Making better coffee...
is a strange and complicated journey. Many of us put so much effort, time, and money into it that those on the outside looking in think we're insane. That I think is a good introduction into the wildly time consuming act of sifting coffee. By that I mean grinding coffee, placing it into a sifter (in this case the Kruve Sifter) and filtering the coffee grinds by size. Using different sized filters you can remove those ultra fine grinds, as well as those big boulders, that in theory create uneven extraction. In a perfect world every single coffee particle would be the exact same size. Water would extract through them at the exact same rate, and it would create the "ideal" cup of coffee. Which in specialty coffee would be one that is balanced in sweetness, bitterness, and acidity, with an extraction percentage above 20%.
Of course this process isn't without its faults. I'll be the first to admit to you that sifting coffee is by no means necessary, but it is an experience that is worth having if you have the opportunity. Even as a self-proclaimed high-tier coffee nerd, I don't even do this on a regular basis. The other day during one of those rare moments of sifting, I posted about it and found there is a whole workflow to it to minimize the waste and get the most out of your coffee. This includes regrinding coffee and adding the other grinds in at later points in the brew. So at that point I was determined to dig into this process and learn more about maximizing taste while minimizing waste. So hit play on the video above and let's get our sift together.
February 15, 2021
Interesting article! The act of sifting coffee grinds was made popular by baristas since it produced sweeter coffees and less bitterness. It gave coffee both enhanced flavor-clarity and a cleaner finish.