There was a time when I thought making a good cup of coffee was like finding love – mostly about luck and timing.

Both have proven to be far more scientific endeavors than I’d initially bargained for. Though unlike my dating life, coffee has yielded consistent results with the right approach.

The morning I realized my coffee preparation had more in common with a chemistry experiment than a culinary whim was transformative. I guess I’d known it instinctively at my work. But that morning, I’d been pulling shots on my home espresso machine, a contraption I’d saved six months of tips to afford, when it struck me that every tiny adjustment – the grind size, the water temperature, the distribution technique – was actually manipulating a complex extraction equation. My work machine did most of this for me but the home machine gave a lot of the control back to me.

 

The Science That Changed Everything

The coffee world experienced its academic revolution around 2015, when Dr. Christopher Hendon and Maxwell Colonna-Dashwood published their groundbreaking work on water chemistry in. The research demonstrated how different mineral compositions dramatically affect extraction and flavour. I remember finding it on a shelf in the backroom and having that rare moment of clarity – suddenly understanding why my coffee tasted magnificent at my apartment in Toronto but fell entirely flat when I visited my parents in Edmonton.

Dr. Hendon in a 2019 interview called water the universal solvent, responsible for dissolving and extracting the compounds that give coffee its flavour. It’s the mineral content of your water that determines its extraction efficiency.

This isn’t just academic posturing. When I switched from tap water to a specific mineral profile (a mix of magnesium and calcium that targets 80-100 ppm of total dissolved solids), my espresso developed a clarity and sweetness I’d previously attributed solely to some weird barista dark art.

 

Extraction Variables: What Actually Matters

The real revolution in home brewing comes from understanding that coffee extraction is fundamentally about controlled dissolution. Nerdy, I know, but research from the UC Davis Coffee Center has been particularly illuminating on this front.

Their studies show that extraction percentage – the amount of coffee solids dissolved into your cup – isn’t merely about brew time but about the complex interplay between:

• Surface area (grind size)
• Pressure and flow rate
• Temperature stability
• Water chemistry
• Coffee-to-water ratio

The team demonstrated that evenly extracted coffee particles create balanced flavours, while uneven extraction leads to both under and over-extracted compounds in the same cup – simultaneously sour and bitter. No surprise there. Controlling the “evenness” relies on a number of factors and can be complicated but just think in terms of basic balance: consistent grind size, steady pressure, consistent temperature and level distribution.

This understanding transformed how I approach home brewing. I now use distribution tools to ensure even saturation, precisely weigh both coffee and water, and maintain temperature stability throughout brewing. This may seem insane to normal people but I continually amaze normal people with the results.

 

The Tools That Changed the Game

Science has birthed tools that were unimaginable when I first started pulling shots. My current obsession is flow profiling – controlling the pressure throughout the extraction process rather than applying a constant 9 bars of pressure.

According to Scott Rao, noted barista and coffee author, flow profiling allows you to emphasize different flavour compounds at different stages of extraction. His research-driven approach has influenced baristas worldwide. He contends you can extend pre-infusion to saturate the puck evenly, then ramp pressure to extract desirable acids, before tapering off to minimize bitter compounds. It’s an example of science informing the barista’s hands-on skill.

When I implemented this on my flow-control equipped machine, suddenly those tasting notes you read on coffee bags (bergamot, caramel, blueberry, etc.) suddenly became detectable realities rather than wishful thinking.

 

Bringing It Home

So, what does this scientific revolution mean for you, brewing at home? It means precision has become both accessible and essential. After all, once you know how, why wouldn’t you do it? Here are some actions you can take to make happen:

1. Invest in a quality burr grinder – Research from the Specialty Coffee Association confirms that particle size distribution is perhaps the single most important variable in extraction quality.
2. Consider your water – Either mix your own mineral concentrate or use a filtration system specifically designed for coffee (not just any filter).
3. Weigh everything – A ratio of 1:2 or 1:2.5 (coffee to water) for espresso and 1:16 for filter coffee gives you a controlled starting point.
4. Temperature matters – Different compounds extract at different temperatures; lighter roasts benefit from higher temperatures (94-96°C) while darker roasts extract more efficiently at slightly lower temperatures (90-92°C).

 

The Freedom in Understanding

The beauty in this science-driven approach isn’t that it makes coffee preparation more complicated – it’s that it makes it more reliable. Understanding the principles means freedom from the frustration of inconsistent results.

When I started implementing these research-backed methods, coffee preparation stopped being mysterious and started being meditative. Each morning ritual became not just a quest for caffeine but a moment of controlled precision – a small act of creation guided by understanding rather than hope. My friends appreciate it too.

And isn’t that what we’re all after? The ability to create something beautiful, consistently, in our own kitchens. A cup that makes you pause mid-sip and think – just for a moment – that perhaps you’ve mastered something meaningful.

So weigh your beans, mind your minerals, and embrace the science. Your morning cup will thank you.

If you found this helpful, there’s more where this came from. Our shared objective is for you to be making better coffee. The best way to do that and ensure you miss nothing, be sure to subscribe to The Coffee Authority Weekly if you haven’t already. And be sure to tell me your experience in the comments below. Sharing is caring 🙂

 

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Academic Papers & Research

1. Hendon, C. H., Colonna-Dashwood, L., & Colonna-Dashwood, M. (2014). The Role of Dissolved Cations in Coffee Extraction. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 62(21), 4947-4950. https://doi.org/10.1021/jf501687c

2. Batali, M. E., Frost, S. C., Lebrilla, C. B., Ristenpart, W. D., & Guinard, J. X. (2020). Sensory and monosaccharide analysis of drip brew coffee fractions versus brewing time. Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture, 100(7), 2953-2962. https://doi.org/10.1002/jsfa.10322

3. Rao, S. (2017). The Professional Barista’s Handbook: An Expert Guide to Preparing Espresso, Coffee, and Tea. Self-published.

4. Specialty Coffee Association. (2018). The effect of bean origin and temperature on grinding roasted coffee. Scientific Reports, 8, 4830. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-23341-2

 

Books

1. Rao, S. (2017). The Professional Barista’s Handbook: An Expert Guide to Preparing Espresso, Coffee, and Tea. Self-published.

2. Hoffmann, J. (2018). The World Atlas of Coffee: From Beans to Brewing – Coffees Explored, Explained and Enjoyed (2nd ed.). Mitchell Beazley.