If you’re at my age, the idea of growing up and thinking one day there would be an entire world around coffee seems strange. Yet, here we are in this world of all things coffee. The thing is the more that you find yourself moving away from your mom-and-pop’s diner style coffee overloaded with sugar and cream, you find that this world is actually very intriguing. Coffee, it is fascinating to say the least. From the geographical soil that penetrates “flavors and aromas” to the idea of coffee blooming, there is always something to learn. Now the question we are looking at here is, what’s a coffee bloom?
Flowers Bloom. Not Coffee.
When we talk about the idea of coffee blooming we are talking about something entirely different from what a flower or plant does. However, in order to understand the blooming process, we need to have a brief understanding of degassing. In it is most basic understanding, degassing is the process where gas is released or escapes from the coffee beans after the roasting process. The degassing process can take anywhere between 5 days to 2 weeks. This is why it is always best to not brew freshly roasted coffee until after the 5th day of roast and why flavor and aroma are at their highest peak during that 2 week period.
Degassing Meets Blooming.
What you began to find is that there is an optimal time to drink coffee. A time when flavor and caffeine are at their highest peak, but what helps us meet that most primal time? When you are brewing coffee, whether that be a chemex, an Aeropress, or anything else the process of blooming is what helps execute the flavors of the coffee beans. Essentially, coffee flavor is released when hot water touches the ground coffee. Since there are still gasses being released during this time, it is notable to mention that there are still gasses that have not been released yet. What these causes are gas bubbles. Think of the idea of putting on your phone screen protector and not being able to get the air bubbles out. In the same way that the air bubble causes the protector to not touch the screen, the gas bubbles cause the water to not touch the coffee grounds. This leads to poor extraction of the coffee, which means flavorless coffee.
Is That All There Is?
Aside from degassing what also leads to the great blooming of coffee is understanding oxidization. Oxidization is that process of chemical breakdown that causes things like metal to rust or food to go bad, if it is left out for too long. In addition, it is the that thing that causes coffee to lose it is flavor and become stale. Oxidization happens when oxygen is introduced. This is why you will find a small one-way valve on a lot of coffee bags, it allows oxygen out, but not in. Coffee grounds are full of what are referred to as ‘coffee solubles,’ which are chemical compounds, different oils, and acids. It’s the chemical compounds that give coffee it is flavor. When air touches those compounds, it is basically stealing away the flavor of those beans over the process of time. This is why you will find coffee shops working in small batches, the more the beans are exposed to oxygen the faster that loss occurs.
Optimal Measurements and Time.
Coffee blooming is a simple process, well aside from what’s actually occurring and the science behind it all. When doing our choice of brewing, coffee blooming is met by doing a few minor things.
- After putting your grounds into the filter, shake them to even them out. Helping you create a flat surface of coffee grounds.
- Poke a hole with your finger in the center of the grounds. OK, this part isn’t necessary, but some of us believe this makes the blooming process better. It’s believed that by poking the hole and filling the center up with boiling water it expands out more evenly. As stated, it is more of a preference. Skip this step if you want. Honestly, the process of brewing coffee is a ritual for me and this step is part of my morning brew ritual.
- Start your timer for the amount required to brew your coffee. Of that full amount of time, we are blooming for 30 seconds.
- Slowly pour double the amount of boiling water as measured coffee into the center of your grounds and move out to the edge. If you have a measurement of 14g of coffee, pour in 28g of boiling water. We are only looking to dampen the coffee grounds at this point.
- Stir your grounds twice so that there is a full immersion of coffee grounds and water.
If the blooming process has occurred correctly, which isn’t just on you – the degassing and oxidization are also to blame here, but if all are in alignment you will see the grinds grow and rise. This expanding of the grinds is the blooming process taking effect. When viewing this for the first time or the hundredth time, it is a beautiful mindful occurrence that is mesmerizing.
In Conclusion of Blooming.
What we covered here is a lot, but I hope that by me taking the time to explain the breakdown of coffee blooming, degassing, and oxidization you are better to appreciate this part of the coffee brewing process.
If there is anything that you do not understand or want more expansion of knowledge on, please feel free to leave a comment below or reach out to the email.
Best Regards,
Corey J. Plummer