Extract Everything 006: Coffee Refractometer Basics | Measuring TDS + Extraction Percentage

What exactly does a coffee refractometer do, and what are TDS and extraction percentage? Now you know.

My Equipment:

[emverload]

Great video! My only question is why use distilled water to tare your TDS instead of the water you used to brew with? Tap water will have its own TDS so wouldn't that interfere with properly measuring the coffee TDS?

[izmirfariz]

When you added that sentence, "This is not a cheap tool", I couldn't help but smile.

[jz]

I love how concise this video is. so informative too

[seetubemetube]

2020 and still relevant! Thanks for the upload 🙌

[inJCwepray]

Hey Chris! I'm sure someone more senior may disagree with me on this, but speaking from a research background, I'm not sure if finishing off with an alcohol wipe is the best way to go after zeroing out. Wipes can leave behind residues after all the volatiles have evaporated, and although it's likely imperceptible to the TDS of your sample, you're ultimately adding more variables into your workflow which could take away from a consistent reading. After zeroing with distilled water, I think wiping away with kimwipes or another lint-free towel is all you really need. That being said, I'm sure this is a process you've followed for many years to your success, so I can't say what you're doing is wrong - clearly it's worked for you :) Thanks for the vid! Super thorough!

[ebenburger]

If I understand this correctly, there's a very simple way to get an average extraction yield. Weigh the Original dried ingredient you'd like to extract. Infuse your dried substance and filter. Now dehydrate the remainder Fibrous content to get rid of most of the water - comparable to its original state, and Weigh it again. The difference in weight before and after the infusion of the dried matter will show you how much extracted content you now have mixed within your liquid. For example, if the dried coffee was 100g before extraction, and after filtration and dehydration is 60g, the total dissolved/extracted content is 40g.

[danwilson]

wait.. you're filtering the sample? how do you get an accurate dissolved solids count if you're filtering the liquid? wouldn't there be an inherent loss of material to the filter?

[tesha]

Hey. is the bev weight in 3:36 the total coffee weight after brewing ?

[matthewwomack]

Chris, looking around, you can catch a refractometer on the cheap. At least, cheap compared to the VST. Do you know if these would work if I'm willing to put in the MATH to do it, or is the VST running some crazy proprietary bidness that is under lock and key keeping these delicious coffee number secrets at bay? I'm just a regular dude, no barista, but I'm into the idea of taking tasting notes, establishing base lines, being able to compare those numbers from coffee to coffee, finding trends, etc., yadda da. Can it be done by normal people with normal equipment?

[drewmcneice]

why would you use distilled water to calibrate? wouldn't you then be measuring your extraction yield PLUS dissolved solids present in the brew water? If you calibrate with your brew water aren't you more accurately measuring only the coffee solids dissolved? If I'm missing something here please clarify it for me 😀

[Anggaditto]

Hi Chris, have you ever compared, with same number of TDS, but with different parameters (grind size, ratio, water temp), how do they taste? Do they have same notes?

[timothybracken]

WOW this was extremely helpful for beginners, thank you Chris! !!

[cipriandragoi]

Hello Chris Baca. How often do I need to calibrate with distiled water ? every time before measurement ?

[cheekster]

The bonus scene you tag on at the end of your videos are dope yo! :)

[xafafx]

Why didn't I see this video when I was studying about coffee, it could have been a great help, cow studying all this in Korean gave me a headache 😑 Anyways, great video, good to review my classes 🥰

[anggasatya]

I can not find the similar app in the google playstore currently. Can you give me a pointer where I can find the app you used? Or maybe other similar app

[Enekeen]

Man, its most likely videos about the coffee, on your channel. Keep going in the same way :)

[ryansaunders]

have you ever considered doing a video on the vst coffee tools app. i'm having some issues with getting in the "ideal" range as set forth in the app. since my measured brew weight is less than my original entry, i can't every get my blue circle to match up with my red circle. i'm sure it's a common problem and even if it's not, a how to for the app is definitely something anyone watching this video would find useful. either way, keep up the good content!

[vizzo]

hi, my tds meter reads ppm. I got putting it in the coffee 1560 ppm. what do i do now?

[guytzur]

Hello what is the size of pores syringe filter? there are few sizes like 0.45 and 0.22 micrometer