"Beginner's Guide" Six Common Hand-Poured Coffee Techniques (with Brewing Parameters)

When you first get coffee beans, do you have trouble with how to brew coffee? Or do you buy beans from a coffee shop, but no matter how you brew, they just don’t taste the same as they did in the store? Today, I will introduce six common hand brewing techniques to help you solve the above problems and have a basic understanding of hand brewing methods.

However, before learning the "techniques" of hand-brewed coffee, the editor still wants to remind everyone not to forget to learn the "heart method" first - that is, the understanding of extraction theory and parameters, so as not to "go astray". Each set of techniques and parameters of hand-brewed coffee has its own understanding and expression of extraction, as well as the processing of various details. If you only learn the "form" but lose the "meaning", it will be difficult to learn. The brewing parameters are for reference only, please do not copy and paste.

One-stage style | Two-sword style/One-sword style (no steaming)

After steaming, pour water back and forth in the shape of a Chinese character "の" from the center to the outer layer continuously until the preset amount of coffee is reached in the lower pot. The characteristic of this method is that the coffee powder is continuously soaked and filtered in the filter cup, and the front, middle and back substances of the coffee are continuously extracted, and the flavor and taste are balanced. If you want a sour, sweet and refreshing taste, you can increase the maximum water level in the filter cup during brewing. If you like a mellow and thick taste, lower the maximum water level. It is suitable for the sour and soft Central and South American beans.

The key point to note in hand brewing technique is that once the water is poured to the bottom, you must first preset the highest water level in the filter cup and quickly adjust the size of the water column to prevent the water level from exceeding the preset height and impacting the wall of the filter cup, causing the coffee to taste too thin or watery.

Brewing parameters recommended:

Water temperature: 90℃

Grinding degree: 3~4 (Little Eagle or Little Pegasus, about the same thickness as ordinary white sugar)

Powder-water ratio: 15-17 grams, extract 200-250 grams in a kettle (1:14-15)

Brewing time: 1.5~3 minutes

Three-stage style | Three-sword style/academic style

The one-stage adjustment is to change to three-stage water injection after steaming, with two "water cuts" in the middle to adjust the proportion of the three flavors of the front, middle and back. It has a distinct sense of layering and is more adjustable than the one-stage adjustment. It is suitable for coffee beans of various roasting degrees and production areas.

"Water cut-off" refers to the method of interrupting water injection and waiting for the liquid level in the filter cup to drop. This can prolong the extraction time and increase the extraction of flavor substances. Therefore, by increasing the amount of water injected in the first stage and reducing the amount of water injected in the second and third stages after the last two water cut-offs, the flavor of the front and middle stages can be highlighted, or by reducing the amount of water injected in the first stage and increasing the amount of water injected in the middle and back stages after the water cut-off to present a thick taste.

Brewing parameter recommendations:

The same stage, the brewing time is longer due to water shortage

Stirring method

Used by Matt Perger in the 2012 WBrC World Brewing Championship and won the championship. Grind the coffee powder to a finer size than espresso powder, use a stirring rod to fully mix the water and coffee powder during the steaming stage, quickly extract the front flavor and make the water "saturated", then inject the preset coffee powder to water ratio step by step, use a large water flow to push up the water level, speed up the filtration speed, which is equivalent to playing a dilution role. Due to the extremely fine grinding and high-temperature brewing, it is suitable for bright acidity, high-quality African or Central and South American beans.

The water is "saturated" by extremely fine grinding and high-temperature hot water extraction, combined with stirring to accelerate the dissolution of the front flavor in the water, so that the water is close to saturation in dissolving the flavor substances and it is not easy to extract the back part, thereby amplifying the front flavor, but any shortcomings of the coffee beans will also be amplified at the same time.

Brewing parameters recommended:

Water temperature: 95℃

Grinding degree: Due to the difficulty in obtaining high-end grinders, please grind the Eagle and Pegasus beans directly to 1

Powder-water ratio: 12g, total water injection volume 200g (about 1:16)

Brewing time: about 2 minutes and 20 seconds

Process: inject 50g of hot water → stir evenly in a cross pattern → inject 50g of hot water at the 30th second → inject 100g of hot water at the 60th second → extraction is completed in about 2 minutes and 20 seconds

Drip

That is Japan's Kono style or KO̅NO style. During the steaming stage, water is dripped into the center of the powder layer to reduce water disturbance and unstable stirring, which greatly prolongs the steaming effect. After the coffee liquid turns from water droplets to "water flow" and flows out, a small water flow is used for small-scale extraction. In the final stage, a larger water flow is used to flush the foam and impurities in the powder layer to the upper layer of the filter cup to avoid entering the coffee liquid in the lower pot. In response to Japan's preference for low-acid, mellow taste, it is suitable for non-acidic Sumatra or medium-dark roasted beans from Central and South America.

Drip injection replaces the original steaming. During the process, water drops soak the coffee powder in a very low-disturbance manner, while bringing out the flavor substances in the middle and back stages, accelerating the extraction in the last two stages of water injection, and the flavor is full and thick. The key points of hand-brewing skills lie in the stability of the drip technique in the steaming stage and the judgment of the timing of changing the water injection method.

Brewing parameters recommended:

Water temperature: 88℃

Grinding degree: 3~4

Powder-water ratio: 24g, extract 240g in the pot (1:10)

Brewing time: 5~10 minutes

Kanazawa style

Another drip brewing technique is to steam with less water than the general steaming method. When the coffee powder stops expanding, water is added at a fixed point in the center of the powder layer in a dragonfly-like manner. When the coffee liquid drips out in "water drops", it is dripped in a circle in the shape of a "の". Finally, after the coffee liquid flows out in a "water stream", it is poured with a general water stream. When the lower pot reaches 80 grams of coffee liquid, the extraction is terminated, retaining the flavor of the front and middle sections with a higher concentration. Before drinking, add 160 grams of hot water to open the layers. Compared with the drip brewing method, the flavor is refreshing and round. Although it also originated from Japan and is suitable for medium and dark roasted coffee beans, due to the characteristics of the front and middle section extraction, you can also try sour and bright African beans. The key points of the hand brewing technique are the same as the drip brewing method, which requires a stable drip technique and judgment on the timing of changing the water injection.

Brewing parameter recommendations:

Water temperature: 88℃

Grinding degree: 3~4

Powder-water ratio: 24g, extract 80g in a pot, add 160g hot water before drinking

Brewing time: 3~5 minutes

Four-six method

It was used by Tetsu Kasuya in the 2016 WBrC and won the championship. The concept is that anyone can make delicious coffee through this method. It includes five water injections, including steaming. The first two water injections adjust the sour-sweet ratio of the first 40% of the coffee beans' flavor, and the last three water injections adjust the taste intensity of the last 60%. Because the variable is simple, stable, and highly controllable, it is suitable for coffee beans from various production areas. Due to the characteristics of the first 40% flavor adjustment, sour or softly sour African, Central and South American beans are also recommended.

There is no need for high-end water flow control, as long as the brewing condition is stable each time, a simple electronic scale with time control can be used. For the first 40% flavor adjustment, if you want it to be more sour, increase the first injection and reduce the second injection; if you want it to be sweeter, reduce the first injection and increase the second injection; for the last 60% taste adjustment, if you want it to be thinner, you can change the three injections to two injections, and if you want it to be thicker, change it to four injections.

Brewing parameters recommended:

Water temperature: 92℃

Grinding degree: 3~4

Powder-water ratio: 20g, total water injection volume 300g (1:15)

Brewing time: about 2 and a half minutes

Brewing process: water is added in five stages, with an interval of 45 seconds and 60 grams of water added each time

As the saying goes, if you practice boxing without practicing Kung Fu, you will be empty-handed when you grow old; if you practice Kung Fu without boxing, you will be like a rudderless ship. The techniques and extraction knowledge of hand punching are "boxing" and "Kung Fu". Beginners learn the routines and moves of various so-called "schools", which only give them the "form". Only by thinking, analyzing, and practicing in combination with reality, understanding and absorbing the differences between each parameter, step, and each detail, and understanding the intention and purpose of the routine, can they get the true "meaning".

There are hundreds of different ways to brew coffee by hand, and the above are just six of the most popular ones. If you don’t know which technique to choose to start brewing, it is recommended to use the one-stage or three-stage method, or the four-six method, which has easy-to-adjust parameters. After practicing brewing many times, I believe you will be able to brew a satisfying and delicious hand-brewed coffee at home!

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