Filling cups during brewing.

by Doug
(Tampa)

QUESTION:

If people fill their cups while the coffee is brewing, due to their impatience, does this affect the quality of the remaining coffee after the brewing is complete?

Is the flavor of the remaining coffee affected?

Thank you.

ANSWER:

This sounds like an office dispute!

And YES, those sneaky people who fill their mugs before the brew cycle is complete are leaving the rest of you with a much weaker brew.

The first cup of water to pass through the coffee grinds will pick up more flavor than the sixth, eighth or tenth cup. Makes sense, right? As the first cup of water passes through, there is 100% of flavor in the ground coffee. By the tenth cup of water, most of the flavor has already been leached out of the grinds.

A full carafe is a blend of the strong coffee that drips through first and the weaker coffee that drips through last.

This means that the guy or gal who jumps the line and takes a mug of coffee before the cycle is complete is getting a stronger cup of coffee, and everyone who follows gets a much weaker cup.

Ban the coffee thieves! : )