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Friday, October 10, 2008
Event: Getting the most out of your drip machine
Time: October 25th, 2~4pm
Place: 169 Mass Ave, Arlington
Fee: $0
Please join us at the shop for a session to get a better understanding of your auto-drip machines. Using a couple tricks, you can make a very flavorful cup of coffee (that rivals some manual methods) with this simple brew method. You are welcome to to bring your home drip machines and grinders if you wish, but please RSVP as counter space is limited. Email ben_A_T_barismo_D_O_T_com for more info.
Time: October 25th, 2~4pm
Place: 169 Mass Ave, Arlington
Fee: $0
Please join us at the shop for a session to get a better understanding of your auto-drip machines. Using a couple tricks, you can make a very flavorful cup of coffee (that rivals some manual methods) with this simple brew method. You are welcome to to bring your home drip machines and grinders if you wish, but please RSVP as counter space is limited. Email ben_A_T_barismo_D_O_T_com for more info.
Labels: coffee brewing, drip methods, events
¶ Ben Chen 3:42 PM 4 Comments
Sunday, September 21, 2008
The Syphon Primer Companion
Forward: With Syphon brewing becoming tragically hip lately, we decided to go back and do a comprehensive look at our development in this Simon Hsieh inspired methodology for the Hario TCA-2 and how it has expanded in our community.
We started getting deep into Syphon more than a year ago. It was when we had access to some of Simon Hsieh's coffee and were inspired to understand more that we became serious. We adopted his methods off his blog and began an exchange with him about coffee and brewing in general that has really shaped our current direction away from where our community was headed (see Clover) at the time. We quickly adapted as much as we could understand and began quantifying the methods. We spent time evaluating why each step was important in the brewing process and where could we go with it. We attempted a basic video that got solid feedback and that was the beginning of a series of steps focused around Syphon brewing and demos.
We did demos here in town for small groups, traveled out west for a friend's Jam, and shared the methodology with others who were interested. Which brought us back to the beginning when Simon Hsieh visited us in the US. Some hands on technique was applied and some extra movements were removed to simplify and refine our brewing method. A few autographed copies of his book for good measure and a Syphon demo event topped the visit.
Fast forward to the future and you see competing methods being posted on other sites and more discussion about this old school method but more to the point, three of the six USBC finalists use a version of our preferred method!
So as we are moving on to new subjects we decided to compile a comprehensive primer and updated video people can use based on our experience. This is especially relevant as we now have the TCA-2 for sale at the brick and mortar shop. Enjoy~
The Complete Syphon Primer
Barismo Syphon Primer Demo
Forward: With Syphon brewing becoming tragically hip lately, we decided to go back and do a comprehensive look at our development in this Simon Hsieh inspired methodology for the Hario TCA-2 and how it has expanded in our community.
We started getting deep into Syphon more than a year ago. It was when we had access to some of Simon Hsieh's coffee and were inspired to understand more that we became serious. We adopted his methods off his blog and began an exchange with him about coffee and brewing in general that has really shaped our current direction away from where our community was headed (see Clover) at the time. We quickly adapted as much as we could understand and began quantifying the methods. We spent time evaluating why each step was important in the brewing process and where could we go with it. We attempted a basic video that got solid feedback and that was the beginning of a series of steps focused around Syphon brewing and demos.
We did demos here in town for small groups, traveled out west for a friend's Jam, and shared the methodology with others who were interested. Which brought us back to the beginning when Simon Hsieh visited us in the US. Some hands on technique was applied and some extra movements were removed to simplify and refine our brewing method. A few autographed copies of his book for good measure and a Syphon demo event topped the visit.
Fast forward to the future and you see competing methods being posted on other sites and more discussion about this old school method but more to the point, three of the six USBC finalists use a version of our preferred method!
So as we are moving on to new subjects we decided to compile a comprehensive primer and updated video people can use based on our experience. This is especially relevant as we now have the TCA-2 for sale at the brick and mortar shop. Enjoy~
The Complete Syphon Primer
Barismo Syphon Primer Demo
Labels: drip methods, gear, how to, siphon, syphon, vac pot
¶ Jaime van Schyndel 11:20 PM 4 Comments
barismo: Syphon Coffee Primer
by Benjamin Chen (based on Simon Hsieh method).
For brewing with a Hario TCA-2
Before you start:
1. Rinse your filter in hot water and wash with cold water until it runs clear.
If this is a new filter, run through the brewing once without coffee to get rid of the cloth smell.
2. Rinse your Syphon to make sure it's clean. Check for cracks, Dry all exterior and make sure the lower globe is secured.
3. Hook the filter to the top. Make sure it's centered.
4. Pre-boil water in kettle and prepare a cold, damp towel.
5. Place ~35g of beans in the grinder. Run a little bit through to clean up previous grinds.
Heat-up:
1. Fill hot water to the "2" mark on the side of the lower globe. These are little number inside a cup logo near the "hario" mark. (this works both for TCA-2 and TCA-3).
2. Insert upper chamber at an angle into the lower globe. DO NOT seal the top.
Make sure there is a gap for steam to escape.
3. Start your burner and place it in the center of the globe. Set it at max to speed up the heating.
4. Grind the bean into a container/cup. Scoop from the top, 32g of coffee into another cup. I recommend using the cupping cups. They are of nice size. Try to finish this step as close to "drop" as possible, but you can grind/weight before step 1 to avoid messing up.
5. Watch the water in the lower globe start to boil. At the sign of boiling (rapid bubble formation), straighten the top and lightly seat it. Do not "push/seal" the top hard. A very gentle downward pressure is enough. Make sure the top is center and straight.
6. Place the thermometer probe on top, near the bottom of the chamber, away from the center.
Adjust the burner to as low as you can without water falling from the top globe.
7. Watch the temp on top stabilize. There should only be very tiny bubbles and no turbulence. If you have leakage from the side, shift the filter with the stirring paddle until it's sealed. If you cannot get rid of that, start over and re-adjust the filter.
9. If your stabilized temperature is less than 91C, replace the top and increase the heat until it increase to 91C. If the temperature is more than 91C, stir the water on the top w/ your paddle rigorously until it decrease to 91C. (note: 91C is your target brewing temperature. Adjust per degree or roast... see further notes at the end).
10. Get your stirring paddle, coffee, and timer ready to go.
Drop:
1. When water temp stabilizes to 91C, take out the thermometer probe.
2. Hold the coffee on your left hand and stirring paddle on your right.
3. Dump the coffee into the top chamber and immediately start the timer with your pinky finger.
Start your stirring immediately.
1st stir:
Below is my personal technique. You can do whatever you want. Just make sure you do not create any vortex, saturate the coffee completely, and finish your move in 5 sec. The faster the better.
Longer/vortex stir will result in bitterness in the cup...
1. Holding the paddle like a pen with the flat section parallel to the "x-axis" (left-n-right).
Starting on the left most of the "circle", stick the paddle into the coffee.
Move the paddle in a "N" motion (up, down, up) toward the right. You should be able to do 4 "stokes" in about a second.
2. Repeat the motion along the "y-axis" if you felt more agitation is needed.
3.Start from the very top (+Y), "scrape" the side of the top clock-wise 180 degrees.
Repeat the motion counter clock-wise.
If you did the stirring correctly, you should have something like this:
If you do not see the pale "crema" on top, that means your grinds are not fully saturated. Don't be afraid to REALLY stir up the grinds (as long as you don't create a vortex/whirlpool).
Stirring is the hardest part of the whole thing. Takes some practice to get use to. Whatever you do, make sure everything is well mixed, no vortex is created, and do it in 5 seconds.
An Aeropress paddle works REALLY well for stirring ;-)
*Tip about stirring: a lazy rhythmic motion actually works better than fast and violent motion.
Basically you are creating "waves" that crash into each other, mixing the top and bottom layer of the coffee.
2nd Stir:
When the timer hits 30 seconds, do a second stir. Sometimes when the coffee are fresh, it will be really sticky and you will felt like you aren't stirring at all. Make sure you DO stir it well like your first stir. You should see mostly black layers of coffee when you are done.
3rd Stir:
1. At 55 sec mark, turn off the heat and remove the burner from the lower chamber. Stir immediately. When done properly, you should only have a top layer of light-colored coffee of no more than 1/4" (~6 mm) thick. (Note: After your stir, pay attention to how much coffee remained on the top. The thicker the layer is, the less of extraction it got. Work on your stirring if it's the case.)
Draw down:
1. Immediately after 3nd stir, wrap the cold, damp towel on the upper left side of the lower globe near the "neck" (right side is where the handle is). Make sure the wet towel does not touch the lower portion of the bottom globe where the flamed touched.
2. The draw-down should be around 30~50 seconds. Darker roast and higher dose will increase the draw-down time. Longer drawn-down results in continued/over-extraction and will cause bitters in the cup.
Clean up:
1. When the draw-down is complete, wrap the towel with your left hand around the neck of the vacpot (the metal ring); holding the top with your right near the top rim, gently rock the top back and forth until it comes loose. Careful it's a bit hot.
2. Holding the top with your left hand, gently tap the rim downwards with your right to loosen the grinds. Dump the spent coffee and rinse with water.
3. Release the hook and take out the filter. Wash both top and the filter as clean as you can.
4. Place the filter in a small cup of hot water. The water will turn brown immediately. Shake the filter to rinse it for about 10 sec, then rinse with cold water until it run clear. Submerse the filter with clean cold water and store it (outside if you use frequent, in the fridge for longer term storage).
5. Pour the coffee out and rinse the lower globe both inside and out. After some usage, a brown stop might appear near the very bottom. This is most likely dried coffee.
Soaking it in cafiza once in a while takes that right off.
6. Wash your paddle and clean your towel.
Parameters for various methods:
Grind setting:
1. Super Jolly = 24~26 small notches coarser than espresso grind
2. Rocky = 27~30 from true "0" (burrs touching) fineness should be similar to table salt.
Directions for TCA-2/3:
Dark Roast (> Full City):
Temp = 89~90.5C
Dose = 20~30g (28 recommended, decrease if you have a lot of trouble stirring)
Light Roast (< Full City):
Temp = 90.5~92C
Dose = 24~32g (32 recommended)
1st stir = right after drop
2nd stir = @ 30sec
3rd stir = @ 55sec
note 1: temp is measured at the bottom, away from the center of the syphon top.
note 2: keep the stir under 5 seconds. Stir to fully saturate the grinds but not creating a vortex. A zig-zag/cross pattern works well.
note 3: kill the flame right before the 3rd/final stir. The top won't drop down
on you for another couple seconds.
Method II (aroma enhancement):
Roast: City+
Dose: 32g
Temp: 91C
- Same as method 1 but SKIP the 2nd stir @ 30sec.
- Keep the stir under 3 sec if possible
Method II will have thinner extraction compared to method I but preserves aroma.
Works wonders for a certain roast style/bean but under extracts most coffee. Use w/ caution.
Definition for full city is right before 2nd crack to 10 sec into 2nd. City+ is 30~60 sec after 1st ends.
And that is it. I think that is about as detail as I can give without step-by-step photos. Feel free to email with any more questions.
Tips:
- A Zojirushi hot water pot is a great companion to the Syphon (and any manual coffee methods).
- The timer a thermometer probe similar to what was used in the video is great with vacpot (and any manual coffee methods).
by Benjamin Chen (based on Simon Hsieh method).
For brewing with a Hario TCA-2
Before you start:
1. Rinse your filter in hot water and wash with cold water until it runs clear.
If this is a new filter, run through the brewing once without coffee to get rid of the cloth smell.
2. Rinse your Syphon to make sure it's clean. Check for cracks, Dry all exterior and make sure the lower globe is secured.
3. Hook the filter to the top. Make sure it's centered.
4. Pre-boil water in kettle and prepare a cold, damp towel.
5. Place ~35g of beans in the grinder. Run a little bit through to clean up previous grinds.
Heat-up:
1. Fill hot water to the "2" mark on the side of the lower globe. These are little number inside a cup logo near the "hario" mark. (this works both for TCA-2 and TCA-3).
2. Insert upper chamber at an angle into the lower globe. DO NOT seal the top.
Make sure there is a gap for steam to escape.
3. Start your burner and place it in the center of the globe. Set it at max to speed up the heating.
4. Grind the bean into a container/cup. Scoop from the top, 32g of coffee into another cup. I recommend using the cupping cups. They are of nice size. Try to finish this step as close to "drop" as possible, but you can grind/weight before step 1 to avoid messing up.
5. Watch the water in the lower globe start to boil. At the sign of boiling (rapid bubble formation), straighten the top and lightly seat it. Do not "push/seal" the top hard. A very gentle downward pressure is enough. Make sure the top is center and straight.
6. Place the thermometer probe on top, near the bottom of the chamber, away from the center.
Adjust the burner to as low as you can without water falling from the top globe.
7. Watch the temp on top stabilize. There should only be very tiny bubbles and no turbulence. If you have leakage from the side, shift the filter with the stirring paddle until it's sealed. If you cannot get rid of that, start over and re-adjust the filter.
9. If your stabilized temperature is less than 91C, replace the top and increase the heat until it increase to 91C. If the temperature is more than 91C, stir the water on the top w/ your paddle rigorously until it decrease to 91C. (note: 91C is your target brewing temperature. Adjust per degree or roast... see further notes at the end).
10. Get your stirring paddle, coffee, and timer ready to go.
Drop:
1. When water temp stabilizes to 91C, take out the thermometer probe.
2. Hold the coffee on your left hand and stirring paddle on your right.
3. Dump the coffee into the top chamber and immediately start the timer with your pinky finger.
Start your stirring immediately.
1st stir:
Below is my personal technique. You can do whatever you want. Just make sure you do not create any vortex, saturate the coffee completely, and finish your move in 5 sec. The faster the better.
Longer/vortex stir will result in bitterness in the cup...
1. Holding the paddle like a pen with the flat section parallel to the "x-axis" (left-n-right).
Starting on the left most of the "circle", stick the paddle into the coffee.
Move the paddle in a "N" motion (up, down, up) toward the right. You should be able to do 4 "stokes" in about a second.
2. Repeat the motion along the "y-axis" if you felt more agitation is needed.
3.Start from the very top (+Y), "scrape" the side of the top clock-wise 180 degrees.
Repeat the motion counter clock-wise.
If you did the stirring correctly, you should have something like this:
If you do not see the pale "crema" on top, that means your grinds are not fully saturated. Don't be afraid to REALLY stir up the grinds (as long as you don't create a vortex/whirlpool).
Stirring is the hardest part of the whole thing. Takes some practice to get use to. Whatever you do, make sure everything is well mixed, no vortex is created, and do it in 5 seconds.
An Aeropress paddle works REALLY well for stirring ;-)
*Tip about stirring: a lazy rhythmic motion actually works better than fast and violent motion.
Basically you are creating "waves" that crash into each other, mixing the top and bottom layer of the coffee.
2nd Stir:
When the timer hits 30 seconds, do a second stir. Sometimes when the coffee are fresh, it will be really sticky and you will felt like you aren't stirring at all. Make sure you DO stir it well like your first stir. You should see mostly black layers of coffee when you are done.
3rd Stir:
1. At 55 sec mark, turn off the heat and remove the burner from the lower chamber. Stir immediately. When done properly, you should only have a top layer of light-colored coffee of no more than 1/4" (~6 mm) thick. (Note: After your stir, pay attention to how much coffee remained on the top. The thicker the layer is, the less of extraction it got. Work on your stirring if it's the case.)
Draw down:
1. Immediately after 3nd stir, wrap the cold, damp towel on the upper left side of the lower globe near the "neck" (right side is where the handle is). Make sure the wet towel does not touch the lower portion of the bottom globe where the flamed touched.
2. The draw-down should be around 30~50 seconds. Darker roast and higher dose will increase the draw-down time. Longer drawn-down results in continued/over-extraction and will cause bitters in the cup.
Clean up:
1. When the draw-down is complete, wrap the towel with your left hand around the neck of the vacpot (the metal ring); holding the top with your right near the top rim, gently rock the top back and forth until it comes loose. Careful it's a bit hot.
2. Holding the top with your left hand, gently tap the rim downwards with your right to loosen the grinds. Dump the spent coffee and rinse with water.
3. Release the hook and take out the filter. Wash both top and the filter as clean as you can.
4. Place the filter in a small cup of hot water. The water will turn brown immediately. Shake the filter to rinse it for about 10 sec, then rinse with cold water until it run clear. Submerse the filter with clean cold water and store it (outside if you use frequent, in the fridge for longer term storage).
5. Pour the coffee out and rinse the lower globe both inside and out. After some usage, a brown stop might appear near the very bottom. This is most likely dried coffee.
Soaking it in cafiza once in a while takes that right off.
6. Wash your paddle and clean your towel.
Parameters for various methods:
Grind setting:
1. Super Jolly = 24~26 small notches coarser than espresso grind
2. Rocky = 27~30 from true "0" (burrs touching) fineness should be similar to table salt.
Directions for TCA-2/3:
Dark Roast (> Full City):
Temp = 89~90.5C
Dose = 20~30g (28 recommended, decrease if you have a lot of trouble stirring)
Light Roast (< Full City):
Temp = 90.5~92C
Dose = 24~32g (32 recommended)
1st stir = right after drop
2nd stir = @ 30sec
3rd stir = @ 55sec
note 1: temp is measured at the bottom, away from the center of the syphon top.
note 2: keep the stir under 5 seconds. Stir to fully saturate the grinds but not creating a vortex. A zig-zag/cross pattern works well.
note 3: kill the flame right before the 3rd/final stir. The top won't drop down
on you for another couple seconds.
Method II (aroma enhancement):
Roast: City+
Dose: 32g
Temp: 91C
- Same as method 1 but SKIP the 2nd stir @ 30sec.
- Keep the stir under 3 sec if possible
Method II will have thinner extraction compared to method I but preserves aroma.
Works wonders for a certain roast style/bean but under extracts most coffee. Use w/ caution.
Definition for full city is right before 2nd crack to 10 sec into 2nd. City+ is 30~60 sec after 1st ends.
And that is it. I think that is about as detail as I can give without step-by-step photos. Feel free to email with any more questions.
Tips:
- A Zojirushi hot water pot is a great companion to the Syphon (and any manual coffee methods).
- The timer a thermometer probe similar to what was used in the video is great with vacpot (and any manual coffee methods).
Labels: coffee brewing, drip methods, siphon, syphon, vac pot
¶ Jaime van Schyndel 11:02 PM 4 Comments
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Mis-understood drip
Drip Coffee, photo by Ben Kaminksy
To many, drip coffee is the ugly blemish that they want to forget. I mean, no self-respecting "waver" will ever allow that dreadful Fetco compared side by side with Clover at their shops. The truth is, drip coffee accounts for quite a bit of business and is probably the most common method that home users (the normal kind, not your "geek" type that make up very small percentage of the market) utilize to prepare their daily coffee.
I have to admit that we too had our own bias against drip a while back. From our earlier experiences, the drip cup profile just did not have the intensity and flavor that a Syphon or Espresso profile possessed. It was not until we started to dabble in manual pour technique and have a better understanding of the roasting process that we finally understood the potential and power in drip coffee.
Just like ANY other coffee brewing techniques, when tuned with proper dose, temperature, time and roast, a cup of drip coffee can be just as flavorful, intense and satisfying as a vacpot cup. In fact, at a recent home gathering, a coffee drinking friend told me the cup of drip I prepared for him is nearly as intense and flavorful as a shot of espresso.
The following is my drip brewing technique. This method is based on the one presented in Simon Hsieh's book with my tweaks to tune for my machine/coffee/roasts.
The gears:
- Presto Scandinavian with modified shower head
- Mazzer Kony
- Melitta #4 filter - white (note 1)
Parameters:
- Use 10~14g per 6oz of water. Adjust if the cup is too intense for you...
- A fine grind (10~15 small notches from espresso on Mazzer SJ, 18~21 notches from true zero on Rocky).
Grind Setting, photo by Ben KaminksySteps:
1. Fill the machine with approximately 8oz of water. Start the machine without coffee/filter in it. This preheats the machine.
2. Grind coffee while the machine pre-heats.
3. As soon as the machine is done pre-heating, place coffee in the basket, level the grinds (note 2), and start brewing immediately (before the machine cools down).
4. Turn the machine OFF after about 20 seconds. For me, this is about 3 "gurgles". The purpose of this is to pre-infuse the coffee and allow all the grinds to be saturated(bloom) before starting the remaining extraction. You will have to experiment with the timing of this cut-off - just pull the basket out to see if all the grinds are properly wet at various time.
Pre-infusion, photo by Ben Kaminksy
Spent ground, photo by Ben Kaminksy
That is it. With a little bit of care, this simple method can produce just as good of a cup as with most other brew methods!
Cup of Drip, photo by Ben Kaminksy
note 2: Simon advocates shaping the coffee mound in the basket to match that of the shower head - putting divots where the exit holes are located (imagine using the shower head to make an indention on the coffee mound). Since I have modified my shower head to have near full coverage, it does not make much of a difference for me. For those machines with limited water exit holes, try Simon's recommendation to see if it makes a difference.
Drip Coffee, photo by Ben KaminksyI have to admit that we too had our own bias against drip a while back. From our earlier experiences, the drip cup profile just did not have the intensity and flavor that a Syphon or Espresso profile possessed. It was not until we started to dabble in manual pour technique and have a better understanding of the roasting process that we finally understood the potential and power in drip coffee.
Just like ANY other coffee brewing techniques, when tuned with proper dose, temperature, time and roast, a cup of drip coffee can be just as flavorful, intense and satisfying as a vacpot cup. In fact, at a recent home gathering, a coffee drinking friend told me the cup of drip I prepared for him is nearly as intense and flavorful as a shot of espresso.
The following is my drip brewing technique. This method is based on the one presented in Simon Hsieh's book with my tweaks to tune for my machine/coffee/roasts.
The gears:
- Presto Scandinavian with modified shower head
- Mazzer Kony
- Melitta #4 filter - white (note 1)
Parameters:
- Use 10~14g per 6oz of water. Adjust if the cup is too intense for you...
- A fine grind (10~15 small notches from espresso on Mazzer SJ, 18~21 notches from true zero on Rocky).
Grind Setting, photo by Ben Kaminksy1. Fill the machine with approximately 8oz of water. Start the machine without coffee/filter in it. This preheats the machine.
2. Grind coffee while the machine pre-heats.
3. As soon as the machine is done pre-heating, place coffee in the basket, level the grinds (note 2), and start brewing immediately (before the machine cools down).
4. Turn the machine OFF after about 20 seconds. For me, this is about 3 "gurgles". The purpose of this is to pre-infuse the coffee and allow all the grinds to be saturated(bloom) before starting the remaining extraction. You will have to experiment with the timing of this cut-off - just pull the basket out to see if all the grinds are properly wet at various time.
Pre-infusion, photo by Ben Kaminksy5. Turn the machine back on after 20 seconds of wait time(the end of pre-infusion).
6. Complete the brew within 3~4 minutes if possible. Play with the dose to find out the optimum capacity of your machine. For my Presto, the upper limit is at around the 5 cup mark.
7. Remove the carafe immediate after brewing and serve.
Spent ground, photo by Ben KaminksyThat is it. With a little bit of care, this simple method can produce just as good of a cup as with most other brew methods!
Cup of Drip, photo by Ben Kaminksynote 1: I like Melitta filters because the small holes in the paper seem to allow a bit more oil to pass thru; not as much as a cloth filter but is better than any paper filter I've used. To me, the natural/brown paper filters are quite foul and imparts a very strong brown paper bag taste to any liquid that passes thru. If you insist on using it, please rinse it with some hot water first to reduce as much of the off flavor as possible. And for those of you who just have to use a gold/metal filter, please be aware that your brew time will be altered due to the different flow rate. It will flow a bit faster than the paper filter and will most likely require a even finer grind setting to achieve the same dwell time (which puts even more sludge to the cup... hmmm... gritty...).
note 2: Simon advocates shaping the coffee mound in the basket to match that of the shower head - putting divots where the exit holes are located (imagine using the shower head to make an indention on the coffee mound). Since I have modified my shower head to have near full coverage, it does not make much of a difference for me. For those machines with limited water exit holes, try Simon's recommendation to see if it makes a difference.
Labels: coffee, drip methods, gear, how to
¶ Ben Chen 8:48 AM 2 Comments
Tuesday, March 06, 2007
AeroPress Revisited
Long time readers of the blog (if such things exist) might recalled that we've reviewed the famed AeroPress way back then.
Using it in the stock configuration and mimicking brewing parameters of a clover (time, temperature, grind dosage and coarseness), the aeropress produces a cup that is cleaner, yet inferior to a french press cup.
The problem has to do with uneven extraction due to seep thru that occurred as soon as you pour water thru the grinds. Using it in the inverted manner, the cup improves a bit as it allowed the coffee to extract more evenly at desirable temperature.
Despite improvements with the inverted method, the resulting cup is still inferior to a regular french press cup in both aroma and flavor; the stock paper filter, while capable of producing a very clean up, simply absorbed too much of the oil and aromatics.
Photo Courtesy of Gabe Rodriguez
Several weeks passed and the buzz with AeroPress continued on CG. I noticed a new development with the inverted method. The stock paper filter is replaced with a polyester felt round that allows much of the aromatics and the oils to pass thru. A couple of email exchanges with Scott yielded a generous offer of samples of these poly-felt rounds for me to play with.
Following Scott's instructions, I was able to produce cups that retained the flavor and aroma, while being much cleaner than the french press. Using brewing parameters similar to a clover brew, the cup comes surprisingly close according to Jaime, and is sweeter than the french press cups. We concluded that, while being a bit clumsy and messy, this configuration (inverted + poly-felt) produces a satisfying cup that is good enough of a reason to keep this device in our array of coffee brewing apparatus.
However, after my recent visit to Taiwan, things changed a bit.
A vac pot is what I use, almost exclusively, for "brew coffee" now. The vac pot has all the advantages of my coffee brewing devices: near constant brewing temperatures, adjustable brew temperature and time, as well as a cake filtration that produces a very clean cup.
Upon learning the proper method and brewing parameters of the vac pot, I was able to produce cups that are the cleanest, most complex, and most aromatic among the three brewing methods. It also produces cups that have a long and lingering tail that stays in your mouth well after consumption. The brewing/clean-up is not much worse than the inverted poly-felt aeropress and it takes less than 5 min from grind to clean-up. The total cost of the setup is also comparable to the AeroPress.
Unfortunately, I am not aware of any US retailer selling the 2 cup version of the Hario Vac Pot. The larger vac pot units are not very desirable as you need to brew it at capacity in order to have a proper extraction. In fact, I had a 5 cup unit that I ended up gifting away due to that (there is no way in hell I can drink that much coffee without getting caffeine sickness).
Long time readers of the blog (if such things exist) might recalled that we've reviewed the famed AeroPress way back then.
Using it in the stock configuration and mimicking brewing parameters of a clover (time, temperature, grind dosage and coarseness), the aeropress produces a cup that is cleaner, yet inferior to a french press cup.
The problem has to do with uneven extraction due to seep thru that occurred as soon as you pour water thru the grinds. Using it in the inverted manner, the cup improves a bit as it allowed the coffee to extract more evenly at desirable temperature.
Despite improvements with the inverted method, the resulting cup is still inferior to a regular french press cup in both aroma and flavor; the stock paper filter, while capable of producing a very clean up, simply absorbed too much of the oil and aromatics.
Photo Courtesy of Gabe Rodriguez
Several weeks passed and the buzz with AeroPress continued on CG. I noticed a new development with the inverted method. The stock paper filter is replaced with a polyester felt round that allows much of the aromatics and the oils to pass thru. A couple of email exchanges with Scott yielded a generous offer of samples of these poly-felt rounds for me to play with.
Following Scott's instructions, I was able to produce cups that retained the flavor and aroma, while being much cleaner than the french press. Using brewing parameters similar to a clover brew, the cup comes surprisingly close according to Jaime, and is sweeter than the french press cups. We concluded that, while being a bit clumsy and messy, this configuration (inverted + poly-felt) produces a satisfying cup that is good enough of a reason to keep this device in our array of coffee brewing apparatus.
However, after my recent visit to Taiwan, things changed a bit.
A vac pot is what I use, almost exclusively, for "brew coffee" now. The vac pot has all the advantages of my coffee brewing devices: near constant brewing temperatures, adjustable brew temperature and time, as well as a cake filtration that produces a very clean cup.
Upon learning the proper method and brewing parameters of the vac pot, I was able to produce cups that are the cleanest, most complex, and most aromatic among the three brewing methods. It also produces cups that have a long and lingering tail that stays in your mouth well after consumption. The brewing/clean-up is not much worse than the inverted poly-felt aeropress and it takes less than 5 min from grind to clean-up. The total cost of the setup is also comparable to the AeroPress.
Unfortunately, I am not aware of any US retailer selling the 2 cup version of the Hario Vac Pot. The larger vac pot units are not very desirable as you need to brew it at capacity in order to have a proper extraction. In fact, I had a 5 cup unit that I ended up gifting away due to that (there is no way in hell I can drink that much coffee without getting caffeine sickness).
Labels: aeropress, clover, drip methods, gear, vac pot
¶ Ben Chen 11:20 AM 20 Comments