Does the coffee liquid steamed by hand need to be poured out? How much water do you need for steaming coffee?

Guide reading

In general, the amount of steaming water is twice as much as that of coffee powder, which is due to the fact that the saturated water absorption of coffee powder is twice that of itself. But in practice, when twice the amount of water is injected into the initial water injection stage, the excess coffee liquid will be dripped into the lower pot, so does the coffee liquid dripping into the next pot need to be poured out?

Why is there excess coffee liquid?

First of all, to explain this problem, we also mentioned earlier that the saturated water absorption of coffee powder is twice that of itself, provided that it is saturated. This also means that in the initial stage, it takes time for the water to infiltrate when it comes into contact with the coffee powder. When the coffee powder is thicker, the water falls into the pot before it is fully infiltrated. The thicker the powder, the larger the particle value, the longer the infiltration time, and the larger the gap between the coffee powder, the more coffee liquid will be dripped into the next pot, and vice versa.

So, dump it or keep it?

It's very simple. Let's do a comparative experiment and we'll know the answer. First, we brewed two cups of coffee for comparison, one of which was brewed normally (keeping the coffee liquid), and the other was to pour out the steamed coffee liquid. The selection of beans, cooking parameters and techniques are unified.

On the beans, we used Yega Xuefei sun-tanned cherries from Qianjie Coffee to conduct a comparative experiment. This is a very classic sunny Yega Chevy coffee with medium and shallow roasting in the front street, highlighting its berry, citrus and fermented fruit flavors.

The parameters are the same as 15g coffee powder, the ratio of theoretical powder to water is 1:15, the degree of grinding is fine grinding by hand (the passing rate of standard sieve 20 is 78%), and the water temperature is 91 degrees Celsius. All filter cups are made of V60U01.

Cooking process

Keep the coffee liquid: first inject 30g of water and steam for 30 seconds, then inject 95g of water around the center of the second stage, and the liquid level reaches the root of the ribs of the filter cup section. When the liquid level drops to 1 stroke 2, the third stage of water injection is carried out, and 100g water is injected outward in the center. After the coffee liquid is dripped into the pot, remove the filter cup and end the extraction. It takes two minutes.

Pour out the steamed coffee liquid: first inject 30g of water and steam for 30 seconds, about 20-23 seconds, the steaming liquid is dripped into the pot, pour the coffee liquid into a container (useful later), and the electronic scale returns to zero. Then 95g water is injected outward in the center of the second section, and the liquid level reaches the root of the ribs of the filter cup section. When the liquid level drops to 1 stroke 2, the third stage of water injection is carried out, and 100g water is injected outward in the center. After the coffee liquid is dripped into the pot, remove the filter cup and end the extraction. It takes two minutes.

Flavor comparison

Retain coffee liquid: the concentration is 1.42%, berry acidity, fermented fruit flavor, citrus, passion fruit and other flavors, layered.

Pour out the steamed coffee liquid: the concentration is 1.24%, and the weight of the steaming liquid is 15.6g. The coffee liquid is as light as a sip of water with a slight berry flavor, and the acidity is not obvious.

The steamed coffee liquid that was kept before finally came out. Pour the steamed coffee liquid back into the coffee and shake it evenly. Can clearly taste berries and other flavors, and full of acid.

In our daily brewing, the coffee liquid in the front part is usually the most full-bodied, while the later water injection will become lighter and lighter. In fact, at the beginning, the steamed coffee liquid contains the most coffee flavor substances (especially acid), and the retention will be more complete and better reflect the integrity of its coffee flavor. Of course, when steaming, we should avoid more coffee liquid dripping into the pot, because the more coffee liquid dripping into the next pot, it reflects the incomplete steaming of the coffee powder layer (water only seeps into the surface of the coffee particles).