Impact of Ions on Coffee with APAX Lab
Monday, April 13th at 3pm
Service Description
Water is the most overlooked variable in coffee. In this workshop, we break it down to its simplest form — and rebuild it from the ground up. Impact of Ions on Coffee is a hands-on tasting designed to help you understand how individual minerals shape flavour perception. Rather than working with pre-built water recipes, we isolate each ion and explore its effect directly in the cup. We start with a single coffee brewed on a batch brewer using demineralised water as a neutral base. From there, each cup is adjusted post-brew with a different mineral, allowing you to taste how individual ions influence sweetness, acidity, body, balance, and aftertaste. By comparing these cups side by side, you’ll begin to recognise patterns — what enhances clarity, what softens structure, what adds weight or dryness. The session then shifts from observation to application. Participants are invited to “season” their own coffee by adding minerals directly to their cup, with the goal of building the best possible expression of that coffee. This is where theory becomes practical, and where understanding turns into intuition. The workshop is run by Simon Gautherin — Australian Brewers Cup Champion 2026, Q Grader, and co-founder of APAX LAB — alongside the APAX team, bringing years of research and real-world application in water design. Who is this for: - Baristas looking to better understand and control flavour - Coffee professionals working with high-end or complex coffees - Competitors wanting to refine their approach to water - Roasters and buyers aiming to better present their coffees - Curious coffee drinkers who want to deepen their understanding of water chemistry What you’ll learn: - What minerals and ions are, and how they behave in water - How individual ions impact sweetness, acidity, body, and structure - The difference between chemical composition and sensory perception - How to identify imbalances in a cup - How to “season” coffee using minerals to improve flavour - A practical framework to approach water as a design tool
Upcoming Sessions
Cancellation Policy
We understand that sometimes things come up and you may need to cancel your attendance at one of our coffee workshops. In order to be fair to our other attendees and our instructors, we have the following cancellation policy in place: Cancellations made at least 7 days prior to the workshop date will receive a full refund. Cancellations made between 3-6 days prior to the workshop date will receive a 50% refund. Cancellations made less than 3 days prior to the workshop date will not receive a refund. If you need to cancel your attendance, please contact us as soon as possible so that we can make the necessary arrangements. Please note that we reserve the right to cancel or reschedule a workshop due to unforeseen circumstances, such as inclement weather or low attendance. In such cases, we will offer a full refund or the option to reschedule to a future workshop.
Contact Details
8327148025
mehmet.sogan@memlicoffee.com
Memli Coffee Lab, Grand Avenue, San Marcos, CA, USA