Does the water level of hand-brewed coffee have an effect on the flavor and taste of coffee? How high should the liquid level of coffee be?

Recently, a friend who came to the shop discussed the details of hand brewing in front of the street. This friend brewed it according to the brewing method in front of the street and drank it differently from the one in the shop. So Qianjie let him demonstrate his brewing process. It turns out the difference is the water level.

How does the water level affect coffee?

In the manual brewing scheme, it is generally not detailed to which height the water level should be injected, nor to the start time and end time of each section of water injection. Many times, it depends on the habits and understanding of the brewer.

So there's a lot of uncertainty for the novice who's still exploring.

The filter cup we brew coffee presents an inverted cone. In order to avoid clogging, some convex guide ribs or concave guide grooves will be designed on the inner wall of the filter cup. It is also because of this characteristic that under the condition that the water carrying capacity of high water level is several times that of low water level, the water launching speed of high water level can still be consistent with that of low water level, or even slightly faster. In this way, coffee at a higher level actually flows faster than coffee at a lower level. At the same time, the total extraction time for brewing at high water levels will be a few seconds faster than at low water levels.

In many practical feedbacks on the front street, the same coffee beans, when the water level is raised to a higher position during brewing, the acidity of the coffee will be more lively, the flavor level will be more distinct, and the taste will be lighter.

When the water level is lower, the overall taste of coffee will be thicker and fuller, highlighting the sweetness.

How does that apply in practice?

In brewing coffee beans with floral acids, the front street will recommend raising the water level after steaming. Raising the height of the water level depends on the amount of powder and the freshness of the coffee. For example, when using a small filter cup and 15g coffee powder, raise the water level to 1/2 to 1/3 of the short rib, and the flavor performance of the coffee will be clearer than the taste.

If the water level is raised further, it is possible to make the coffee appear watery, because 15g of light roasted coffee powder is difficult to form a powder wall more than 1/2 of the V60 short rib, and the water will flow directly from the edge without the blocking of the powder wall.

If 20g of coffee powder is used, the water level rise can reach the same height as the small V60 filter cup. This is also why it is not recommended to brew more than 20g of powder in a small filter cup.

The lower water level is suitable for anaerobic coffee beans that are easy to flush out coffee flavor or sun/honey treated coffee beans that need to highlight high sweetness. Still take 15g coffee powder, small V60 as an example, the water level is about at the bottom of the short rib.

At a lower level, the hot water extracts coffee more intensively, resulting in coffee that is less sour and that accentuates the sweetness of tropical fruits.