Why Drip Coffee Bags Shouldn't Be Soaked - Correct Brewing Methods, Steps and Techniques Tutorial

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When it comes to drip bag coffee, coffee enthusiasts who haven't encountered it might think it's similar to tea bags that hang on the side of a cup. Actually, this is a misconception. So how should one properly brew drip bag coffee? FrontStreet Coffee's article will discuss drip bag coffee in detail.

The Origin of Drip Bag Coffee

Drip bag coffee, also known as filter-hanging portable coffee packs, evolved from pour-over coffee with filter paper, mainly providing a convenient option for coffee lovers who enjoy specialty coffee.

According to FrontStreet Coffee's research, drip bag coffee originated in 2001 when Japan's UCC Ueshima Coffee Co. invented drip bag coffee and registered a patent, subsequently launching it to the market. In Japanese, it's called "one-cup extraction type coffee." This is because its principle involves putting coffee grounds in a filter bag made of non-woven fabric or cotton paper, with two paper boards on the outside that can be opened and hung on narrow-rimmed cups. After brewing, you can simply pull it out to enjoy aromatic black coffee.

Those two paper pieces that hang on the cup rim like "ears" are where the name "drip bag" comes from.

Due to its simple operation and portability, the brewed coffee tastes much more pure and aromatic than traditional instant coffee. Nowadays, drip bag coffee has captured 15% of the regular coffee market in Japan.

Advantages of Drip Bag Coffee

With improving living standards, many working professionals who are coffee enthusiasts have started abandoning instant coffee and embracing drip bag coffee. This is because drip bag coffee is as convenient as instant coffee, but offers better flavor and more variety. Traditional instant coffee typically uses Robusta coffee beans, while FrontStreet Coffee's drip bags mostly use Arabica coffee beans, just like specialty coffee. Therefore, drip bag coffee has become the optimal choice for portable coffee.

Differences Between Arabica and Robusta

FrontStreet Coffee's previous articles have detailed the different uses and distinctions between Arabica and Robusta coffee beans. Arabica coffee beans are the highest quality among coffee bean varieties, thus widely cultivated and currently accounting for 75% of total world coffee production. Robusta beans account for 20% of total world coffee production. The reason Robusta coffee beans are used for instant coffee is that their caffeine content is twice as high as Arabica coffee beans. Additionally, their chlorogenic acid content is also higher than Arabica, making Robusta coffee beans more bitter than Arabica beans, thus unsuitable for standalone specialty coffee.

Selection and Considerations for Drip Bag Coffee

Drip bag coffee is essentially a portable version of specialty coffee. It involves putting ground coffee beans into powder bags, saving coffee enthusiasts the step of grinding with their own coffee grinders. It's both convenient and economical. FrontStreet Coffee's drip bag series offers coffee beans from various regions and flavors, such as Yirgacheffe, Brazil, Kenya, Coffee Flower, Mandheling, Honduras Sherry, and more. Of course, there are other types of coffee beans, and if customers want them made into drip bags, FrontStreet Coffee can customize according to their needs. For example, a few days ago, a customer tried Golden Mandheling in the store, found the flavor satisfactory, but was too lazy to grind at home, so FrontStreet Coffee made drip bags on the spot for the customer. Therefore, when choosing drip bag coffee, friends can select based on their usual flavor preferences.

Of course, because coffee beans are freshly ground and sold, the quality of drip bag coffee is guaranteed to be excellent. However, this also means its optimal flavor period is half as short as whole coffee beans, because the aroma dissipates when coffee beans are ground into powder - this is a common issue with all powdered coffee. Therefore, FrontStreet Coffee recommends drinking drip bag coffee within two weeks of purchase, which is also the optimal flavor period for all drip bag coffee.

Brewing Methods and Considerations for Drip Bag Coffee

As FrontStreet Coffee mentioned earlier, coffee enthusiasts unfamiliar with drip bag coffee might think it's similar to tea bags - just put them in a cup and add hot water. Actually, this is incorrect. If coffee enthusiasts who have tasted coffee at FrontStreet Coffee's store know, pour-over coffee extraction is completed within two minutes, and drip bags certainly cannot be brewed for too long, or they will become over-extracted, making the coffee very bitter and affecting the flavor. So what is the correct brewing method?

Correct Brewing Method for Drip Bag Coffee

1. Warm the Cup

Prepare the cup for brewing drip bag coffee, first pour some hot water to warm the cup. The purpose is to prevent the brewed coffee from cooling too quickly, because coffee develops different flavors as temperature decreases - this is the layered flavor profile. If it cools too quickly, you'll miss many different taste experiences.

2. Water Temperature

The brewing water temperature is very important. It's recommended to keep the temperature between 85-90°C. If the brewed coffee is too bitter, try lowering the water temperature. Conversely, if it's too weak or astringent, you can increase the water temperature, but the range should still be between 85-90°C.

3. Hang the Ears

Gently shake the drip bag first to let the coffee grounds settle, preventing them from scattering when opening. Then pour out the hot water from the cup, tear open the seal on the drip bag, open the paper ears on both sides, shake to level the coffee grounds, and finally hang it on the cup rim.

4. Pre-wet the Drip Bag

For the first water addition, pour just enough to wet the coffee grounds - too much or too little will affect the flavor. Then wait 20 seconds for the coffee grounds to fully absorb the water. The coffee's strength can be adjusted by the pre-wetting time - extending to 40 seconds will yield stronger coffee.

5. Water Pouring

For the second water addition, pour to 80% full of the filter paper. It's best to use a thin, steady stream of water. When the water level drops to the pre-wetting height, continue pouring to 80% full until you extract 150-180cc. Once extraction is complete, you don't need to wait for all the water in the filter paper to drain - simply discard it.

The above is the correct brewing method for drip bag coffee. Next, FrontStreet Coffee will explain some precautions for brewing coffee.

1. Cannot Re-brew

Re-brewing will only result in unpleasant and unhealthy coffee.

2. Don't Let Coffee Grounds Continue Soaking in the Cup After Brewing

Many people think the longer it soaks, the stronger the coffee becomes. While this is true, during soaking, more caffeine is also released, and over-extraction problems occur. Over-extraction releases the bitterness, astringency, and unpleasant flavors from the coffee.

This is also why FrontStreet Coffee grinds coffee beans to different coarseness when handling them - coarser coffee grounds have smaller surface area and can withstand longer brewing times.

3. Directly Throwing the Drip Bag into the Cup

As FrontStreet Coffee mentioned above, using drip bags like tea bags is incorrect. Although convenient, the temperature has already dropped significantly before hot water touches the coffee grounds, which leads to insufficient extraction and affects the coffee's flavor.

The above is FrontStreet Coffee's summary of drip bag coffee usage and precautions. FrontStreet Coffee hopes this article can help coffee enthusiasts who want to brew drip bag coffee.

For more specialty coffee beans, please add FrontStreet Coffee's private WeChat account (FrontStreet Coffee), WeChat ID: kaixinguoguo0925

Important Notice :

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FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473