If you hit 19%, anything more will just be a tad stronger, but protects against weak coffee. Since you're brewing below normal temperature, it's likely to be on the lower side of extraction.
I also prefer 19% extraction target. I find that bitterness starts to come on early for me - around 21.5% for most coffees, so it's just a level that works better for me. Also, this is a range for stronger brew ratios that I personally tend to favor.
Of course, YMMV.
------------------------------------------ ----------------------------------------- Le café doit être noir comme le diable, chaud comme l'enfer, pur comme un ange, et doux comme l'amour.
"There is no right answer with coffee. There is only the elixir in your cup at the moment you partake."
"...I often say that when you can measure what you are speaking about, and express it in numbers, you know something about it; but when you cannot measure it, when you cannot express it in numbers, your knowledge is of a meagre and unsatisfactory kind;..." - Lord Kelvin RECIPES thread => http://www.coffeegeek.com/forums/coffee/machines/585708
In the short term, probably. In fridge storage? Well...
YMMV, but I find that the warmer the strike temperature, the shorter the coffee will last in the fridge. I'm fairly sure it's related to decomposition of chlorogenic acid compounds - and prolonged exposure to heat is what decomposes this into more bitter tasting compounds. The higher the heat, the quicker the decomposition.
------------------------------------------ ----------------------------------------- Le café doit être noir comme le diable, chaud comme l'enfer, pur comme un ange, et doux comme l'amour.
"There is no right answer with coffee. There is only the elixir in your cup at the moment you partake."
"...I often say that when you can measure what you are speaking about, and express it in numbers, you know something about it; but when you cannot measure it, when you cannot express it in numbers, your knowledge is of a meagre and unsatisfactory kind;..." - Lord Kelvin RECIPES thread => http://www.coffeegeek.com/forums/coffee/machines/585708
"Coffee leads men to trifle away their time, scald their chops, and spend their money, all for a little base, black, thick, nasty, bitter, stinking nauseous puddle water." ~The Women's Petition Against Coffee, 1674
Posted Tue Sep 18, 2012, 6:27am Subject: Re: Best Brewing Method For Iced Coffee
Thx for the article link, mckolit!
Interesting read. There's some support for warm brewing - and I think part of the clue to why there may be a preference to Alder's work on taste testing coffee with the AeroPress (and recommending lower strike temperatures of 170°F and a strong brew ratio - within a few seconds, the AeroPress will be below 150°F).
Regarding oxygen, I've been thinking about playing around with barrier gasses, like this stuff (CO2/Ar/N2 mix, heavier than air) to displace O2 concentration in the air layer above the steep surface.
It did get me wondering - what if we cold-brewed with CARBONATED water? I could see combining the slurry with carbonated water, purging the air above the slurry to eliminate oxygen, inverting the mixture against the sealed cap with a filtration barrier. After the steep time, keep it inverted (with the settled grounds bed) and open the valve - the air pressure from the carbonated fluid would force the coffee through the grounds bed. Voila! Carbonated cold brewed coffee that has minimal contact with oxygen!
And by the way - this counts as prior art. I'm not going to patent a carbonated pressurized reduced oxygen contact coffee brewer, but this functions as public disclosure, I'd imagine. ;) Lots of patents mention websites as prior art nowadays.
------------------------------------------ ----------------------------------------- Le café doit être noir comme le diable, chaud comme l'enfer, pur comme un ange, et doux comme l'amour.
"There is no right answer with coffee. There is only the elixir in your cup at the moment you partake."
"...I often say that when you can measure what you are speaking about, and express it in numbers, you know something about it; but when you cannot measure it, when you cannot express it in numbers, your knowledge is of a meagre and unsatisfactory kind;..." - Lord Kelvin RECIPES thread => http://www.coffeegeek.com/forums/coffee/machines/585708
Mike250 Senior Member Joined: 24 Jan 2012 Posts: 36 Location: NZ Expertise: Just starting
Posted Thu Sep 20, 2012, 7:12pm Subject: Re: Best Brewing Method For Iced Coffee
since I'm brewing in large quantities I don't think an aeropress would be of much use. I wonder though if you could use one of those Hario Towers to brew with carbonated water in large batches
Symbols: = New Posts since your last visit = No New Posts since last visit = Newest post
Forum Rules: No profanity, illegal acts or personal attacks will be tolerated in these discussion boards. No commercial posting of any nature will be tolerated; only private sales by private individuals, in the "Buy and Sell" forum. No cross posting allowed - do not post your topic to more than one forum, nor repost a topic to the same forum. Who Can Read The Forum? Anyone can read posts in these discussion boards. Who Can Post New Topics? Any registered CoffeeGeek member can post new topics. Who Can Post Replies? Any registered CoffeeGeek member can post replies. Can Photos be posted? Anyone can post photos in their new topics or replies. Who can change or delete posts? Any CoffeeGeek member can edit their own posts. Only moderators can delete posts. Probationary Period: If you are a new signup for CoffeeGeek, you cannot promote, endorse, criticise or otherwise post an unsolicited endorsement for any company, product or service in your first five postings.
= No New Posts since last visit 