# Instructions for the use and the variation in extraction parameters with the v60



## simonebarista (May 23, 2016)

For some "coffee lovers" the coffee extracted with the V60 is a model of good habit,for others it represents the will to go deeper into the knowledge of this technique; let us see how to run tests and play with this tool...

Even in Italy, a espressofanatic country, the techinques of brewing are getting more and more popula; is this the reason why we thought to these experiment, even in Italy we need to get familiar with V60 and the other kind of tools!

To run tests a starting hypothesis was needed: we had to taste the same coffee twice, changing,from the first to the second extraction,a single parameter, and understand how the change could influence the taste.parameters?

For those who are not familiar with these extraction techniques we must take a step back.

In an extraction with the V60 the parameters that could influence the extraction,and therefore the taste of coffee,are:

The water temperature, ideally the hotter the water,the more substances extracted (but this does not guarantee better quality)

The grinding, the fainter=the wider the contact area and hence the more the qauntity extracted

The ratio of water quantity to coffee powder.

The turbolence, meaning the movement of particles, that varies according to how we pour water with a goose neck

Anyways a clarification on the basis of the V60 technique may derive from this post.

In our case we heated at 94° degrees in a Bonavita kettle the Levissima mineral water with a tds-maximum contaminant levels- of 80 mg per liter, that respects the parameters fixed by the SCAE for the coffee extraction we already mentioned in this post.

We positioned the V60 on its glass server ,we inserted the paper filter V02 and then we saturated the filter with hot water, to eliminate the classic "paper taste" and to warm up the server.

After having eliminated the water we poured the ground coffee with our Mahlkonig Vario in the V60.The key point: which coffee? We chose a Mexico Altura Superior lavato grown in the shadow at 1100 meters and we used 16 grams (roasted at 69 agtron to the Mokaflor roasting company of Florence

http://www.mokaflor-italian-coffee.com/

.

On the coffee bed, that we levelled at our best with small deals on the outside of the V60, we started to pour water. As the lovers of brewing extractions are well-aware of, we proceeded through 2 steps : a preinfusion,pouring 40 gr of water, to glut the whole coffee panel. After a 35 seconds preinfusion we continue to pour water in a circular way until we reach 270 gr, for a ratio (brew ratio) of 60gr/liter. Our extraction, ended in 2 minutes and 25 seconds, was tasted and analyzed with the refractometer To have the exact percentage of substances extraction in our coffee dose. The TDS measured by our Atago for this extraction was of 1,20 for an extraction of 18,85. When tasted, form the light body, gentle (and pleasant) cocoa and fruit hints were recognizable, together with a light tartness increasing as the coffee got colder and colder. After this extraction, as we said in the beginning, we only wanted to change a single parameter, trying to understand how this may influence our extraction.We started with a faint grinding to increase the contact area between coffee and water. The final result was a preparation with a 1,28 tds → 20% extraction. When tasted the coffee had a body definitively stronger,a higher tartness, an absolutely pleasant taste with fresh fruit and dark chocolate hints, persistent in the aftertaste.Here is what fascinates us that we define as coffee jazz: the possibility to change,imagine,try and taste especially when we can work with amazing coffees as the one just mentioned. Which other methods allow this?


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## MWJB (Feb 28, 2012)

Are you saying that grinding finer had no influence on mean extraction times ("we only wanted to change a single parameter")?

All brew methods allow a shift in extraction. Both brews landed in the region of a nominal extraction, even where you get 2 brews of the same extraction, there may still be slight differences in taste. +/- 0.5% extraction yield, if repeatable over a decent sample size, would be a pretty acceptable tolerance for manual drip brews


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