In coffee brewing, concentration is an important factor, determining the coffee strength, taste and flavor. In specialty coffee, Total Dissolved Solids concentration is an important factor. Many people are particularly interested in caffeine concentration.
Europeans like concentrated coffee, whereas North American coffee lovers like coffee with a lower TDS concentration. Turkish coffee is the brewing method with the highest TDS concentration.
In chemistry, concentration is the abundance of a constituent divided by the total volume of a mixture. Several types of mathematical description can be distinguished: mass concentration, molar concentration, number concentration, and volume concentration. The term concentration can be applied to any kind of chemical mixture, but most frequently it refers to solutes and solvents in solutions. The molar (amount) concentration has variants such as normal concentration and osmotic concentration.
Different coffee brewing methods will yield different TDS concentration. Apart from Turkish coffee, brewing methods with high TDS concentration are espresso, percolator and French press brewing. Filter coffee brewing, however, has a a lower TDS concentration due to the presence of a filter which stop various solids, such as oils and other properties, from passing into the coffee cup. A lower TDS concentration typically results in a cleaner, lighter cup of coffee whereas a coffee with a high TDS concentration, such as a double shot of espresso, would have a much bolder, more intense flavor. Coffee beverages with higher or lower TDS concentration respectively both have their advantages and the amount of TDS as well as caffeine concentration in coffee is chosen based on individual preference.