Hand-brewed coffee: brew your "state of mind" with delicacy

Hand coffee needs to be "calm" and "gather".

Coffee classes are very popular among young people in the city nowadays.

Jinfeng is making coffee.

Core hint

In recent years, cafes have sprung up everywhere in Guangzhou. Starbucks, SPR, Shangdao, Green Pavilion, Green Island and other large chain stores have taken root in Guangzhou one after another, and comparable personality cafes have also quietly appeared around the corner and residential areas. The gold rush road, construction road, Tianhe Road, along Jiangdong Road, Yandun Road and Shamian Road in Guangzhou are the places where such exquisite cafes gather, and cafes like this seem to be more popular with people, especially coffee lovers.

But don't think that if you want to drink coffee, you have to go to a cafe. You can make a cup of coffee at home without a coffee maker or a siphon pot. Some coffee experts have been immersed in the coffee world for more than ten years, playing with all kinds of machines and tasting all kinds of coffee. in those focused, rigorous and rational steps, the delicious coffee made by hand also has a romantic temperament.

As hand-brewing coffee can greatly reflect the personalization of "handmade", tasting a good cup of hand-brewed coffee is still like tasting a cup of high-quality red wine. Now in Yangcheng, hand-brewing coffee classes are becoming more and more popular. If your days are repeated in a two-point life, or even as boring as instant coffee, it's time to try hand-brewing coffee. In the current rainstorm like Guangzhou, a really full-bodied cup of coffee can make the whole room smell in an instant, and the haze of life will become less melancholy because of the awakened "one's delicacy".

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Stroll through the Cafe

The "Evolution" from Mass socialization to Personality Aesthetics

On the streets of Guangzhou today, people who are in a hurry with a cup of coffee are already a common sight, and coffee shops are often overcrowded. In the cities where coffee has been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people as a popular drink, Korean, European and American, boutique, chain and other market segments have also begun to become hot. In the city of Guangzhou, coffee has a long but rich story. As a companion of life, it remembers the time passed by the city and its people.

Every age, every group of people will have an indelible imprint. If you want to sum up the group of people who are most dependent on coffee, you can sum it up like this-born around the 1980s, with a liberal arts or foreign company background, mostly girls.

"for our post-80s generation, many people in college began to enlighten coffee through urban literature, and it was only when I officially entered the workplace that I began to have spending power and social needs. it is only then that I officially embark on the rhythm of the explosion of coffee culture led by the chain coffee chain." Chen Jie, a "post-80s" and "financial girl" who works in the Pearl River New Town, is now used to going to work with a cup of coffee every day. "not only at work, but now the coffee chain in Guangzhou has a clean environment, stable production and controllable prices. it has also become the first choice for our daily social venues."

In 2003, Starbucks Coffee officially entered Guangzhou. "I think that no matter what they think of Starbucks now, young people should thank it for its arrival. After all, Guangzhou's coffee culture has developed slowly to today's' explosion 'under the inspiration of the Italian chain. So that we new Guangzhou people have their own gathering place and social model." Because, for a group of people like Chen Jie, what they pursue is not coffee itself, but can not get used to the days without coffee and cafes.

However, dedicated people will find that although there are many coffee shops in Guangzhou, as a form of business, real pure coffee shops are very scarce in Guangzhou. The local coffee shop in Guangzhou is a combination of various food cultures, such as "coffee + wine", "coffee + western food" and "coffee + cake". Guangzhou, as the economic center of South China, is dominated by domestic and provincial elites. Coupled with the profound traditional culture of Guangzhou, there are fewer foreigners living in Guangzhou than in Beijing and Shanghai. This difference directly leads to the fact that it takes a long time to guide the coffee consumption of Guangzhou people.

Lin Xiang has opened a coffee shop in Guangzhou for more than a year. "now, I really want to learn new techniques to make boutique coffee." Nowadays, coffee is also slowly developing in the direction of boutique coffee in Guangzhou, because the coffee in different producing areas will be different, and the Chinese people also gradually accept coffee rather than just the impression of "bitter". Especially today, urban young people are no longer satisfied with fruit tea and flower coffee with high appearance and sweetness, but more and more appreciate the beauty of fine coffee-for those who know coffee, the essence of coffee exists in it. " Previously popular waffles and desserts are coffee embellishments at best.

"A boutique cafe also has a great impact on the surrounding residents. Now, basically, most of the residents in the community have become coffee lovers, and the slow time of the cafe has gradually become a part of their lives." A 60-year-old man who lives nearby often comes to the coffee shop in Linxiang in the afternoon and quietly reads the newspaper and drinks his coffee.

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Experiencing the Aesthetics of "hand Chong"

"slow refinement" against "standardization"

"as far as I can remember, since the 1990s, there have been many small cafes on Jianliu Road, where foreigners gather. At that time, we can often hear the creaking sound of hand-ground coffee beans, accompanied by the classical flavor of siphon pots. It must be the age of Blue Mountains and Manning." As a "Lao Guang", Mandy, who is nearly 40 years old this year, is a senior "enthusiast" of hand-made coffee. "in those days, a cup of coffee cost more than 30 yuan, and coffee was still a luxury way of consumption in people's minds, far less popular or even rampant than it is now."

Since 2003, with the Italian coffee chain stationed in Guangzhou, the power of the industry has destroyed this family workshop-style cafe, especially the arrival of large automatic coffee machines can not only produce extremely stable quality coffee, but also directly reduce the production time of a cup of coffee from 4 minutes in the siphon pot era to 20 seconds. "but I'm still willing to go to cafes where there are no waiters and only baristas, and you can ask them about coffee brewing or even chat at any time." Mandy said with a smile.

Today, most coffee chains in Guangzhou have basically achieved automation, so the role played by baristas in the production process in most cafes has gradually become smaller. "of course, the products that usually go to coffee shops to use automatic coffee machines will be very stable, but the hand-made coffee in those small shops is more worthy of us' enthusiasts'to slowly look for treasure." In Mandy's view, by choosing the coffee beans you like and grinding a cup of pure hand-brewed coffee in a relaxed environment, "you can really taste the results and feel the happiness and coffee aesthetics at the same time."

Ah Wei, who has six years of experience in coffee making, can be regarded as an "expert". Every morning, he would make a pot of coffee to wake up every cell and stay in high spirits all day. Ah Wei told reporters that "hand-brewed coffee" is also known as filter coffee. "compared with Italian coffee maker and siphon pot, the principle and equipment of hand-brewing coffee are very simple. There is no coffee machine or siphon pot. All you need is a small-mouth pot, a piece of filter paper, a filter cup, relying entirely on personal skill and experience, by controlling different water temperature, flow rate, steaming speed, filtration time. The thickness, taste and flavor will be very different, so it has become the main way for many coffee shops to make individual coffee. "

Although the equipment of hand-brewing coffee is simple, but the operation which looks easy and highly similar actually contains the possibility of various tastes, even the coffee brewed by the same person every time is not exactly the same taste. "A perfect cup of hand-brewed coffee requires the brewer to have at least five years of coffee experience, not only skilled, but also able to adjust the brewing mode according to different varieties, water temperature and drinkers' preferences, so that the coffee always presents a perfect balance of sweet, sour, bitter, mellow and fragrant in front of people." Ah Wei told reporters that since hand-brewed coffee has broken away from the dependence on Italian coffee machines, it is easier to adjust parameters such as water temperature, steaming time, flow speed, and flushing angle according to the variety of coffee beans and the degree of grinding. although the coffee produced is not rich in oil, the espresso is sour and bitter, and its thickness can be adjusted.

It can be said that hand-brewed coffee ushered in the era of coffee aesthetics. A good cup of coffee teaches urbanites about "slow refinement".

"A cup of good hand-made coffee is as good as a cup of fine red wine." According to Ah Wei, a good cup of hand-made coffee, the first feeling is sweet, the second is sour, will not produce bitter or astringent feeling. "any deviation in the production process will affect the final taste of the coffee, which is also the criterion for judging the quality of a cup of coffee." It is a variety of mysterious uncertainties that make people look forward to the coffee they are about to taste, and there is an extra romantic temperament in those dedicated, rigorous and rational steps.

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The "Zero Foundation" classroom is very popular.

Only a focused and relaxed "state of mind" can get the "top grade".

The hand-brewing coffee class opened by Japanese barista Jinfeng in Guangzhou has recently been very popular with women in Guangzhou, and even many men have come to learn "craftsmanship". Nowadays, there are more and more "coffee classes" in Guangzhou, and it is no longer uncommon for coffee lovers to exchange coffee-related knowledge and technology in different ways of gathering. During the day, they can be white-collar workers in the office or workers in the coffee shop. When it comes to a party, no matter what industry you come from, even if you have no basic knowledge of coffee, you begin to be called "coffee friends" after a cup of coffee.

Jinfeng, who was infatuated with coffee when he was in his 20s, is an "old man" in CBD Cafe in Guangzhou. After retiring from the position of director of an electronics factory in Nansha, Guangzhou, he returned to Tokyo to study in the century-old Kono Cafe. Jinfeng studied for a whole year with Kono starting from basic material selection and baking. Although Kono Coffee is the invention of the siphon pot, Jinfeng personally prefers hand-brewed coffee. "in addition to its ever-changing charm, hand-brewing coffee also makes people learn to concentrate. When making coffee, you can't wander your mind at will. You may not pay attention to it. If the flow is not well controlled, the coffee is not satisfactory." In class, his wife is also helping to "do it". "whenever he makes coffee, he can't hear people talking, and even the noise around him can't disturb him."

"there are a thousand Hamlets in the eyes of a thousand people." For coffee lovers, "the same kind of beans, different people can brew different flavors." This is how Jinfeng once described the charm of coffee. Hand-made classes are very popular with ladies. Liu Yanzhen knew about hand-made coffee a long time ago. "because some friends have studied it, they are also very interested. Although they often try to do it at home, they have not learned systematically and professionally. After all, there are still many differences between this and the usual way of making coffee at home. The point is, there are a lot of brown friends here to communicate with. " In Yan Zhen's view, Jinfeng's hand brewing coffee is like a coffee craft show. But for this nearly 80-year-old man, this is just a part of daily life. "the Japanese love coffee just as Chaoshan people like Kungfu Tea. Some people can't sleep after drinking coffee. I can't sleep without coffee. I drink an average of 34 cups a day. "

Jinfeng set up a coffee shop in Guangzhou in 2010, and created a Japanese-style on-site roasting, on-site grinding, on-site preparation of the "three coffee preparation method". In the process of brewing, he particularly emphasized the "state of mind" of slowly pouring the coffee powder in the funnel with a kettle in both hands. "it's not just coffee, it's the precipitation of the mood at the moment." Different people, different times, different moods will affect the taste of coffee, so it is best to happily make a cup of coffee, so maybe it will not be astringent, in order to extract the taste of the coffee itself. "

With regard to the roasting of coffee beans, he said that coffee beans that have been roasted at medium depth will taste good during their shelf life as long as they are fresh. "because the overall water quality in China is too hard, it is not possible to use tap water directly. The water needs to be softened before it can be boiled. When the boiling water is poured into the kettle, the temperature will be about 90 degrees, and it will be ready for hand flushing. " Hand-made coffee will make people learn to focus, it is a very popular method in Japan, every family will have a set of tools. The "Kono" brewing advocated by Jinfeng requires concentration and concentration. "to finish such a cup of coffee in a very short time, if you are in a very 'scattered' state of mind, the taste will be 'scattered'. So you have to be very focused to make a good cup of coffee. "

The most important thing for beginners is to choose good instruments and be able to "get started" after certain training. "the brewing methods we teach in class are family-style, mostly using drip pots, which are very simple and not very expensive. however, it can show the original taste of coffee incisively and vividly, and remove the 'astringent' taste and impurities."

The ability of slow workers to make fine hand-made coffee is actually a "craft." nowadays, the coffee industry in Japan and South Korea is developing very rapidly. in the view of Jinfeng, China is a "rising star" of coffee culture and has unique conditions. "now there are a lot of very mature methods pouring into China. When we started the coffee shop five years ago, not so many people knew coffee, but now even children love it. "

Link

How to stay at home

Make a cup of coffee by hand

Basic materials:

Coffee beans, hand grinder, filter paper, drip filter cup, hand flushing pot

General steps:

1. Grind coffee beans, because hand-made, coffee bean powder should not be ground too fine (20g beans = 300ml original solution).

two。 Fold the filter paper into a triangular funnel.

3. Put the folded filter paper into the filter cup and wet it with hot water. on the one hand, it can remove the smell from the filter paper, and on the other hand, it can warm the cup to prevent coffee from suddenly turning sour (note: pour out after filtering water).

4. It's steaming. Grind the coffee and pour it into the filter paper. when the hot water cools, pour hot water from the top of the filter cup and the water will not pass the powder.

5. Continue to inject water, draw a circle from the center to inject, the flow is fine and slow, and the extraction is sufficient.

6. When you reach the amount of coffee liquid extraction, remove the filter paper immediately.

Feature article Nanfang Daily reporter Zhou Yu intern Li Guyu

The pictures of this page are provided by the interviewees.