Introduction:The 2022 Guangdong College Entrance Examination Chinese essay topic used the Go terms “solid move (本手), brilliant move (妙手), and vulgar move (俗手)” as its theme, prompting us to rethink the essence of coffee. Whether it’s pour over brewing or coffee roasting, a solid foundation of knowledge is key to crafting a great cup of coffee. This article will delve into the principles of extraction, the characteristics of coffee beans, and the logic of roasting, helping you fundamentally understand coffee, avoid common mistakes, and develop your own unique coffee flavor profile.
The 2022 Guangdong College Entrance Examination Chinese language essay question centered on the Go concepts of “solid move (本手), brilliant move (妙手), and vulgar move (俗手),” sparking widespread discussion. For coffee professionals and enthusiasts alike, these three terms are equally enlightening. Whether you specialize in pour over coffee, explore roasting techniques, or plan to open a coffee shop, mastering the fundamentals is essential.
In Go, a “solid move (本手)” refers to a fundamental play that aligns with the principles of the game and is essential for improving one’s skill; a “brilliant move (妙手)” is an unexpectedly ingenious play; while a “vulgar move (俗手)” may seem reasonable at first glance but often proves disadvantageous in the long run. For beginners, it is important to start with solid moves, laying a solid foundation—otherwise, it is difficult to further create “brilliant moves,” and one may easily fall into the trap of “vulgar moves.”
This principle also applies to the world of coffee. Many people focus on replicating certain popular pour over techniques or tools, while neglecting the basic principles of extraction and the inherent characteristics of the coffee beans themselves. In reality, the essence of coffee extraction is allowing water to pass through ground coffee to extract its soluble flavor compounds. This process is influenced by various factors, including the origin of the coffee beans, the degree of roast, grind size, water temperature, and brewing time.
For example, high-altitude, lightly roasted coffee beans are usually denser, with flavor compounds released more slowly, requiring a finer grind and a moderately higher water temperature; conversely, low-altitude, dark-roasted beans have a looser structure and release flavors more quickly, making them suitable for a slightly coarser grind and a slightly lower water temperature. Without understanding these fundamental differences, it is difficult to extract the balanced flavor that the beans are capable of.
During the extraction process, the coffee-to-water ratio, water temperature, and brewing time are all key parameters. Generally speaking,keeping the extraction yield between 18% and 22%, and maintaining the concentration between 1.15% and 1.35%is considered an ideal range—this is what is known as the “Golden Cup” standard. However, this is not absolute; the final flavor outcome still depends on individual taste preferences and the characteristics of the beans.
Additionally, coffee roasting is also an art based on the foundation of “solid moves.” Before experimenting with various roasting techniques, it is first important to deeply understand the origin characteristics of the beans, including altitude, soil, climate, as well as the moisture content and processing method of the coffee beans. These factors all influence the development stage and flavor direction during roasting.
Each temperature node and time control during the roasting process directly affects the final flavor expression. For example, the rate of temperature increase before first crack influences the expression of acidity, while the development time after first crack is closely related to sweetness and caramelization reactions. Without understanding these fundamental principles, even with high-end roasting equipment, it is difficult to consistently roast beans with balanced flavors.
Opening a coffee shop also requires a solid foundation of “solid moves.” In addition to skilled coffee-making abilities, one must have a comprehensive understanding of overall business operations, including financial planning, staffing, store location selection, and customer service. Many novice entrepreneurs, seeing others succeed, rush to imitate without considering the accumulated experience and attention to detail behind those successes, ultimately struggling to maintain quality and customer loyalty.
In summary, whether it’s pour over brewing, roasting, or running a coffee shop, only by truly understanding and mastering the foundational principles can one make adjustments and innovations in practice, thereby reaching the realm of “brilliant moves.” Neglecting the basics may lead to occasional success, but it is difficult to sustain progress and may even result in repeatedly falling into the trap of “vulgar moves.” Only by starting from the fundamentals can one find their own unique flavor and direction in the world of coffee.
The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.
