As soon as they arrive at their desk in the morning, many people are in the habit of first making themselves a hot coffee to perk up. But everyone often runs into this confusion: clearly it is the same bag of beans, yet sometimes the coffee tastes watery and bland, and sometimes it is burnt, bitter and astringent, getting stuck in the throat and feeling very uncomfortable. Actually, when brewing coffee in the office, as long as you figure out the relationship between extraction yield and strength, it is like mastering the key to seasoning, and you can casually adjust the coffee to a comfortable, smooth state.

Many people easily confuse strength with extraction yield, and we can use brewing tea as an analogy. Extraction yield is like how much of the flavor in the tea leaves has been brought out by the hot water; bring out too little and it seems green and hollow, bring out too much and off-flavors are also released. Strength, meanwhile, is like whether this cup of tea is thick or clear. If coffee tastes weak, it is often because too little grounds were used or too much water was added; if it tastes astringent, it is most likely over-extracted, bringing out woody off-flavors.

When the flavor is not smooth enough, a small adjustment to the parameters can easily save it. If you feel the cup is astringent and bitter, you can make the grind slightly coarser by one notch, or lower the water temperature by two or three degrees, to reduce the dissolution rate; if you feel the flavor is thin and the acidity is sharp, you can grind finer, or let the hot water stay in contact a little longer. In the office day to day, adjust only one variable each time, and you will quickly find the balance point that especially suits the current beans.

Once you understand extraction adjustment, when choosing beans you also need to consider whether they are suited to being drunk strong or weak. Some beans are darker roasted and high in body, naturally suited to being extracted as espresso to make milk coffee; some beans have their own clean sweet fruitiness, suited to a larger powder-to-water ratio to make a refreshing americano or pour-over. For example, for pour-over, use 15 g of grounds with a 1:15 powder-to-water ratio and 225 ml of hot water to get a cup of eye-opening daily coffee with distinct layers of flavor.

If a small semi-automatic coffee machine is kept in the office, using espresso to make americano or milk coffee is even easier. Here is a general extraction baseline: use 18 g of ground coffee, at a medium-fine grind, and within about 25 seconds to 28 seconds stably extract 36 g to 38 g of espresso liquid. This strength of espresso, added directly to hot water to make an americano, or added to iced milk, has a very round mouthfeel.

As a representative suited to being drunk strong, you can first look at Qianjie Classic Blend. This bean is specially made for espresso and moka pots, uses the traditional Mamba recipe, and during grinding and extraction can easily form a dense, delicate golden crema. It enters the mouth mellow and warm, with rich nut and dark chocolate aromas, and is very suited to making a latte or flat white; the thick coffee aroma can instantly pierce through the thick milk foam, and drinking it in the morning is especially warming to the stomach and refreshing, and beginners can also handle it easily.

If the office consumes a large amount of coffee and everyone often places group orders, Qianjie Black Cocoa Blend is a very cost-effective daily staple. It uses carefully matched all-arabica beans, and the extracted crema is likewise very abundant, with a thick, full-bodied mouthfeel and pure caramel and cocoa flavors. This bean has a very high tolerance for error; even if the grind parameter is slightly off, it still drinks mild and smooth, so not only is there no pressure on your wallet, but drinking it is also especially reassuring and hassle-free.

If you are usually afraid of coffee's bitterness and prefer clean sweet fruitiness, then Qianjie Strawberry Candy coffee beans are worth a try. It is blended from arabica beans from different origins, and relies on its original flavors to cleverly blend out a clear sweet aroma like strawberry gummy candy. Drunk weak as an americano, this bean is light and refreshing like juice; drunk strong with milk, it can also become a flavored milk coffee like a strawberry dessert, so one bag of beans can take care of different taste preferences in the same office.

Making coffee at your desk does not require pursuing complex equipment; figure out the character of the beans themselves, distinguish whether they are suited to espresso or a weaker drink, and then through small adjustments to the dose and grind, you can say goodbye to dryness and blandness. Pick a bag of beans whose aroma suits you, and in the gaps between busy work slowly extract a cup of smooth, warm drink; smelling the drifting sweet aroma of nuts and berries, your whole self can completely relax in that brief moment.