There is a special silence, suspended between the noise of the water that boils and the aroma that climbs from the cup: it is the moment of coffee, the one prepared carefully, ready to accompany us during our days. Moment that, in the light of the trend of recent times that sees the average price of domestic coffee growing, risks costing more expensive than expected. In fact, coffee prices are returning to rise decisively, and the daily cup risks weighing – as well as on the coronaries – also on the wallet.
But there is good news: A scientifically tested trick can help us get the same pleasure, saving up to 10% of beans. Yes, you read that right. Ten percent less coffee, for the same intensity and quality in the cup.
The bad news is that the method we will see, the so -called pour-overis not that of the Italian mocha, but one Manual extraction methods for infusionwidespread in United States and in Japanoften used in “Third Wave” coffee (the third wave of artisan coffee).
What is pour-over?
It is a method of preparation for filtered coffee, in which hot water is manually poured on ground coffee placed in a filter, which is inside a cone (type V60 or chemex). The water slowly passes through the coffee and the filter, then dripping in the cup or in a carafe below.
Makeup
Returning to our stratagem, it comes from a study published in the magazine Physics of Fluids and provides the key to dealing with the surge of costs: it is a meticulous analysis of the most daily gesture that exists, that is, pouring water over the coffee.
The researchers of the University of Pennsylvania, armed with laser and high-speed cameras, have immersed themselves-it is appropriate to say-in the universe of the pour-over. They observed, measured, filmed. They tried to understand, with a physicist and bartender eye, how to change a small detail could make a big difference. And they found it.
The trick? Pour the water slowly, from above, with almost surgical precision. More precisely: about 50 centimeters above the paper cone where the ground coffee rests. The jet must be thin and continuous. To do it well, you need a simple but effective tool: a goose neck kettle.
The goose neck kettle
This type of kettle, which you may have seen in the specialty coffee or in the videos of Japanese bartenders – is on sale on Amazon – allows a laminar water flow. What does it mean? That the liquid particles all move in the same direction, ordered as parade soldiers. This orderly flow manages to penetrate better in the coffee bed, mixing in depth and freeing more aroma, more extracted, more taste.
The co -author of the study, Ernest Park, explains with disarming clearness: «If you use a normal water kettle, it is difficult to control the direction of the flow. And if the flow is not quite laminating, it cannot dig well the coffee bed ». Translated: waste beans, and the result is less intense.
In the laboratory, scientists have shown that This technique allows to obtain an equally strong, fragrant and satisfactory cup using 10% less coffee. The principle is simple: improving extraction means exploiting every single gram better. It’s a bit like learning to cook well: with the same ingredients, you can get a mediocre dish or a delight.
To this is added a further advantage. Pour from above and slowly not only improves extraction, but prolongs contact between water and coffee powder. And the longer the water focuses, the more aromatic compounds it manages to capture. A slow, controlled dance that rewards patience.
In a world where everything runs, taking time to pour water calmly can play revolutionary.
A look at the future
A matter of savings and taste? Not only that. The research – Arnold Mathijssen, co -author of the scientific article and professor at the University said – was also born from a wider concern. Coffee is an increasingly difficult plant to grow, between climate change, plants diseases, the geopolitical instability of the manufacturers are making coffee cultivation a delicate and expensive undertaking. The prices rise – and they will go up again – so better to run for cover with this simple trick.
