How to become a hand-washing veteran?

Although the steps of hand-poured coffee are much simpler than those of a siphon pot, it is precisely because of its simplicity that the subtle key to deliciousness is easily overlooked. Many people have been brewing for several years before they realized that they had made many mistakes when hand-poured coffee... Do you want to become a hand-poured coffee expert? ? Yes!!

Let’s first look at the common mistakes of hand brewed coffee

1. Coffee beans

Mistake 1: Grind Size

Grinding beans is the first step in brewing coffee. There are many hand-cranked grinders on the market that are very convenient. You don’t have to go through a lot of trouble just to grind the beans. A good grinder can ensure that the ground coffee powder is uniform in coarseness and fineness. If the coffee powder is uneven and there is too much fine powder, the coffee produced will not taste "pure" enough.

How finely should coffee beans be ground?

The particle size suitable for hand-brewed coffee can be referenced by fine sugar. If the particles are too coarse, they will flow away when the water is poured down, and it will be difficult to extract the aromatic substances of the coffee. As for too fine particles, it is easy to block the filter, causing the water flow to be too slow and unstable, and the coffee will be soaked in water for too long, which will easily make it bitter and astringent. If the coffee powder is too coarse and the hot water flows through too quickly, it will be difficult to extract the aromatic substances of the coffee. If the coffee powder is too fine, the filter will be easily blocked, causing the water and powder to soak for too long, and the coffee will have a bitter and astringent taste.

Mistake 2: Freshness

Many people choose pre-ground coffee powder for convenience, or grind a lot at one time and put it in the refrigerator. In fact, "fresh grinding" is a very important concept. Try to use fresh coffee beans to grind and brew fresh coffee to ensure the taste of coffee. When the coffee is ground into powder, it will accelerate the oxidation rate of the coffee powder, and the aroma will begin to dissipate in 40 seconds. If the aroma of the coffee powder is seriously lost, the flavor of the coffee will naturally disappear, and it will easily lose its taste over time; even if it is sealed, if it is not sealed and raised to room temperature before taking it out for use, it is easy to absorb water vapor in the air and condense, affecting grinding or even deteriorating. In this way, no matter how good the coffee beans are and how mature the technology is, it will be unfair to that cup of coffee.

Mistake 3: Cloth powder

After pouring the coffee powder into the drip cup, you need to shake it gently to make it flat. This is a step that is very easy to overlook, or shake it too hard or too much, which is not advisable. The flatness of the powder surface determines the uniformity of the steaming and extraction of the hand-brewed coffee, which directly affects the taste of the coffee.

2. Water

Mistake 1: Water quality

If you are particular about the taste, then don't ignore the water used to brew coffee. 98% of a cup of hand-brewed coffee is water, and the soluble matter (TDS) in the water should preferably be between 100-250ppm. It is not recommended to use purified water to make coffee. Coffee made with purified water often tastes dull and lacks layering. But don't use unknown mineral water or unknown bottled water. Once there is an odor in the water, it will be more obviously amplified in the coffee.

Mistake 2: Water Temperature

Water temperature is also an important indicator that affects the taste of coffee. If the water temperature is too high, the bitterness of the coffee will be stronger, while if the water temperature is too low, the sourness will be stronger. Suggestion : Dark roasted coffee beans are suitable for extraction at a temperature of 80-85 degrees, and medium and light roasted coffee beans are suitable for extraction at a water temperature of about 90 degrees.

Mistake 3: Water flow

The key to releasing the aroma and texture of coffee lies in water injection. Common mistakes include:

A. The water column is too large and the direction is too inclined, which will cause the water flow to punch a hole in the side of the powder layer and run directly out of the filter paper, resulting in insufficient coffee extraction.

B. If the water column is pulled too high, the water flow will damage the coffee powder, easily inject bubbles, and the coffee extraction will be uneven. It will also cause the water column to have too much contact with the air area, and the water temperature will be affected. Therefore, the water column must be as close to the coffee as possible.

C. The water flow is unstable. Sometimes it rushes violently, and sometimes it drips and stops. This causes different areas of the coffee powder to be soaked to different degrees, and the taste of the coffee will be affected.

Mistake 4: Water volume

Due to different tastes and different requirements for strength, the extraction concentration range is 1.15%-1.35%, and the water ratio is about 1:13 to 15. Some people use very little water simply to pursue a strong flavor, but it doesn't taste good. On the contrary, some people expect to use more water to extract more substances, but they don't know that the extraction becomes weaker and the final concentration is insufficient.

3. How to determine the amount of water to pour when hand-brewing coffee?

1. Water injection

The shape of a penetrating water column is as shown in the picture, which is thick at the top and thin at the top. That is, the width of the water coming out of the spout should be wide, and the shape of the tail end should be sharp.

In order to allow the water to penetrate and be supplied steadily, the water column must be as 90 degrees as possible to the spout. This angle allows all the weight of the water to be concentrated at the bottom of the pot when the hand-brewed pot is tilted, and this weight can steadily push the water out of the pot.

Image source: Hand-brewed coffee encyclopedia

Although penetration can also be achieved by the heavy impact force generated by a large water flow, the amount of water brought by the large water column often exceeds the level that the coffee powder can absorb, causing undesirable substances to be easily released.

Therefore, if the water column is injected in a parabolic shape, the water will just be poured into the filter cup all at once. This is not the correct brewing method, and the water flow will be chaotic, causing unnecessary water supply.

2. Penetration of water column

If the water column has poor penetration, water will be repeatedly supplied to the same layer, as shown in Figure C, which will only speed up the over-extraction of the surface of the first layer of particles and make the coffee liquid full of bitterness.

A water column with good penetrating power can avoid the problem of repeated water intake. After entering the interior, the water will diffuse quickly from the inside to the outside (Figure D), greatly reducing the problem of repeated water intake. At the same time, it can also greatly improve the uniformity of water intake of coffee powder!

Image source: Hand-brewed coffee encyclopedia

In order to prevent the supporting force of the powder layer from weakening, it is necessary to control the strength of the water column and the position of water injection, and use a stable circling technique to form a complete set of water injection techniques.

3. Steaming details

Using gravity, inject a penetrating water column, which is vertical, thick at the top and thin at the bottom, and keeps injecting water during steaming. The water column is at a certain height from the powder layer, and circles as round as possible, from the inside to the outside, and then from the outside to the inside, returning to the center. There is also a saying of "spreading water". If you are too gentle when injecting water, the water will not penetrate the surface powder layer, but only wet the surface, so that the water can only penetrate into the deep layer by capillary phenomenon and gravity. At this time, the time for steaming water to penetrate from the surface layer to the bottom layer will be extended, and some water will spread from the surface and flow away from the edge ribs, which will reduce the amount of water actually obtained by steaming the coffee powder, and the steaming effect will naturally be greatly reduced.

4. Master the direction and speed of water injection

The direction of water injection can be started from the center, and then go around the outside of the circle in a clockwise direction. Remember that the biggest impact is not to flush the filter paper.

General operation process of hand flushing water injection:

First water injection: After water injection, the coffee powder will absorb water and expand

a. Place the hand brewing pot about 5 cm above the coffee powder and start pouring water.

b. First, pour water in the center until the water comes out of the surface. Start from the center point and pour water in the shape of the Japanese character "の" from the inside out in concentric circles. Draw to the outer circle and then to the center. Pour about 30 ml of water (all circles must be made in a clockwise direction. Do not pour water directly on the filter paper)

After the first water injection, let it sit for about 30 seconds to "steam". This is the critical moment for extracting the coffee flavor.

Second water injection:

a. The second water injection starts about 30 seconds after the first water injection.

b. First, pour water in the center until the water comes out of the surface. Starting from the center point, pour water repeatedly from the inside to the outside in the shape of the Japanese character "." in concentric circles. Draw to the outer circle and then to the center.

The hand-poured coffee pot should be about 5 cm above the coffee powder; all water should be poured in a clockwise direction, and water should not be poured directly onto the filter paper. In addition, there is a technique called water cutting when brewing coffee, which is to interrupt the water filling process. This action can prevent the taste of hand-poured coffee from being too strong or too weak. For example, 360cc of water can be cut off when it is halfway to 180cc, and then continue to pour water when the water level on the coffee powder drops. This can adjust the flavor of the hand-poured coffee and make it stronger. In addition, when the water column is too large, the water must be cut off to avoid making the taste too weak. Therefore, cutting off the water can change the taste of hand-poured coffee and adjust the extraction rhythm. It is recommended to do it once or twice.

In fact, the simpler the equipment, the more difficult the brewing technique. Hand brewing is because of the many variables of human factors. The taste varies according to the degree of roasting of the beans, the fineness of the grinding, the water temperature, the steaming time, the speed of the water brewing, and it seems difficult to control. It sounds easy and natural, but there are thousands of ways to do it. If you want to become a hand brewing expert, it is actually very important to master these details carefully.

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