You Should Use a Scale When Brewing Coffee

300px-Kitchen_scale_20101110As a regular subscriber to this blog, I am sure it is safe to assume that just like me, you can all appreciate the resplendent phenomenon that is coffee. Coffee is just one of those things in this world that is hard not to love. It brings an uplifting spirit to our weary bones when we’ve had that long day that seems to have never ended. To the modern day titan, coffee is the ambrosia that allows us to accomplish feats of immortality, especially in the workplace! If Achilles had the River Styx to protect himself and Hercules had the blood of his mighty father, Zeus, coursing through his veins then I call it even because of this great elixir we all love.

Now that I’ve stressed the importance of this grand beverage of viziers and drink of sultans, let’s talk about preparing it. The creation of this great drink originates all the way from how it is grown. The area in the world where it grows provides an outlook to how rare this product is. A narrow belt across the Earth’s equator is the only privileged place the coffee plant can ever kiss with its presence. The roasting and preparation requires an exact science and is carefully done to prevent the escape of any flavor or aroma in it. The packaging is also a key feature that needs careful oversight, only the best means of containing it and preventing oxygen from ruining and draining the rich olfactory delight that it contains. Then when it’s delivered to your home, there is only but one option to retain the perfection from whence it was created.

The actual brewing process is more than a mere addition of hot water to ground up beans. It also requires the same kind of careful science that was diligently applied to the coffee plant that sprouted from the ground. Science is required to apply the best amount of each element to balance out the cup of coffee into the perfection that it is. The best way to apply such a science is getting the right measurement in place by using the most accurate of measures, which is mass and to get the correct amount, you will need the kitchen scale. Here are a few reasons why a kitchen scale is such a necessity when brewing coffee.

It provides the right balance of ingredients

Coffee scoopGreat coffee is composed of the right amount of beans, the correct quantity of water and the perfect timing to put all these elements together. Having a scale can allow the right balance to be taken into consideration and ensure that the coffee is not over extracted and is not overly bitter. Putting too much coffee in too little water will make it extra bitter and adding too little coffee to the right ratio of water will result in an extremely weak cup. We all don’t want that, especially on a Monday morning!

It allows consistency in our brewing technique

Documenting the right inputs and sticking to it will allow you to have a consistent brew every time you put it together. No more guesswork will be involved and no more, “I got lucky!” moments when you create that perfect brew. Measuring the components of your coffee also allows you to share your recipe with coffee fanatics and allows the human race to benefit from an evolved sense of coffee greatness.

It ensures accurate measurements

Without a scale, the normal means of measuring components of the brew involve teaspoons or tablespoons and a measuring cup. While these may provide a good estimated figure, the variations in coffee beans provide a different density and will not yield the correct weight. Include other factors like humidity, altitude and different teaspoon sizes and you will have an entire hodgepodge of differences. What may seem like negligible differences can cause a world of difference as far as the brew is concerned.

Fine tune your own coffee

barista coffeeIn the same way that you can attain a consistent brew from your coffee, you can also fine-tune your coffee brew to your liking. If you have a variety of bean that produces a smooth flavor like an Arabica blend, you can make it stronger by adding more coffee weight to it. This is especially helpful after those alcohol-fueled nights (another elixir worth mentioning) that result in the haplessly infuriating hangover the following day. If you’re like me and need coffee to fall asleep, then take the path of a more relaxing and light brew to get you to your comfortable happy place.

Measuring your coffee carefully may take some getting used to but it essentially turns into a discipline that can help you make that perfect cup. When people ask you what your secret is, you can always say it’s science, or the humble kitchen scale!

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