee lovers don't realize the level of analysis that can be applied to producing the best possible cup of coffee - perhaps almost as many don't care. Either way, you may be interested to know a little about the science Scenic Brew applies to each cup we serve.
During brewing, water removes oils and dissolvable solids from the coffee grounds. Coffee beans are ground specifically to present a certain amount of oils and dissolvable solids to the water. The finished brew is a balance between extraction and strength, the soluble yield and concentration. Over-extracting results in the extraction of many of the bitter components of the remaining solids. These contribute significantly to bitter taste defects, a common problem that turn many people away from coffee. Under-extracting causes the taste defect of weak, under-developed brew. As coffee dissolves, the bulk of the solids including the sweeter components dissolve during the first 30-50% of the brewing cycle, and the more bitter elements start to dissolve in the latter half of the brewing cycle. This means that when your co-workers and family pour their cup before brewing is complete they will likely leave you with a bitter and weak cup! The highest quality will have a rich aroma, fullness of body, delicacy of flavor, as well as clarity and unique character – all optimally balanced. Achieving these attributes requires a significant degree of precision during the coffee brewing process.
Scenic Brew utilizes specialized equipment and methods that measures specific qualities of our brews and add a quantitative measure to a very subjective taste. As a brief look, we express total dissolved solids as a quadratic function of the index of refraction and temperature of the brewed coffee sample. As you can see, we do more than just pour hot water over coffee grounds!