Together with our friends from “Physics for Everyone,” we're diving into the world of coffee — the scientific way!

The very same coffee can taste noticeably different depending on how it's brewed.

For example, filter coffee and espresso are made from the same beans, yet they feel completely different. It's all about extraction!

When hot water passes through ground coffee, it dissolves various substances: acids, sugars, oils and aromatic compounds. The speed of this process depends on temperature, pressure, time and even the way the water flows.

In espresso, the water passes through the coffee very quickly and under high pressure (around 9 atmospheres). In that short time it manages to pull plenty of oils and rich substances out of the coffee particles, which is why the drink turns out dense and strong.

In a pour-over, everything is different: driven by gravity, the water moves slowly, and the paper filter additionally traps some of the oils and fine particles, so the taste becomes cleaner and lighter, while individual notes come through more vividly. 

And which brewing method do you like more?