Researchers: Here's How to Make Better Coffee

The latest advice on how to make a better cup of coffee comes from an unexpected place—not a food-related journal but one called the Physics of Fluids. There, researchers say they've figured out how to make better coffee when using the pour-over method, reports the Guardian. This method doesn't use a traditional coffee-maker: Instead, you pour boiling water over grounds in a filter positioned over a cup. The trick is to pour the water slowly and steadily from the right height. Some trial and error might be required—because you don't want to pour too slowly or from too high up—but generally:

• "Just slowly and steadily add water from a goose-neck kettle while increasing the pour height to about 11 inches," per the Smithsonian.

• Yes, a goose-neck kettle, at least for optimal results, per USA Today. The key is its thin stream of water. "It's possible to get a thin jet from a regular kettle but harder to do."
• "Be reasonable," Arnold Mathijssen, a physics professor at the University of Pennsylvania, tells New Scientist. "First, try to be slow. Then lift [the kettle] up and go as slow as you can, but don't let [the flow of water] break up. That's the strategy that I would follow."
• The physics at play involves hydrodynamics, how the water interacts with the grounds to create what researchers call an "avalanche" effect in the mixing. "The increased height compensates for the slow pouring," Mathijssen tells the Guardian. "You only get the avalanche if there is enough energy available."
• Bonus: Researchers say you can use 10% less coffee with this technique. (Which is handy, because coffee prices are soaring.)