The Physics of Filter Coffee

Hardcover, 250 pages

English language

Published Feb. 12, 2020 by Scott Rao.

ISBN:: 978-0-578-24608-6

(1 review)

The Physics of Filter Coffee by astrophysicist Jonathan Gagné is perhaps the most significant book ever written on the science of coffee brewing. In the book Jonathan discusses the physics of percolation, extraction, and grinding, as well as water chemistry. He takes the reader down such rabbit holes as pouring-kettle design, optimizing turbulence while pouring, the impact of fines on percolation, the physics of paper filters, and the geometry of various brewers. He also presents some original ideas about coffee brewing and backs it all up with reams of facts and data.

The most wonderful thing about The Physics of Filter Coffee is not the impressive depth of the science, but the practical lessons Jonathan draws from the science. Unlike, say, Illy’s Espresso: the Science of Quality, an impressive treatise on the science of espresso, The Physics of Filter Coffee offers an abundance of practical recommendations derived from science, data, …

The Physics of Filter Coffee by astrophysicist Jonathan Gagné is perhaps the most significant book ever written on the science of coffee brewing. In the book Jonathan discusses the physics of percolation, extraction, and grinding, as well as water chemistry. He takes the reader down such rabbit holes as pouring-kettle design, optimizing turbulence while pouring, the impact of fines on percolation, the physics of paper filters, and the geometry of various brewers. He also presents some original ideas about coffee brewing and backs it all up with reams of facts and data.

The most wonderful thing about The Physics of Filter Coffee is not the impressive depth of the science, but the practical lessons Jonathan draws from the science. Unlike, say, Illy’s Espresso: the Science of Quality, an impressive treatise on the science of espresso, The Physics of Filter Coffee offers an abundance of practical recommendations derived from science, data, and experimentation. Any barista who reads this book will immediately have new tools to make better coffee.

1 edition

B 🌻 A B reviewed The Physics of Filter Coffee by Jonathan Gagné

Heavy on the theory, light on the practical examples

4 stars

There is no doubt that this book is exceptionally well researched and provides a depth of information about the mechanics of filter coffee, that is probably unrivalled, especially for the non-academic. I found my mind wandering while reading it though, and kept having to re-read paragraphs, or pages as I hadn't a clue what I'd supposedly just read. Some concepts were easier to grasp and put into action at home, others not so much. I felt like a practical example here and there wouldn't have gone amiss, but then the book is probably not aimed at those that require that level of hand holding.

I'm glad I've read it, and while I've put some of it into practice at home, it would be a difficult recommendation to all but the die hardest of filter coffee die hards.

Subjects

Coffee