What is coffee ground pre-infusion? What can make the difference between a cup of mediocre coffee and a cup of phenomenal coffee is coffee ground pre-infusion. While pre-infusion might often be dismissed, it does make a huge difference in the final outcome. So, what is coffee pre-infusion? Let’s dive into it today!

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I’ve heard about coffee ground pre-infusion from my friends. What exactly is the pre-infusion? What does it do to a cup of coffee?

Owly Choice reader Darren

We sincerely appreciate Darren’s question. Coffee pre-infusion is a critical step in ensuring depth and breadth of coffee flavor.

Coffee ground pre-infusion is a process during which coffee grounds interact with small amounts of water before extraction begins. This, in turn, allows coffee grounds to start releasing essential oils before the brewing begins. As a result, a coffee lover can enjoy a more flavorful, richer and better-tasting cup of coffee.

Coffee ground preinfusion: benefits & cons

PROs

  • Improves depth and flavors of coffee
  • Creates richer and creamier beverage
  • More balanced cup of coffee due to coffee blooming
  • Saturates coffee (no dry spots left on coffee grounds) for a complete extraction

CONs

  • May add 30-60 seconds to sparkle coffee grounds with water
  • If coffee brewing is conducted incorrectly, may lead to coffee over-extraction

Coffee ground pre-infusion: what it is & why you should care

What pre-infusion is

Pre-infusion requires a small amount of water to be poured over the grounds. As water and coffee grounds interact together for about 30 seconds, coffee grounds begin to bloom.

During the blooming, carbon dioxide trapped within coffee grounds is released and replaced with water, which causes the grounds to rise and grow. As the oils inside the grounds are released, a user can enjoy a better-tasting and more flavorful cup of coffee.

One of the most important benefits of pre-infusion is a more even extraction of coffee. During the process, cracks, channels and other pathways are removed from coffee grounds. Therefore, during the brewing with hot water, the possibility of dry, unextracted spots disappears.

We can pre-infuse coffee grounds in a variety of ways, including pourovers, Chemex, drip coffee machines, and espresso makers (some super-automatic espresso machines have an automatic pre-infusion feature).

Why you should care about coffee ground pre-infusion

While coffee ground pre-infusion is not a critical part of the brewing process, pre-infusion can significantly impact the flavor and quality of coffee beverage. It forces coffee grounds to open up to the brewing process and makes them ready to have their flavors and components extracted.

Coffee brewed using pre-infusion is seldom more balanced, more flavorful, and has a richer, creamier texture.

Be warned, though. Using pre-infusion will change the taste of the coffee. If you have already established a certain recipe for yourself, the pre-infusion might not be your thing. However, we encourage you to remain flexible and experiment. You may need to play a bit with the quantity of coffee and quantity of water. You may, in the end, discover a cup of coffee you will fall in love week after week, day after day.

Without pre-infusion, the extraction process does not typically go as deep in coffee particles. What happens then is water may simply touch coffee grounds only at their surface, leaving behind a lot of unexplored potential.

Over- and under-extraction can occur with pre-infusion

The possibility of under- or of over-extraction remains present with pre-infusion.

Over-extraction happens when water extracts too many coffee flavors and components. In fact, pre-infusion can aggravate over-extraction.

Under-extraction is the opposite of over-extraction. It occurs when water extracts too few coffee flavors and components. While pre-infusion can help alleviate under-extraction, it cannot help when the quantities of coffee and water are disproportional.

If used inappropriately, pre-infusion can only aggravate over-extraction and slightly alleviate under-extraction.

How long should coffee pre-infusion be?

We recommend about 30 seconds for pre-infusion. However, we need to keep this time-frame only when we brew using manual methods like pour over or Chemex.

Automatic machines, such as a drip coffee maker or espresso machines, have a pre-established time for pre-infusion. The machine will do everything for us.

How to pre-infuse coffee grounds?

Pre-infusion can be helpful when dealing with brewing methods that require water to pass through coffee grounds, like pour over and Chemix, and when using a drip coffee machine or an espresso machine. While some coffee machines might have the feature included and pre-infuse the grounds automatically, that is not always the case.

Manual pre-infusion

When an automatic coffee maker is unavailable, manual pre-infusion is super simple. All we have to do is pour a small quantity of hot water over coffee grounds, making sure that all the coffee particles have been slightly soaked with water.

We then need to leave the grounds to soak and bloom for 30 seconds, after which we can continue with the brewing process in the usual way.

Automatic pre-infusion

These are some coffee machines (pour over, drip and espresso machines) that pre-infuse coffee grounds automatically:

How is pre-infusion related to espresso machine’s pressure (BARs)?

Espresso machines that come with a pre-infusion functionality should perform it using pressure of maximum 3 BARs. A pressure that low means that the water is basically only showered over the coffee puck, just so that the coffee grounds could get soaked with water.

We do not want extraction to begin already at this step, which is why a higher pressure is not used during pre-infusion. After pre-infusion, the normal 9 BARs pressure is applied on the grounds, and extraction takes place.

Owly’s conclusion

Pre-infusion of coffee grounds can be a valuable step in the coffee brewing process. It can add more flavor and richness. Further, it can make coffee even more enjoyable.

Pre-infusing may add another minute in the coffee brewing. However, we think that doing so will make your cup of coffee an unforgettable experience, filled with flavor and rich aroma.

What do you think?

What do you think about coffee ground pre-infusion? Do you taste any difference in pre-infused vs regular cup of coffee? What coffee maker do you use for pre-infusion?

Let us know in the comments!

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