Posted

on March 18, 2015

Few foods or drinks are more popular or more hip than coffee. Even though coffee has been immensely popular for a very long time, it has
experienced a mega revival of sorts in the last decade, as new passion and techniques
for brewing coffee have rapidly grown, giving rise to tens of thousands of new
coffee shops, and a boom in popularity among younger generations. Gone
are the days of simple coffee machines and Bialettis
as staples: now french presses, pour-over cups, and upper-echelon coffee makers
adorn most people’s homes.

The most important revelation
during this time has been that of the coffee “bloom,” which has
become an extremely popular part of a perfect cup, whether it’s at a coffee
shop, or your own home. But what
is the bloom, and what’s the proper technique? Why bloom? Here are
the answers to those questions, so that you can better understand how to
transform your good at-home brew into a great-tasting cup of coffee.

What is the bloom?

During the coffee roasting process, beans collect a large
amount of CO2. When the beans meet hot water, they expel the gas so that
they can absorb the liquid. The expelled
gasses can be released so quickly that they create resistance against the
water, which creates an effect where your coffee mixture expands briefly, like
a balloon with air being breathed into it, or like a flower blooming.
This only happens when the coffee beans
are introduced to a minimal amount of water; if you pour a large amount of
water in all at once, the weight of the water overpowers the CO2, and keeps a
large amount of it from emerging.

Why bloom?

Though blooming doesn’t
sound intuitive, the reasoning behind it is extremely simple. The flavor
of coffee is stored in the beans. The more
CO2 that is in the beans, the less water
that can permeate the beans. The less water that permeates the beans, the
weaker (and more one-dimensional) the flavor of your coffee. By blooming, you allow the gas to be released so that
the beans can absorb the water fully; this allows the water to extract as much
flavor as possible out of the bean, giving your cup not only a stronger taste,
but a greater depth of flavor.

How do you bloom?

The process is remarkably easy. You simply want to
introduce a small amount of water to the beans before brewing. Use hot,
but not boiling water for this process, and pour in a circular motion so as to
cover the maximum amount of surface area. For pour-overs, coffee pots, or french presses, simply pour a small amount of water
into your beans, and let it sit for 15-90 seconds (depending on how many cups you’re making). You’ll see it bloom, and
eventually rest, then you can continue with your normal brewing process.

What impacts a bloom?

Not all coffees will bloom the same, regardless of your
technique. The quality of the beans has an impact on the CO2 level, which
is part of why it’s so important to use
gourmet coffee blends and single origin coffee beans. Also, preground coffee has a hard time blooming, as
once the bean is ruptured it naturally degases (while the purpose of blooming
is to replace CO2 with water, you want to the CO2 to remain in the bean until
the brewing process).

Blooming your coffee will immediately make it far less
bitter, as the bitter notes come out when water simply brushes by the beans,
instead of soaking through them. For the ultimate cup of coffee, try
blooming: it’s easy, scientifically fun,
and delicious.

No matter what your brew technique of preference may be, the
overall quality and taste of your coffee depends on choosing the right gourmet
coffee blends and beans. Shop the best selection around by getting all your
single origin coffees and gourmet blends from Fortunes Gourmet Coffee. Through
hours of sampling, roasting and taste
testing, the team at Fortunes Gourmet Coffee provides their loyal customers
with the best selection of single origin coffee beans and gourmet blends
around. Taste the difference with every sip and shop at Fortunes Gourmet Coffee
today!

The Science Behind the Coffee Bloom

The Science Behind the Coffee Bloom – Fortunes Gourmet Coffee

The Science Behind the Coffee Bloom

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