Welcome to Coffee Addicts

A Small Coffee Glossary

Confused about something all the cool kids are talking about? See below for an ever growing list of coffee related terms!We’re always looking to increase our vocabulary if there’s anything you think we’re missing here!Acids - The first soluble to dissolve when adding ground coffee and water togetherAeropress - A coffee maker designed by Alan Adler in 2005, the Aeropress consists of a chamber, a filter base, and a plunger that forces water and coffee in the chamber through a paper filter held in the filter base. Notoriously easy to make good coffee with.Anerobic - literally “without air”, or in the context of coffee, generally referring to a method of fermenting whole coffee cherries in sealed tanks without oxygen as a way to create a flavour profile in the finished coffee. Back Flush - The process of cleaning coffee oils from the “group head” of an espresso machine done by inserting a “Blind Disk” with coffee soap into the machine like you’d “Pull a shot”, but the blind disk forces the soapy water back up and into the machine to clean it out. Can be done just with water as well for regular maintenance.   Blind Disk (Aka - blind basket) - A portafilter basket without any holes in it, used for cleaning. Bottomless Portafilter - A portafilter without any bottom, without any spouts. The bottom of the basket is visible, which can help see uneven extraction.Brew Time - How long your machine pumps pressurized water through the coffee bed. Depending on the machine, this may be controlled manually, or be a pre-set amount of time.Channeling - When the high pressure water coming out of the espresso machine finds points of uneven compression/less resistance in the coffee bed, this leads to uneven extraction of the Espresso.Coffee Bed - The coffee grounds in the portafilter. We are always aiming to make as even of a coffee bed, both in distribution and in pressure, as we can.Crema - The foamy, pale layer on the top of an espresso, Crema is caused by dissolved CO2 in roasted coffee being forced into a gaseous state under the high pressure of brewing, and getting trapped in the oils in the coffee. Generally a sign of freshly roasted coffee.Descale - The act of mixing up an acidic solution using a “descaling product” to run through an espresso or other coffee machine, to dissolve built up calcium deposits.Dialing In - The process of adjusting your grind size and therefore surface area of the beans available to water to best extract desirable flavour compounds from your coffee beans. Easier than it sounds! I promise!Distribution Tool - Generally refers to a flat puck shaped metal tool with angled fins on the bottom that level the coffee bed in the portafilter basket without compressing it too heavily.Dosing Ring - A short, wide funnel that attaches to the top of a portafilter at the basket side to reduce coffee mess during puck prep.Espresso - A type of very strong coffee produced using high pressure (generally 9 bar) hot water (generally between 92 and 96 degrees Celcius) forced through very finely ground coffee over a short period of time (generally around 30 seconds).Espresso Beans - Whatever bean you like brewed on an espresso machine! Not specifically a different bean, though some roasters will label beans for espresso as they’ve roasted them with the intent that you’ll brew them using an espresso machine. Generally darker roasts.Extraction - The act of pulling solubles from ground coffee using water, heat, and pressure.Group Head - The area of the espresso machine the portafilter locks in to, and where the brewing water will come out. Natural - In reference to coffee, this refers to the process of taking full coffee cherries, and letting the fruit dry to the seed in the sun for up to several weeks. Often very fruit forward, higher sugar content, and can be less harsh in acidity than washed coffees.Over Extracted - Generally caused by too fine of a grind, but affected by other variables as well, this refers to pulling harder to access unpleasant flavours out of coffee, generally caused by too much contact time between water and coffee.Portafilter - The handle and basket holder bit where you put the coffee, “locks in” to your machine via the little metal “wings” at the round end. Portafilters are most commonly “58mm”, which refers to the size of the round bit that fits into your machine, and the most common size is 58mm. This size varies some. For example, many Breville machines are 54mm, La Pavoni lever machines are 51mm or 49mm depending on when they were made, and Delonghi are generally 51mm as well. This is really only important if you want to try out a different portafilter basket or for purchasing accessories like tampers or puck screens. Make sure you purchase the right size! They are Not interchangeable. Fin shape also matters, Gaggia and Rancilio machines re both 58mm portafilters, but the fins are differently oriented on the portafilter.Portafilter Basket (also Filter Basket) - The little metal container with all the holes through it that sits in the portafilter. The size of the basket you use determines how many grounds you can fit in it, generally indicated by measurements in grams (ie a “21g basket”). Single baskets are less common, but generally range from 7-9g of coffee at a time. Baskets can also be affected by different shapes of sides, different qualities of machining in the manufacturing process, different hole numbers and orientations, and different gauges (thicknesses) of metal used.Puck - The compressed bed of ground coffee in the portafilter basket, before or after brewing. After brewing, generally referred to as a “Spent Puck”.Puck Prep - The act of adjusting how the coffee grounds lie in a portafilter basket, by using a tool such as a WDT or Distribution tool to fluff up or evenly distribute coffee, or just by using your hands to push coffee around in the basket to encourage even density. Good puck prep increases consistency of extraction, and reduces channeling.Pull - Similar to the brew time of the coffee, the length of time for which the coffee has water pressure on it. Related to the lever and spring action of some espresso machines (as compared to button operated machines). Ratio - Generally in coffee this is the weight of coffee to the weight of the water. For espresso, the most common ratio is 1:2 coffee:water, for pourovers it’s more 1:16/1:15, I generally read this as about 60g of coffee to 1L of water (1000g) though in real math there’s more decimals than that.RDT - “Ross Droplet Technique”, essentially adding the smallest amount (1ml or so, generally using a spray bottle) to your coffee beans prior to grinding. ShotSoluble - A substance that can be dissolved in water. Coffee has desirable and undesirable soluables, most coffee soluables are tasty and delightful, but some are more bitter and unpleasant.Tamper - The heavy flat metal thingy you use to flatten and compress your bed of coffee. Sometimes the one that comes with your machine is flimsy and plastic. I really recommend getting a decent metal one. These also come in pressurized, so you know how hard to push. The handles come in all fun shapes and sizes! Pick one that suits your style and budget.Tamping Mat - A (generally) silicone mat made to protect your counter top from your portafilter and general coffee mess.Under Extracted - Coffee not having either enough time in contact with water or not enough surface area across the available time to draw out all the available soluables we want in the cup. Generally characterized by the coffee being weak and a bit sour, as acids are the first soluables to dissolve.V60 - A conical pour over brewer with an edge angle of 60 Degrees and large central hole, originally made by the company Hario and launched in 2004-2005Washed - A method of coffee processing where the fruit skins and mucilage are washed off the seeds (coffee beans) prior to fermentation or roasting.WDT - “Weiss Distribution Technique”, a technique for coffee bed distribution using small tines on a base (like sewing needles in a wine cork) to fluff up, even out, and break up any clumps in ground coffee in the portafilter)