What is a good material for coffee filter cups? What are the differences and characteristics of hand-brewed coffee filter cups? Are V60 and kono filter cups easy to use?

Filter cup is one of the core equipment for making hand-brewed coffee. We often hear things like "this filter cup can make the coffee sweeter, and that filter cup can make the coffee taste better." The reason is that the structural design of the filter cup will directly affect the extraction of coffee.

Different designs will produce different extraction effects, which is why there are so many kinds of filter cups today. Many beginners always feel annoyed when buying filter cups: there are too many kinds! Each filter cup is different. What's the difference between them?

In fact, it is not difficult to see the "efficacy" of the filter cup, we only need to understand what factors of the filter cup will affect the extraction, we can roughly calculate the function of the filter cup. Today, Qianjie will share the four major designs of the filter cup that affect the extraction. As long as we are familiar with these four designs, we will not talk about buying a suitable filter cup at all!

The first thing we need to know about the structure of the filter cup is the shape design of the filter cup, because the shape design of the filter cup will not only affect the final coffee performance, but also the first feature that people will pay attention to when choosing and buying the filter cup. Therefore, Qianjie will focus on this part. At present, there are three main kinds of filter cups on the market: tapered, fan-shaped, and flat-bottomed.

In the article "the characteristics of cake filter cups", Qianjie mentions in detail the effects of different filter cup shapes. That is, they will change the characteristics of the final brewed coffee by affecting the distribution of coffee powder. The appearance of the tapered filter cup looks like a "funnel", from wide to narrow from top to bottom, and the coffee powder forms an inverted cone structure when poured in. The inverted cone-shaped powder bed structure means that the cross-sectional area of each layer is not the same, and the lower it is, the smaller it is. Compared with other shapes of filter cups, the powder bed made of the same amount of powder in a tapered filter cup will be thicker.

A thicker powder bed means that it is less likely to be extracted evenly, because the extraction efficiency of hot water decreases gradually from top to bottom, so coffee powder located at the bottom and around it that is not injected with water will be extracted much less. And this will lead to differences in the amount of substances dissolved out of coffee powder, so coffee has a richer level of performance!

Because the flat-bottomed filter cup has a flat bottom and a large area, the structure of the powder bed formed after the coffee powder is poured into it will be an inverted cone, and the thickness of the powder bed built in the flat-bottomed filter cup with the same amount of powder is the thinnest of the three.

The advantage of this powder bed structure is that even if we do not master the skill of water injection, we can easily brew out a good cup of coffee as long as we use the right parameters. Because the area of each cross section of the powder bed is very close and the thickness is relatively thin, there is not a big difference in the extraction of coffee powder. That is because the extraction rate is similar, the amount of dissolved substances is very similar, and the final brewed coffee has a more balanced performance.

The fan-shaped filter cup is an inverted trapezoidal design, which is similar to the tapered filter cup and gradually narrows from top to bottom. So after the coffee powder is poured down, the cross-sectional area of each layer of its powder bed is different. But unlike the tapered cup, the bottom of the fan-shaped cup is wider, so the coffee powder will eventually be concentrated not in one point, but on a single line. Therefore, the thickness of the powder bed built in the fan-shaped filter cup with the same amount of powder is in the middle of the three.

Combined with the extraction characteristics of the above two filter cups, we can draw a conclusion that the extraction characteristic of the fan-shaped filter cup is that it can make the extraction different, but this difference will not be very big, which not only makes the coffee have a certain sense of hierarchy, but also has a certain degree of equilibrium.

But what we need to know is that the extraction characteristics of the filter cup are not determined by the structure of the powder bed alone. Because the launching speed of the filter cup can change the extraction mode, which is determined by the opening at the bottom of the filter cup and the ribs of the filter cup.

Second, the hole of the filter cup each filter cup has a different bottom hole design, the difference here can not only refer to the diameter size, but also can be the number of the number. When the diameter of the opening at the bottom of the filter cup is larger and the number is more, the speed of water flow will be faster, and vice versa.

Then, as said in front of the street, the flow rate can change the extraction pattern of coffee. Generally speaking, hand-brewed coffee mainly uses trickling extraction, with hot water injected and coffee liquid oozing at the same time. Because the liquid concentration of extracted coffee has been constantly refreshed, this extraction mode will have a relatively high extraction efficiency (that is, the speed of dissolving flavor substances is faster). At the same time, because of the fast launching speed, coffee powder is usually not evenly extracted, just like the powder bed structure of a tapered filter cup, it can flush out a richer sense of hierarchy. Another common extraction mode is immersion, which allows coffee powder to be soaked in water, so that the whole staff can get nearly the same extraction efficiency. Although this extraction mode is not so efficient compared with trickle filtration, coffee will have a more balanced performance because the extraction rate of coffee powder is similar.

One of the factors determining the extraction mode is the pore diameter at the bottom of the filter cup. When the opening of the filter cup is larger, the water in the filter cup can seep out in time, so the extraction mode during cooking is mainly trickling filtration. When the hole is small and the speed of launching is slow, it will occur when cooking because the water in the filter cup can not seep out in time, accumulate gradually, and then form immersion extraction (not completely immersion). In addition to the aperture, the rib design of the filter cup will also affect the flow rate.

Third, the ribs of the filter cup most of the filter cup have ribs, because the existence of ribs will create a gap between the filter paper and the filter cup, so that hot water can have more flow space in the filter cup. If there are no ribs, the filter paper will fit the filter cup completely. The passage through which hot water can seep out will only be a small area at the bottom that does not close the filter cup, and it is conceivable that the flow rate will be extremely slow.

Therefore, most filter cups are designed with ribs. When designing the filter cup, the manufacturer will adjust the flow rate by controlling the height and number of ribs to control the degree of fit between the filter paper and the filter cup. Only the structure of these ribs will be different. There are not only spiral ribs like V60, but also straight ribs like Kono and Origami filter cups, as well as some shapes, rings and so on.

When the number of ribs is more and more prominent, the lower the fit between the filter paper and the filter cup, the faster the flow rate, and vice versa. Of course, in addition to affecting the flow rate, spiral ribs such as V60 can also guide the flow of hot water, making the hot water go through more coffee powder at the same time, thus extracting relatively more flavor substances.

Fourth, the material of the filter cup is finally the material of the filter cup! The material use of the filter cup affects two aspects, one is the thermal insulation performance, and the other is the price. Price aside, the material mainly affects the thermal insulation performance, because the thermal conductivity and specific heat capacity of each material are different. At present, the commonly used materials of filter cups on the market are: resin, glass, ceramics and metal. But because the explanation here requires a long speech, and the impact on the extraction is relatively less, so interested friends can click on the "portal" to understand directly.

Combined with the above four points, we can read out the extraction characteristics of a filter cup. For example, V60, because it is a tapered filter cup, and the bottom aperture is larger, the ribs are long and protruding, and the launching speed is faster, so it flushes out more coffee layers (because the extraction is relatively not so uniform); while the Kono filter cup makes most of the filter paper fit perfectly with the filter cup and the launching speed is relatively slow because the ribs are short and not so prominent. This makes it easier to form immersion extraction in the brewing process, which makes the coffee more balanced, though not as rich as the V60.

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