Coffee review

What is the difference between hanging ear coffee and hand-brewed coffee? What is trickling extraction?

Published: 2025-06-24 Author:
Last Updated: 2025/06/24, As we all know! Both hanging ear coffee and hand-brewed coffee are made using a drip filter method. The so-called drip filter type is a way in which hot water uses gravity to quickly flow through the coffee powder layer and at the same time bring out the substances in the coffee powder. To put it bluntly, coffee seeps out while pouring water into the filter. Because the extraction method is the same, so

As we all know! Both hanging ear coffee and hand-brewed coffee are made using a drip filter method. The so-called drip filter type is a way in which hot water uses gravity to quickly flow through the coffee powder layer and at the same time bring out the substances in the coffee powder. To put it bluntly, coffee seeps out while pouring water into the filter.

Because the extraction method is the same, it will inevitably be compared by everyone. But do you know that hanging ears and handchong are actually not much comparable, because the main purposes they pursue are different and their advantages are different. It doesn't matter! Today, I came to Qianjie to share lightly the difference between hand-brewed coffee and hanging coffee! So first of all, let's first have a brief understanding of what hand-brewed coffee is and what is hanging coffee.

What is hand-brewed coffee? The so-called hand-brewed coffee refers to a way of brewing coffee by manually controlling the water flow. Various instruments such as filter cups, filter papers, and electronic scales are used to assist in the process. Since the concept of boutique coffee became popular, hand-brewed coffee has quickly become popular. Because compared with other coffee extraction methods, it can perfectly display the taste of the coffee itself better and simpler. Not only that, hand-brewed coffee also has a very high degree of freedom. We can adjust and replace any parameter and any appliance, so as to combine completely different extraction solutions to brew coffee. The final coffee will have a few different characteristics and be extremely playable! Therefore, hand flushing can become the preferred extraction method for everyone to explore the aroma of coffee.

In addition, hand-brewed coffee has another advantage, that is, a series of actions from weighing coffee beans, grinding, folding filter paper, wetting filter cups, pouring powder, to boiling water and brewing usually need to be completed by yourself. The existence of these steps makes the making of this cup of coffee full of ritual.

Since the price of appliances is relatively high for ordinary people, many friends will equip a set of professional appliances at home. Whenever their free time comes, they will pick a favorite coffee bean to grind it now.

What is hanging ear coffee? hanging ear coffee can be said to be a derivative of the convenience of making coffee by hand! At the end of the 20th century, Japan's Ushijima Coffee (UCC) first introduced the ear bag and applied for a patent in 2001. The ear bag is enclosed in an ear bag made of pre-ground coffee powder and non-woven fabric. It is the same as hand-brewed coffee. It uses drip extraction. After tearing the packaging bag, take out the ear bag and hang it. You can brew it directly, which is very convenient.

The reason why they are named "hanging ears" is because a filter pack made of non-woven fabrics will have two pieces of paper cleats on both sides. As demonstrated in the picture above, it can be hung on a narrow mouth after opening. The cup serves as a filter cup for coffee brewing. So the name hanging ear coffee comes from these two pieces of paper hanging on the mouth of the cup like "ears." Compared with hand-brewed coffee, hanging ear coffee is very convenient because it does not require grinding coffee powder, nor does it require preparing various equipment such as filter cups and filter papers. It only requires a container and a water filling bottle. The production of hanging ear coffee is completed. Coupled with its small size and easy to carry, it has become a common item for people when traveling and working in daily work.

What is the difference between hanging ear coffee and hand-brewed coffee? From the brief introduction above, we can know that the biggest difference between hanging ears and hand-flushing actually lies in the state of the coffee powder used. The coffee powder used for hand-brewed coffee is mainly freshly ground, which means that the coffee beans are ground into powder before brewing; while the coffee powder used for hanging ears is pre-ground, that is, it is ground early and then sealed into the hanging ear bag. (Here, Qianjie needs to be added. Although hand-brewed coffee can also be used for pre-ground coffee powder, most of the time, freshly ground coffee powder is used.) And it is this difference that makes the essence of the two completely different. Why? Because the taste of brewed coffee will change.

As we all know, coffee flavor mainly comes from the aroma substances of coffee, and most of these aroma substances are volatile. After the coffee beans are roasted, the aroma of coffee will continue to evaporate and lose from the inside out like carbon dioxide. The rate of loss mainly depends on the storage method, environment, and whether the coffee itself is complete. When the coffee beans are stored in the right environment and method, and the coffee beans themselves have relatively complete structures, the evaporation rate of aroma substances will be slowed down. Generally speaking, if the above conditions are met, the aroma substances of coffee beans can be stored for up to 2 months (from the roasting date); when the storage environment and method of coffee beans are relatively poor, or the coffee beans are ground into powder, the loss of aroma substances will accelerate, and the taste period will be reduced from the original two months to one month or even less.

Therefore, even if the same bean has the same baking date, the flavor of the ear bag will not be as rich as hand-brewed coffee. Because it uses pre-ground coffee powder, the coffee flavor evaporates faster than freshly ground coffee, and this gap will increase with the increase of grinding time. At the same time, because the coffee powder is pre-ground, its grinding degree has been fixed, and the brewing frame cannot be adjusted too much. This will make hanging ear coffee not as wide as hand-brewed coffee and less playability.

However, what we need to know is that the advantage of hanging ear coffee has never been based on flavor, but on simplicity and convenience. It is precisely because of the need for more convenience that the ear bag pre-grinds the coffee powder. Otherwise, we can also use ear bags to brew freshly ground coffee powder, which can also obtain excellent coffee flavor (some friends do this). Therefore, we can know that although hand-brewed coffee and hanging ear coffee use the same drip brewing, the purposes pursued by the two are completely different. Hand-brewed coffee pursues a more complete and higher-quality coffee experience, so its main object is freshly ground coffee powder; while hanging ear coffee pursues convenience, for which it sacrifices some coffee flavor in exchange for convenience. Each of the two has its own benefits, and they have their own application scenarios, so there is no need to compare ~

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