Daily brewing | how to confirm whether the coffee in the siphon pot is coarse or fine?

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Because there were relatively few siphon pots in the store before, and there was not much research on brewing parameters, but in fact, it was nothing more than water temperature, degree of grinding, ratio of powder to water, and cooking time. Recently, someone suddenly asked, in the face of coffee beans that have never been boiled in a siphon pot, how to determine the degree of grinding? The simplest idea is, of course, to adjust the grinding of hand-brewed coffee as a reference value, but here comes the question again: should the coffee powder in the siphon pot be thicker or finer than the hand-brewed coffee?

Source of contradiction:

1. Because the hand brew coffee is a cooling extraction, and the siphon pot coffee is a rising temperature extraction, even if the initial temperature is the same, the average extraction water temperature of the siphon pot coffee will be 2-3 degrees higher than that of the hand brew coffee. So: to prevent over-extraction, siphon pot coffee should be ground thicker?

2. Because the extraction time of hand-brewed coffee is usually about 2 minutes, while that of siphon pot coffee is about one minute. And hand-brewed coffee is filtered extraction, siphon pot coffee is immersion extraction, in the extraction rate, hand-brewed coffee should be higher than siphon pot. So: to prevent over-extraction, siphon pot coffee should be ground more finely?

Finally, I decided to do an experiment to see what kind of grinding degree is more suitable for siphon pot coffee.

Siphon pot brewing-sun Sidama Sakuran

Grinding degree

Powder-water ratio

Water temperature

Cooking time

Experimental group ①

BG:3M

1:12

90 °C

60 seconds.

Experimental group ②

BG:5M

1:12

90 °C

60 seconds.

As our daily hand-made-Sakui recommended grinding degree is in BG:4M, so choose these two parameters to compare, just slightly thicker than hand-made coffee grinding 1 scale and slightly thinner 1 scale.

As for other parameters, try to use the same technique to ensure the objectivity of the comparison. For example, the ratio of powder to water, water temperature, as well as cooking time, mixing methods.

Specific cooking records:

20.8 grams of beans, 240 grams of water, 90 °C water temperature, then add powder. Add powder and stir 5 times, steam for 39 seconds and stir 5 times, turn off heat for 60 seconds and stir 2 times, then quickly reduce pressure and accelerate siphon reflux.

Flavor description comparison:

Experimental group ①: nut, lemon fruit acid, citrus, peach honey, dark chocolate, bitter taste is obvious, grease is obvious, taste slightly bitter; after a little cool, the sour taste becomes obvious, the aroma is more obvious, the whole is more rich but still slightly bitter.

Experimental group ②: fruit acid, grapefruit, citrus, aroma is obvious, fat feeling is lighter, taste is light, bitterness is less, taste is sour and astringent, overall light, but the flavor is more balanced.

Voting result: the experimental group ② is slightly better.

Cooking analysis: excluding the influence of the collocation of techniques and parameters, indeed, in the case of fine grinding, the flavor of the siphon pot will be more complete, the mellow thickness will be better, and all kinds of flavors will be put together in front, middle and back, but there will be a kind of repressed feeling. and the bitterness will be easier to come out, after all, after three times of stirring and not low water temperature cooking In the case of rough grinding, the flavor will be somewhat defective, the overall taste is relatively thin and light, and the taste is somewhat similar to that of hand-brewed coffee, but the overall hierarchical sense is shown, and the taste is easier to accept. The key is that the fault tolerance rate is high. Will not easily "dog belt"! It is especially suitable for those who are not familiar with the operation of the siphon pot or do not understand the characteristics of beans.

Comparison conclusion: although it is only a comparison between the two groups of siphon pot coffee, through a simple comparison, we can still draw a conclusion: when the whole brewing idea is not clear and there is no relevant brewing experience and data for reference, a thicker grinding will be more suitable for everyone-- because of the high fault tolerance rate, even if you are in a hurry, at least you will not brew a cup of thick, bitter, scorched siphon pot coffee because the brewing time is too long. Isn't it the "wall" that beginners are most likely to hit?