APAX LAB at Goldchild

During World of Coffee week, Goldchild became a gathering place for coffee professionals, competitors, educators, and curious coffee drinkers from around the world. Among the many conversations that took place throughout the week, one question continued to surface:

How much of what we taste in coffee is actually the coffee itself?

To explore that question, we welcomed APAX LAB to Goldchild for a educational workshop focused on one of the most overlooked variables in coffee: water.

Coffee Is More Than Coffee

When most people think about improving their coffee, they often focus on buying better beans, upgrading their grinder, or refining their brewing technique.

While all of those things matter, they are only part of the equation.

Coffee is approximately 98-99% water. The water we use acts as a solvent, extracting hundreds of different compounds from the coffee grounds and ultimately determining what flavors make their way into the cup.

The workshop challenged attendees to reconsider a common assumption within coffee:

Great coffee is not simply about great beans. Great coffee is the result of a relationship between coffee, water, and brewing.

One Coffee, Multiple Waters

One of the most eye-opening moments of the workshop came through comparative tasting exercises.

Attendees tasted the same coffee brewed with different water compositions.

Nothing else changed.

Not the coffee.
Not the grinder.
Not the brew method.
Not the recipe.

Only the water.

The results were remarkable.

Some cups emphasized sweetness.

Others highlighted acidity.

Some felt heavier and richer.

Others appeared brighter and more transparent.

For many attendees, it was the first time experiencing firsthand how dramatically water can influence the final cup.

Understanding Minerals

Water is not simply H₂O.

The minerals dissolved within water play a critical role in extraction and flavor perception.

Throughout the workshop, attendees explored how minerals such as magnesium and calcium interact differently with coffee compounds.

Magnesium is often associated with increased extraction and flavor intensity, helping highlight fruit-forward characteristics and complexity.

Calcium can contribute to structure and body while influencing extraction in its own unique way.

The balance between these minerals can dramatically alter the way a coffee presents itself.

Rather than viewing water as a static ingredient, the workshop encouraged attendees to think of water as an active brewing tool.

Better Questions, Better Coffee

One of the most valuable lessons from the workshop wasn’t a specific recipe or mineral formula.

It was a mindset.

The workshop encouraged participants to think more critically about cause and effect in brewing.

Why does this coffee taste the way it does?

What variable changed?

What role did water play?

How can adjustments be made intentionally rather than by trial and error?

The goal was not simply to provide answers, but to help attendees ask better questions.

Because every improvement in coffee begins with understanding why something is happening in the first place.

Beyond the Workshop

What made World of Coffee week special was not simply the information shared, but the environment created around it.

Throughout the week, Goldchild became a place where ideas could be exchanged freely between professionals, competitors, educators, and everyday coffee drinkers.

The APAX LAB workshops served as a reminder that specialty coffee continues to evolve through curiosity, experimentation, and a willingness to challenge assumptions.

Sometimes the most important breakthroughs don’t come from changing the coffee.

Sometimes they come from changing the way we think about it.

Coffee is Timeless.