To make good coffee, it's essential to understand the concept of extraction. If we were to dry out coffee grounds after brewing, we’d find that they weigh about 20% less than their original weight. This loss represents the portion of compounds that dissolved into our cup during brewing, a percentage known as extraction. Extraction plays a key role in flavor, as flavors don't extract from coffee in a simple, linear fashion—more extraction doesn’t always mean better taste.

When brewing starts, the coffee's natural acids are the first to dissolve, followed by sugars, and finally, the heavier, more bitter compounds come into play towards the end. This order means that managing the amount of extraction directly impacts the balance of flavors in your cup. If you extract too little, you'll end up with a sour cup, as too much acidity from the start dominates without enough sweetness to balance it. Conversely, extracting too much leads to an overly bitter taste, as the brew includes too many heavy compounds from the later stages, leaving the coffee tasting dry and bitter overall.