Brewing a tasty cup of coffee is only possible when you use the right tools and techniques. One of the techniques used in brewing delicious coffee is stirring. Wondering what is stir coffee for? Well, if you’re curious to know why you should stir your coffee when brewing and even after serving, then you have landed on the right page.
Stirring needs to be done carefully. There are certain factors to consider before you stir your pot of coffee. These factors include the kind of taste you want and the type of coffee you are using. Read on to find out why you should stir your coffee.
Why Stir Coffee during Brewing?
When brewing coffee, water comes into contact with ground coffee to extract coffee flavors and oils. Stirring coffee enhances the distribution of hot water across the ground coffee. It helps to reduce dry particle resistance and channeling.
The aim is to ensure extraction is even and collective among all the coffee grounds. As a result, there is even extraction, which gives you better-tasting coffee. If there is under-extraction, your coffee will taste acidic and sour. However, over-extraction can cause your brew to taste dry and bitter.
After brewing coffee, you will be left with a bed of wet coffee grounds. You can tell whether the grounds were properly extracted by checking the bed. A flat, homogenous, and properly distributed bed with little or no particles near the top of the filter will tell you that there was proper extraction.
A flat bed shows that there was proper pouring and stirring. With proper pouring and stirring, there will be consistency and even resistance to water. That way, all the coffee particles will be extracted evenly. Most importantly, take note of the bloom when stirring coffee. The bloom is the first phase of brewing coffee. It is when water starts coming into contact with coffee grounds.
During the bloom stage, coffee grounds start releasing gases (such as carbon dioxide) that the beans absorbed during roasting. You need to ensure most of the gases are released for even extraction. It is advised to stir the brew during the bloom to ensure the bottom of the filter is saturated evenly.
Continue stirring after the bloom to ensure there is even extraction. That way, there is reduced channeling. Channeling refers to water finding paths of little resistance, which causes uneven extraction.
What Happens When You Stir Brewed Coffee?
If you are adding extra ingredients to black coffee, you need to stir it with a coffee stirrer or spoon to help mix the ingredients thoroughly. That way, you will have a consistent, delicious drink. Also, stirring assists to distribute heat evenly to ensure that no parts of the coffee are either too cold or too hot after mixing different ingredients. To add to that, stirring prevents the formation of undissolved sugar and other ingredients in the bottom of the cup.
Should You Stir Espresso?
It helps to stir espresso for various reasons including:
1. Enhances the flavor
Stirring espresso reduces its temperature. As a result, it develops better flavor. For instance, white wine brought out of the fridge tastes better when it warms up. On the other hand, espresso tastes better as it cools down. Essentially, espresso is brewed at around 93 to 95 degrees Celsius. Stirring it cools it down to a temperature that makes it possible to note its rich flavors.
2. Fuller and more balanced flavor
Upon brewing coffee, it starts to settle and forms a head. Your espresso will separate inside the cup. Stirring it recombines the important elements, therefore creating a more balanced and flavorful drinking experience.
3. Helps release delicate aromas
The human senses of taste and smell are closely related to each other. In fact, they influence each other. The flavor of espresso is largely influenced by its aroma. By stirring your espresso, you help it release the delicate aromas and gases in the drink for a tastier drinking experience.
How is Dalgona Coffee Made by Stirring?
So what is coffee for? Apart from it being necessary to stir coffee while brewing or stir different ingredients in coffee, you can also make a special type of coffee by stirring. This coffee is known as Dalgona coffee. It is a new coffee trend that involves mixing different ingredients to make a frothy, creamy, and tasty coffee drink.
To make Dalgona coffee, you will add instant coffee, hot water, and sugar into a mixing bowl. Whisk the ingredients for a few minutes. The result is a fluffy and light drink. Whisking mixes the ingredients to make the drink taste consistent. That way, the drink will satisfy your taste buds fully.
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