Coffee beans must be learned. what is the basic knowledge of hand-made coffee teaching?

Hand-brewing coffee is not only a ceremonial process, but also hand-extracted coffee brings us a sense of visual well-being, just like Cantonese people who go to restaurants to wash dishes with tea, ritual is very important. Hand-made coffee belongs to light roasting, the intensity is light, but the texture will be richer, and it also measures the two indicators of acidity and bitterness, so it may be more acceptable.

In recent years, hand-brewed coffee has gradually become popular in China. In an era when all kinds of coffee machines are springing up everywhere, hand-brewing coffee with simple utensils and hand-feeling skills is like a clear stream of going back to basics, expanding from Japan, which pursues refined culture, and fascinates many coffee experts and people who live in it. Why is hand-made coffee so charming? What is the key to a good cup of hand-made coffee? In the following article, we will introduce the complete knowledge of hand-brewed coffee, so that you can also make good coffee at home.

Introduction: the basics of hand-made coffee

What is hand-made coffee?

Hand-brewed coffee, as the name implies, is to pour hot water on the coffee powder and extract the coffee through filter paper and filter cup. the whole brewing process is about 3 to 4 minutes. As the flow rate, direction and temperature of the hot water are all controlled by the brewer, the flavor of the coffee brewed is different almost every time. Although the appliance is simple, it pays great attention to technique and experience.

Hand coffee teaching

Hand-brewed coffee utensils

Hand punch: there are hand punch pots of all sizes and materials on the market, which can be selected according to your needs. It is the size of the kettle that will affect the cooking results, because it is turned off to the amount of water. Beginners generally recommend using a small kettle (as shown below), which is easier to control. In addition, each hand punch pot is suitable for different heating methods (induction cooker or gas stove), so you should pay special attention when buying it.

Filter cup: the size and material of the filter cup are also different, mainly divided into three shapes: fan-shaped, tapered and wavy filter cup. The size of the filter diameter at the bottom of the filter cup will affect the flow rate of coffee extraction, and then affect the flavor of coffee. The fan-shaped filter cup has the advantages of small filter diameter, slow flow rate and mellow taste; the cone-shaped filter cup has large filter diameter, fast flow rate and light taste; the wavy filter cup has a flat bottom with special wave filter paper, which makes the coffee taste the most uniform. What is more special is the metal filter cup, which does not need to be used with filter paper, which can retain more coffee oil and taste thicker, but some finer coffee powder may not be filtered out.

Filter paper: different filter cups have their own suitable filter paper. Filter paper can absorb some of the smell and oil of coffee, and unbleached filter paper may have some paper smell.

Bean grinder: freshly ground coffee is the freshest, and the particle size and evenness of coffee powder are also the key to affect the flavor of hand-brewed coffee. The powder particles suitable for hand-brewed coffee are about the size of No. 2 sugar. The more uniform the particles are, the better the taste of the brewed coffee is.

Coffee pot and coffee cup: used to hold filtered coffee, it is best to heat it up to maintain the coffee temperature.

Assistive devices: electronic scales, thermometers and timers can make the coffee brewing process more accurate.

Hand brewed coffee is in the process of extracting coffee quickly.

Characteristics of hand-brewed coffee

The extraction speed is fast and efficient: compared with other coffee brewing methods, hand-brewed coffee continues to have fresh hot water passing through the coffee powder in the process of extracting coffee, which is faster and can extract more substances from the surface of coffee. But it is also because of its high speed and poor control, which may lead to excessive extraction. This is the same as frying fish in a pan over high heat. The fish has a large heating area, but if it is not well controlled, it may be scorched.

There are many influencing factors: although only a few minutes of the process, but including water flow rate, water temperature, coffee powder particles, filter cup shape and so on will affect the final flavor of coffee, need to be fully studied and prepared before brewing.

Coffee flavor diversity: the flavor of coffee is different under different conditions, and different kinds of beans are suitable for different conditions.

When you see here, you may feel that hand-brewing coffee is complicated and skillful, but it doesn't seem to be so easy to use. Yes, making coffee by hand is certainly more difficult than making coffee with a coffee machine, but just like buying your own kneading dough, every detail can be controlled by you, and the flavor of the final coffee is naturally unique. And by adjusting the various factors, you can try all kinds of possible flavors of coffee, which is the charm of hand-brewed coffee!

Are you moved? Even better, we're going to tell you that it's not difficult to make coffee by hand.

Advanced chapter: light to master hand-made coffee

People who are just beginning to know hand-brewed coffee are often frightened by a dazzling array of utensils and precautions, and they don't know where to start with kettles and filter cups. In fact, different hand brewing conditions have their own advantages and disadvantages, and everyone's preferences are also different. rather than comparing the different opinions of various experts everywhere, we suggest that you understand the principle of hand-brewing coffee in order to really know how to brew a cup of coffee that suits your taste.

The special flavor of coffee

The principle of making coffee by hand

The so-called brewing coffee is actually the process of extracting the molecules from the coffee cells, and this process includes the following three steps: contamination, dissolution and release, which occur one after another and interact with each other, and finally produce the special flavor of coffee. We will explain the following one by one:

Step 1: taint

Literally, coffee powder gets wet when it touches water, which is the starting point when coffee cells begin to release molecules.

It should be noted that roasted coffee beans are filled with carbon dioxide, and the fresher the coffee beans are, the more carbon dioxide they contain. When the hot water touches the coffee powder, the carbon dioxide will run out first, forming a layer of air bubbles on the surface, and when you flush by hand, you will see the coffee powder in the filter cup begin to expand (pictured below). At this time, the coffee cells are like a supermarket where a lot of people have to squeeze out of the noodles, and people outside can't get in at all-in the same way, the hot water outside the cells can't get into the noodles. Therefore, after dipping coffee powder, we will stop water injection, and wait for the complete release of carbon dioxide, coffee powder stop expansion, and then continue to heat water, in order to achieve a better extraction effect.

When the hot water touches the coffee powder, carbon dioxide will run out first, forming a layer of air bubbles on the surface.

Step 2: dissolve

Refers to the process of dissolving soluble molecules in coffee cells in hot water, which is the most important step in deciding to extract the flavor of coffee.

Coffee beans 2/3 are made up of insoluble cellulose and 1/3 are soluble odor molecules that are dissolved in order according to the size of the molecules when they come into contact with water. The first small molecules dissolved include acidity and aroma, then the sweetness of middle molecules, and finally the bitter taste of macromolecules. This is where the different levels of coffee taste come from. Therefore, if you like the sweeter taste, the extraction time should be shorter, because the longer the hot water stays on the coffee powder, the more bitter molecules will be dissolved.

Step 3: diffusion

After the odor molecules dissolve, they leave the coffee cells by osmosis, a process called diffusion. After the odor molecules are diffused into hot water, the final coffee extract is formed.

Coffee extraction

Factors affecting hand-brewed coffee

Once you understand the principle, you should be able to understand the effect of different hand-brewing conditions on the flavor of coffee. All the different factors actually revolve around one core: extraction time, that is, the time when coffee powder reacts with hot water. We have sorted out some important factors below:

Uniformity of coffee powder particles: the extraction speed of fine coffee powder is fast, while that of coarse coffee powder is slow, and the complete extraction time is different. If the powder particles are not uniform, it is possible that the fine coffee powder has begun to release bitter molecules, and the coarse coffee powder has not been extracted completely, resulting in a poor flavor of the final coffee. If the coffee powder is evenly granulated, there will be no such problem.

Coffee powder particle size: the finer the coffee powder, the longer the hot water will flow through the coffee powder.

Filter paper thickness: the thicker the filter paper, the slower the flow rate of the extract, and the longer the interaction between hot water and coffee powder.

Water injection speed and method: water injection is uniform and stable, so that the extraction speed of coffee powder is the same. In addition, the height of water injection will also affect the water temperature. It is recommended that the water should be injected in the way of repeated loops near the filter cup. (photo source: reddit)

Water temperature: the higher the water temperature, the faster the extraction speed. It is generally recommended that deep-roasted coffee beans should be boiled at 80-90 degrees, while light-roasted coffee beans should be boiled at 90-97 degrees.

Most of the above factors are not standard, because everyone likes the taste of coffee is different, how to adjust different factors, rushed out of their favorite flavor, is the most interesting part of hand-brewed coffee. For example, if you want to drink bitter coffee, you can use finer coffee powder, higher water temperature, or longer water injection time to achieve the desired taste.

How to make coffee by hand at home

Hand-made coffee

After knowing the background, the next step is to implement it. Here are the detailed steps and precautions for making coffee by hand:

Ground coffee beans: the standard particle size is like No. 2 sugar, can be adjusted, the key point is to uniform particles, you can use a sieve to sift out the ultra-fine powder to avoid being unable to filter. The amount of coffee powder is about half to 2/3 of the filter cup, too little can not control the flow rate of hot water, too much will be full when flushing.

Boiled water: the standard ratio of powder to water is about 1:16, which can also be adjusted according to personal preference. The suitable water temperature is about 90 degrees, which can be measured with a thermometer after boiling.

Preheating: fold the filter paper so that it is flat on the filter cup, soak the filter paper with some hot water and preheat the filter cup, which can also eliminate the smell of the filter paper. Pour out the water after preheating.

Powder: pour the coffee powder into the filter cup and pat the side of the filter cup to make the coffee powder surface slightly flat.

Start timing, first water injection: put the spout near the edge of the filter cup, start injecting water from the center of the filter cup, go around the center to the periphery and then back to the center, soak all the coffee powder and then stop, be careful not to have too much water. At this time, the surface of the coffee powder will produce white bubbles and begin to expand.

Steaming: wait for the coffee powder to stop expanding for about 30 to 40 seconds, when you may have begun to filter out some of the extract.

Second water injection: when you see the foam begin to collapse, start the second water injection, just like repeat the circle from the center and continue to inject water evenly. This water injection process takes more than 2 minutes, depending on the expected cooking time (it is generally recommended that deep-roasted coffee beans range from 2 to 2 and a half minutes and shallow roasted coffee beans for 2 and a half minutes to 3 minutes).

Rest: after stopping filling, wait for 20-60 seconds to filter, and then pour the coffee into the coffee cup.