When coffee prices are skyrocketing, it's essential to get as much coffee as possible out of the beans. Researchers from the University of Pennsylvania have investigated how to maximize coffee when pouring hot water over ground beans.
The researchers' recommendation is to pour the water from as great a height as possible in an even flow. The ideal pot to achieve both the right height and flow is a so-called swan-neck pot.
Strong – but focused – water jets create a landslide where the ground beans recirculate when the water digs deeper and provides a better blend of water and coffee, the researchers can conclude.
"If you have a thin stream, it tends to break up into drops. You want to avoid that because it means the stream can't blend the coffee effectively," explains Margot Young, one of the researchers behind the study, in a press release.
The research group has no plans for further coffee-related studies, but says there are many parameters left to explore, such as how the size of the ground beans affects the result.
The study is published in Physics of Fluids.
