There’s a flow profile for every roasting curve!

Chapter 1: dark vs light roasted coffee   

In this tasting session, Danilo uses a Yellow Typica from Tolima, Colombia, with two different roasting curves: light roast and dark roast. 

With a traditional flow profile (10g/s for the entire extraction), the dark roast coffee has a long aftertaste, stronger notes and a more bitter quality, overall it is too bitter.  With the same flow profile, the light roast coffee presents fruity sweetness, sharper acidity and lighter notes and overall it is too sour. 

In order to adjust the negative notes of the two examined coffees using Mina, we have to take into consideration: blooming, the time required to reach the extraction pressure, and the extraction itself.  With Mina, you can control all the above mentioned steps by adjusting the amount of water on the coffee cake, and then you can save the recipe using the app.     

Let’s take a look at the profile suggested for the dark roast:           

By starting with a regular 10 g/s flow, it is possible to rapidly extract most of the flavors into the cup and, after 8 seconds, going down to 5 g/s it is possible to reduce the acidity.  The bitter taste decrease while the mouthfeel increases, giving the brown sugar notes a strong and sweet finish.  On the other hand, the following profile might be used for a light roast:   

With a more gentle pre-infusion and a 5 g/s flow for 5 seconds, the acidity of the coffee goes down, allowing more elegant notes to be extracted. By never exceeding 7 g/s, blooming takes place slowly, increasing the aromas in the cup, which become more fruit-like, and the acidity is adjusted to a pleasant citrus note, like candied orange with a juicy body. 

In conclusion, choose your coffee, consider the roast, adjust the flow, create your favourite recipe and Make It Better!     

Follow us for chapter 2: Fresh vs old roasted coffee.

Photo by Romedia Studio