Effects of brew strength, brew yield, and roast on the sensory quality of drip brewed coffee

Drip brewed coffee is traditionally quantified in terms of its strength, also known as total dissolved solids (TDS), and its brewing yield, also known as percent extraction (PE). Early work in the 1950s yielded classifications of certain regimes of TDS and PE as "underdeveloped," "bitter," or "ideal," with the modifiers "weak" or "strong" simply correlated with TDS. Although this standard is still widely used today, it omits a rich variety of sensory attributes perceptible in coffee. In this work, we used response surface methodology to evaluate the influence of TDS and PE on the sensory profile of drip brewed coffee. A representative wet-washed Arabica coffee was roasted to three different levels (light, medium, or dark), with each roast then brewed to nine target brews that varied systematically by TDS and PE. Descriptive analysis found that 21 of the 30 evaluated attributes differed significantly across the brews for one or more experimental factors, yielding linear or second-order response surfaces versus TDS and PE. Seven attributes exhibited a significant response surface for all three roast levels tested: burnt wood/ash flavor, citrus flavor, sourness, bitterness, sweetness, thickness, and flavor persistence. An additional seven attributes also showed a significant response surface fit across some but not all roasts. Importantly, sweetness exhibited an inverse correlation with TDS irrespective of roast, while dark chocolate flavor and blueberry flavor decreased with TDS for medium roast. These results provide new insight on how to optimize brewing conditions to achieve desired sensory profiles in drip brewed coffee. PRACTICAL APPLICATION: This research provides guidance on how best to achieve specific flavor profiles in drip brewed coffee.