From Strong To Mild: Everything You Need To Know About The Intensity Of Coffee
The taste and aroma of coffee is unmistakable. It has a robust, distinctive and exceptional flavor with many variations, such as intensity. There are many lovers of strong, intense coffee. The truth is that the concepts of intensity and strength are often confused with the stroke of caffeine- the exciting compound in coffee.
Whether you are a fan of an extra-strong coffee, an intense but balanced coffee, or you prefer a mild one, coffees adapt to all tastes. The taste of coffee has many gradations, both in intensity and in the aromas that can be perceived. The type of coffee bean, the process it undergoes after harvest, roasting, the degree of grinding, and how the coffee is prepared. The entire progression provides a decisive influence on its flavor and aroma. These factors allow you to acquire a mild or more intense coffee.
What is coffee intensity?
If we talk about intensity, flavor and aroma are the only parameters taken into account. Intensity is a scale used to determine the degree to which flavors and aromas are perceived. This intensity is given by the level of acidity and bitterness of the coffee, the power of its aromas, and the persistence of the flavors once tasted. The intensity of the coffee does not determine its quality, nor is it more or less exciting.
Another characteristic is usually linked and adds to the perception of intensity is the body of the coffee. The body is called the texture and the infusion we feel not by the sense of taste but by touch. Very often, strong coffee also has a body, an almost thick and silky texture in the mouth.
Strong or intense coffee does not mean it has more caffeine
Unconsciously, we associate a coffee with a strong flavor with a coffee with more caffeine, but this is not so. The amount of caffeine in a coffee is determined by the type of bean, the roast, and how it is extracted. In this sense, espresso coffee has a higher proportion of caffeine, but we ingest less caffeine by drinking a small amount than in a long coffee prepared with a drip coffee maker. Cold-brewed coffee is one of the coffees with the highest amount of caffeine, although its taste is mild and not bitter.
Additionally, strongly flavored coffees come from a darker roast. But with roasting the coffee, some of the caffeine in the bean is lost. Paradoxically, a lightly roasted coffee is fresher, acidic and lighter in flavor but retains more caffeine than a much roasted and intense one.
Some of these coffees contain up to twice the amount of caffeine per cup of the recommended total daily consumption for a healthy person. Therefore, cause rapid heartbeat, malaise and health problems. In short, having a cup of strong coffees is the equivalent of drinking a lot of coffee, like 7 cups of conventional coffee. Without a doubt, for most of us, it’s too much coffee.
In any case, the strongest coffee in the world does not mean that it is a stronger tasting coffee. Enjoy intense coffees without increasing the amount of daily caffeine.
Finally, preparing coffee ends up rounding out the intensity and flavor of the coffee. An espresso manages to extract the maximum flavor, body and intensity in little coffee thanks to the proportion of water and coffee.