Dwell Time is the amount of time that water has contact with ground coffee. It's the time water is in contact with espresso in a portafilter, while in the group head of an espresso machine, and the amount of time that water is in contact with ground coffee in a coffee urn while brewing. Dwell Time is the crucial period where flavour is extracted from coffee — it's something we like to reflect on as we enjoy a good cup. Those reflections are the stuff of this blog, the time we can all dwell on our favourite aspects of the making and enjoyment of coffee.

This creates a bloom, which bears a close resemblance to the crema of a finely extracted espresso. This happens due to the emulsification and agitation of coffee oils, in addition to gas release from the contact, dwell time, and the physical disturbance of the coffee caused by the stirring and extraction process. In a brewer/urn, contact and dwell time cause the bloom and gas release to follow it's normal path of resistance upward. This process is reversed during extraction of espresso in a portafilter, where gas release comes in the form of bubbles emerging from the spouts of a portafilter (we see this when the espresso is too fresh). Whereas dwell time in drip coffee takes between 4 and 7 minutes, the process takes between 20 and 30 seconds with our espresso.

-Nick Brown

After two years as a strictly coffee site, I’m expanding the scope into a more comprehensive version of the things I enjoy. I will maintain the coffee blog as is - but I want to move a number of my interests into the same place.

I am adding content on photography and travel as well as the occasional whim that comes along the way. I’ll try to keep them as separate, and on separate feeds; but all here, under one umbrella.

Photography: I will be only posting the best shots that I take - my flickr account can maintain the goofy, the b-list, and the stuff I throw on there with the intention of linking to for other purposes.

Whims: Sometimes I find things interesting. Sometimes they aren’t about coffee. They’ll go in this category.

Travel: Who can resist a trip? When I traveled to Toyko, for the World Barista Championship with my brother in July 2007, I realized that I had as much to write about on being in Toyko as I did about the WBC.

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Ever since reading that quote from Nick, I have loved the idea of Dwell Time. I think it applies to all of the expanded categories. We dwell over photographs. We dwell over our travel memories. We dwell over those memorable cups of coffee.

Welcome. Please, participate.