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Water is the key to a perfect cup of coffee

Glass of water

How do you create the perfect cup of coffee?

Making an eminent brew isn’t down to the fateful hand of Lady Luck; instead a lot of the Dark Arts behind the process comes from science and there is no shortage of opinions on the exact methodology behind achieving a faultless espresso. However it comes as no surprise that science answers the question.

“Brewing coffee might be the most practiced chemical extraction in the world.”- Chris Hendon

A Bristol based computational chemist has also discovered – through his work alongside British barista champion Maxwell Colonna-Dashwood – that making the best cup of coffee possible is all down to the water.

Luckily in Britain we have plenty of that!

Thankfully though Chris Hendon isn’t referring to rainwater so there is no need to rush out and begin collecting for a precipitation macchiato any time soon.

“This variable,” Hendon noted, “is less obvious, but it is clear that the chemical composition of water plays a very important role.”

Water is a vital component of the brewing process and one that gets overlooked in favour of the choice of beans, grinder settings and extraction times amongst other more common variables.

Different types of water can expose different nuances of the bean, be they positive or negative.

“With this victory (for science, I like to think)”

Being a chemist, Hendon wanted to experiment and find out just how a variation in water can impact the flavour of coffee. This naturally inquisitive mind-set certainly helped Maxwell Colonna-Dashwood who recently picked up top prize at the UK Barista Championships.

“This was particularly intriguing for the signature drink,” Hendon says about the result of his work and how it was adapted in the competition. In this stage of the event an espresso shot was mixed with grape extracts and brewed in different water. One had high cation content whilst the other sample featured a high base content and the result was two distinct flavour profiles.

Now, the duo are heading to Italy to take their fused ideas of coffee and science to the World Championships which are set to take place next week in Rimini.

To learn more about the process of making coffee and how to improve, Caffe Society offers a free barista training service to all commercial customers.

photo: yngwiemanux (Flickr)