1. In the first line above we see an under-extracted coffee.

As the word itself says, we have extracted too few substances from our coffee bean, making the final drink very dull.

In particular we will see:

• The pale cream, tending towards white and already practically “pierced”, thus allowing a glimpse of the dark drink underneath.
• On the palate, however, the coffee will be dull, with a flat and not very intense aroma and above all a bad and very unpleasant acidity will prevail.
• Finally the drink will have no body. If we swirled the coffee between the tongue and the palate we would not feel any density.

If you are not preparing an espresso you will not have the cream to help you, so rely on the taste and try to understand if it is balanced and good, or if on the contrary it only has a strong and really annoying acidity, without other aromatic notes.

2. In the third and last line at the bottom we see an over-extracted coffee.

As the word itself says, we have extracted too many substances from our coffee bean, making the final drink too full.

In particular we will see:

• The very dark cream.
• On the palate, however, the coffee will have a less complex aromatic profile, in which we would only perceive empyreumatic (burnt) hints. The dominant taste will be bitter.

Again, if you’re not making espresso you won’t see the crema so taste it and find out if it’s really too bitter, without much else to offer.

3. Finally, in the central row we see a correctly extracted coffee.

We have therefore extracted the right number of substances for a balanced, intense, full-bodied cup with an incredible aromatic profile!

In particular we will see:

• The hazelnut colored cream, shiny and smooth, without micro or macro bubbles, and which persists for at least 1 minute after extraction without “piercing”.
• On the palate, however, the coffee will be excellent, with a wide and tasty aromatic range, with notes of chocolate, caramel, vanilla, toast, honey, flowers, fruit, citrus fruits and much more! It will then be intense and above all you will notice a delicate and pleasant bitterness, a more or less marked and enveloping acidity, balanced by a more or less intense dose of sweetness. Finally the drink will have a good body. If we swirled the coffee between our tongue and palate we would feel the density of the drink. INHow much does grinding influence the success of the extracted coffee?! In the end, dWhat is the grinding affected? Grinding is influenced by many variables, such as: The coffee you purchased, its freshness, composition and storage; The tool you selected for extraction: espresso, moka, paper filter, percolation, pressure, infusion, etc.; External environmental conditions; The water used: temperature and molecular composition; and much more. Without going too much into the technicalities, let’s aim directly at what is most important for us at home or at the bar: the tool we are using to prepare the coffee. Each tool requires its specific grain size, i.e. size of the ground material. Why? Because the contact time depends on the grinding.And contact time defines an under- or over-extracted drink, as we saw previously. Let’s explain the theory behind this statement: Different squares, representing equally sized ground coffee grains, with blue spaces, representing contact with water. Starting from the left: 30 seconds of contact between water and coffee, 120 seconds of contact and 240 seconds of contact. Let’s assume that each grain of the coffee we ground is as large as these 3 squares above: If the water passes through the ground coffee for just 30 seconds, as in the first case on the left, it manages to penetrate the grain just a little. All the substances that are therefore found in the center of the grain will not be brought into the cup, consequently making the coffee under-extracted. Same thing if we let the water flow for 120 seconds: the water would be able to penetrate deeper, but not yet completely. The coffee is therefore still under-extracted. While the correct extraction will take place in 240 seconds. Now let’s take the opposite example: Different squares, representing ground coffee grains of different sizes (smaller on the left, larger on the right) with blue spaces, representing the contact with water for 120 seconds, and other red spaces, representing the over-extraction of the beverage. This time we pass the water through the ground coffee for 120 seconds, but changing the size of the ground coffee: In the first case we have a very fine ground coffee: if the water passed through it for 120 seconds, not only would it reach depth, but it would also extract too much, making the coffee over-extracted. In the second case, however, we have a medium ground coffee, perfect for an extraction time of 120 seconds. Again, however, in the third case the grain is too large and in 120 seconds the water does not do its job well, making the final cup under-extracted. Given that each tool for preparing coffee has its own specific extraction principle (percolation, infusion, pressure, boiling or a hybrid of these) and therefore its own specific recipe and extraction time, we must adapt the size of our ground coffee to make so that the final drink is always good and pleasant! Find out more in another article: https://www.caffeernani.com/come-preparare-il-caffe/diverse-macinature-per-diversi-metodi-di-estrazione/ Finally, I leave you with other interesting references to complete your knowledge on grinding: https://youtu.be/YBebSRzM9dw Which coffee grinder should I buy for my home?https://www.caffeernani It will then be intense and above all you will notice a delicate and pleasant bitterness, a more or less marked and enveloping acidity, balanced by a more or less intense dose of sweetness.
• Finally the drink will have a good body. If we swirled the coffee between our tongue and palate we would feel the density of the drink.

How much does grinding influence the success of the extracted coffee?!

In the end, dWhat is the grinding affected?

Grinding is influenced by many variables, such as:

• The coffee you purchased, its freshness, composition and storage;
• The tool you selected for extraction: espresso, moka, paper filter, percolation, pressure, infusion, etc.;
• External environmental conditions;
• The water used: temperature and molecular composition;
  and much more.

Without going too much into the technicalities, let’s aim directly at what is most important for us at home or at the bar: the tool we are using to prepare the coffee.

Each tool requires its specific grain size, i.e. size of the ground material.

Why?

Because the contact time depends on the grinding. And contact time defines an under- or over-extracted drink, as we saw previously.

Let’s explain the theory behind this statement: