Tips for pouring coffee | Some misunderstandings in pouring coffee

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In our last issue, we introduced the misunderstandings about coffee tasting [Coffee Tasting | Common Sensory Misconceptions]. Today, let’s talk about some misunderstandings about hand-brewed coffee .

A while ago, I encountered a question from a barista, saying, "Why is the coffee I brew always under-extracted? It has no flavor?" Then I sent a short video to watch the process, and I almost fainted - using a V60 filter cup, not steaming, just pouring water to the end, watching the water rushing to the bottom, how can such extraction produce flavor and taste? After asking, I found out that a large chain coffee shop had done this. Well, this method is the brewing solution of a champion video.

Do you know what beans others used to win the championship? What degree of roasting did they use? What degree of grinding did they use? If you don’t know these things and just copy them, it’s natural that you can’t make good coffee.

So here is a misunderstanding that many people make: following the trend of brewing

Seeing a "master" brew a good cup of coffee, you try to learn from him, but end up being less and less satisfied with the coffee and blaming the coffee beans. This is a typical misunderstanding of coffee extraction. You should know that every cup of coffee is unique, and what we pursue is correct and stable extraction rather than copying and pasting.

The correct approach is to make continuous adjustments, judge the extraction status according to the actual situation, and change the current hand-brewing parameters to achieve the best product.

Here the editor introduces the second misunderstanding, which is the use of utensils.

We all know that there are many kinds of filter cups, mainly in terms of cup shape and inner wall structure. For example, the spiral pattern of the traditional V60 slows down the outer water flow and strengthens the torque to squeeze the coffee to improve the extraction; the flat inner wall of the upper part of the KONO allows the coffee to be exhausted downwards during the extraction process, creating a "pseudo-vacuum" in the powder bed and siphoning the extracted coffee; another example is the unique structure of CHEMEX that can create a pure coffee taste and flavor... There are also Kalita, cake cups, smart cups, etc.

Some friends will choose these various hand-brewing utensils according to different coffees or roasting degrees, and then say that using certain utensils to make certain coffees will definitely make better coffees. But in my experience, in fact, as long as you understand the extraction principle, any utensil can achieve the same excellent brewing.

But understanding the working principles of different equipment can still help us avoid incorrect extraction. Let's discuss two types of extraction. Why only two? Because hand-brewed coffee actually has two states - filtration and soaking. The study of various inner wall patterns, techniques, and water flow is the field of "madmen" and requires very in-depth understanding and discussion. What we have to do is very simple: a cup of correctly extracted coffee.

The filtration type is represented by V60, and KONO, Kalita, cake cup, and CHEMEX also belong to this category. However, different structures do have different extraction conditions, and you can get a general idea by observing the shape of the filter cup.

There are two misunderstandings to note:

1. Choose the right filter cup to extract the corresponding amount of coffee . Why are there filter cups of 01 and 02? They mean that the 01 filter cup is for 1-2 people, and the 02 filter cup is for 3-4 people. In particular, don't use a 02 cake cup for multiple people to make one person's coffee. There is only a thin layer of coffee powder. Are you sure you are making coffee and not filter paper?

2. Why do we always say to pour water around the middle of a coin-sized cup when brewing with a V-cup like the V60? Why do we say not to pour water to the edge? Because although there are patterns on the design and the filter paper is fitted to prevent "side leakage", people still often make the mistake of flushing the filter paper. It may be that the impact force is too great or it may be too far to the outside. In short, if the coffee layer attached to the inner wall of the filter paper is penetrated, a "channel" will be formed, and the coffee will inevitably be bland.

The vase CHEMEX in the coffee world is a little different. First of all, it is designed for multiple people to brew, so don't use a single dose of powder! And it is more immersion-oriented. Looking at such a "long" extraction area, if you want to use a large water flow to hit the bottom, it is recommended to use the American violent brewing method to only inject water in the center to let the bottom coffee powder roll a little, and then inject it at a time to the appropriate water-to-powder ratio and let it filter the coffee~

The coffee used is usually darker roasted beans. If you use very lightly roasted coffee, you will find that it is easy to clog, and the coffee powder does not "climb" up to the wall of the cup to form a filter layer, causing the coffee to be weak. However, if the grinding degree is coarser, water will easily escape and extraction will be insufficient.

Kalita filter cup, common single hole and three holes. The single hole Kalita is more suitable for medium to dark roasted coffee, and like CHEMEX, it can be soaked and filtered by injecting the required amount of water at one time, which is an immersion-dominated extraction;

The three-hole coffee maker is suitable for coffees of various roasting degrees. Since the flow rate is faster than that of the one-hole coffee maker, it is necessary to brew in sections and stir the water flow according to the situation. For example, the barista used a V60 to operate the single-hole Kalita filter cup at the beginning, which was incorrect from the result.

Test coffee beans: Costa Rica Orange Manor (5 days after roasting)

Brewing method: hand brewing

Grinding degree: 4A (BG)

V60, 18g powder, water temperature 91 degrees, water-to-powder ratio close to 1:14

50g water, steam for 40 minutes (stir during the steaming),

Pour 252ml of 2-degree water, stir during the brewing process, and shake well after brewing (total water volume 50+202=252g).

As for the pure immersion methods such as Smart Cup, AeroPress, and French Press, as long as you don't stir too much, use too high a water temperature, or grind too finely, you generally won't make coffee that's too hard to drink.

The last misunderstanding, which will make the barista innocent - the use of coffee beans

1. Sometimes we are too blind to think that coffee beans roasted by a champion or a well-known roaster are good, but when we serve them to customers, we are slapped in the face that "the coffee is not good". After being disappointed, we adjust the brewing and serve another cup, but the result is still not good. To put it bluntly, this is a problem with the brewing but the roasting, but as a barista, I did not analyze the beans (perhaps because I don't know enough about coffee). This may be a mistake caused by being misled, because as we said in the article on the importance of sensory perception, some coffee beans that are originally roasted with defects are described as the correct flavor.

2. In addition, due to insufficient knowledge of coffee beans (this is a problem faced by many roasters), the coffee beans provided by the raw bean vendor may not be the same as the ones advertised - this is a very "commercial" practice, and the result is that the roaster gives the wrong roasted coffee beans to the barista to brew, and the flavor will definitely be problematic. Nowadays, hand-brewed coffee is about expressing the "regional flavor", but if the beans are not the right ones, how can it be done? Therefore, the barista should at least have a certain understanding of roasted coffee beans, at least be able to judge whether the roasting is defective, and it is best to be able to distinguish whether the coffee is the right one (this requirement is relatively high).

The above is just my personal experience and opinion. What we want is to get a cup of properly extracted and delicious coffee. Any magical operation in the middle only increases the enjoyment process and viewing. The knowledge of coffee beans can help you better show it (at least you won’t mix up the names). The most important thing is to brew coffee with a happy heart, and your good mood will flow into the coffee cup.

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