How to Brew Stronger Coffee With Less Beans

What if there was a way to make stronger coffee, but use less beans from your stash? Well, according to a new study from the American Institute of Physics, all it takes is recalling high school science class—specifically, the laws of physics. The study concluded that pour-over coffee can be made stronger by holding the kettle as high as possible while maintaining a steady water flow. You’ll notice the effects of stronger coffee, all the while using less beans and saving time, effort, and resources.

The study also notes that over tens of billions of kilograms of coffee are consumed worldwide, although coffee beans are difficult to cultivate (especially in an ever-fluctuating climate). By using less coffee beans—without sacrificing the taste or benefits of coffee—we can do our part in practicing sustainability and environmental consciousness.

How Can You Apply the Laws of Physics to Make Stronger Coffee?

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania found that when it comes to making a strong cup of coffee with less coffee beans, the instructions are relatively simple: “What we recommend is making the pour height as high as possible, while still maintaining a laminar flow, where the jet doesn’t break up when it impacts the coffee grinds,” explains Ernest Park, co-author of the study. Ideally using a gooseneck kettle, you’ll want to use its thick water jets to get the strongest, most focused pour. When water meets the coffee bed, it reaches deep into the grounds, displacing more grounds at the bottom, and resulting in a stronger cup of coffee with fewer beans.

If the kettle’s jet is too thin, however, the water force won’t be strong enough to create the same effect. “If you have a thin jet, then it tends to break up into droplets,” said author Margot Young, co-author. “That’s what you want to avoid in these pour-overs, because that means the jet cannot mix the coffee grounds effectively.” Unlike many scientific experiments, researchers encourage readers to try this at home—if only to see how prevalent physics is in our day-to-day lives. “We can really learn something from both the chemistry and physics point of view by looking at the kitchen,” says co-author Arnold Mathijssen. “It leads to new science where you didn’t expect it.”