With the support of Mr. Coffee, Inc., we have investigated a number of factors that influence the brewing of coffee. Many of our findings have been used in developing their newest line of Coffeemakers.
On study was the investigation of optimum brewing time. Based on relative extraction and evaporation rates, it was determined that a brewtime of approximately 8 minutes was best for a 10-12 cup brew
It was further confirmed by evaluating the rates of extraction for the 50 separate chemicals evaulated in this study. It also showed that most materials were extracted in the first few minutes. In fact, if you take the first cup of coffee that is actually brewed, you'll end up with about 90 percent of the total.
The following are the materials we looked at and their relative extraciton behaviors. As you can see, those materials that are considered 'off flavor' are slow to extract.
