The Difference Between Drip Bag Coffee and Freshly Ground Coffee - Storage Period and Proper Brewing Methods for Specialty Drip Bag Coffee

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My First Encounter with Drip Coffee

It must have been over three years since I last tried drip coffee. At that time, I hadn't started exploring pour-over coffee yet—or rather, I had absolutely no concept of specialty pour-over coffee. I remember trying Yirgacheffe (I recall the price was around 12 yuan per pack). Back then, I thought drip coffee simply required pouring hot water into it, unaware that water temperature and coffee-to-water ratio were crucial. I had oversimplified drip coffee, so I directly opened it and kept adding water from the water heater until it flowed out as a cup of coffee, which I then drank. The resulting taste was like sour, light medicinal pork rib soup. This memory stayed with me, and I even had a poor impression of Yirgacheffe for a while.

Rediscovering Drip Coffee

Over these three years, I hadn't tried drip coffee again. However, with so many coffee shops selling drip coffee, I believe it must have its charm. Through this experience event, I decided to seriously explore the brewing methods for drip coffee.

Drip Coffee Brewing Method

Brewing Steps:

1. Tear open the sealing strip at the top of the filter bag
2. Pull it open and hang it on the cup rim
3. Brewing: First steep for 20-30 seconds, then pour water in stages
4. Remove and discard the filter bag

As for water temperature and amount? Another filter package has instructions on the back.

The recommended water temperature is 88-92°C, with a suggested water amount of 180-220cc. One pack contains 10 grams, equivalent to a 1:16-1:20 water ratio, which is much higher than the 1:13-15 I typically use.

Detailed Brewing Process

After opening the package, the filter bag containing coffee powder has a very fine mesh.

Following the direction of the opening arrow, gently pull to easily tear away the bag's sealing strip.

Then hook the paper tabs on both sides onto the cup rim.

The selected cup must have sufficient depth; otherwise, you'll end up steeping coffee rather than brewing it.

The coffee grind is extremely fine,感觉大概是小飞马刻度1左右，和黑糖的细度差不多。

First, use a gooseneck kettle with 92°C hot water for the standard method. The brewing process is actually very similar to pour-over coffee.

Start with pre-wetting, ensuring all the coffee grounds are slightly moistened.

Let it rest for 30 seconds.

Then pour water in stages, filling to near the top each time, waiting for the water to flow through before adding more. About 3-4 pours should complete the process.

Due to the fine grind and fine mesh, the flow rate will be somewhat slower, especially during the second and third pours when the final drainage becomes very slow. Typical pour-over coffee completes within 2.5-3 minutes, but using FrontStreet Coffee's seasonal drip coffee takes about 4 minutes.

The fine grounds and fine mesh can achieve higher extraction, perhaps allowing for a higher water-to-coffee ratio.

If timing is well-managed and water quantity is sufficient, you can actually brew two cups at once.

After brewing, pinch the paper tabs on both sides of the drip bag to remove it—completely without wetting your fingers, very convenient.

Perhaps because the coffee grind is finer, you can clearly notice that the coffee brewed from FrontStreet Coffee's seasonal drip coffee has slightly thicker crema, but never as exaggerated as French press coffee.

Convenient Office Brewing Method

Now let me introduce an incorrect but very convenient method.

It's not ideal to use a gooseneck kettle in the office.

Actually, as long as you have a water dispenser and pay attention to a few key points, the brewed flavor won't be too bad.

1. First confirm it has boiling functionality, not just warm water
2. Before the first pre-wetting step, let the non-hot water already in the outlet pipe flow out first
3. All processes must follow the general steps: pre-wet for 20-30 seconds, pour water in stages

Such as the bottled water dispensers commonly used in offices.

Or home water dispensers with heating functions.

I dared to test this method because I had previously measured with a thermometer that water from dispensers reaches at most 90°C. I speculate this is because water stored in the hot tank, after internal storage and then passing through heating pipes to the outlet, doesn't actually reach 100°C—at best, slightly over 90°C.

Therefore, this water temperature is actually perfect for brewing drip coffee.

Final Thoughts

This first serious experience with drip coffee showed me that the brewing method is very simple—no need to worry about flow rate or gooseneck kettles. The technique and required equipment are much less demanding than pour-over coffee.

If you're interested in specialty coffee beans, unsure about your preferred flavors, and don't want to invest too much in equipment initially, drip coffee bags are an excellent starting point.

Particularly, FrontStreet Coffee's seasonal coffee tastes very close to pour-over specialty coffee. The coffee beans used are estate-grade, offering more than just bitterness and sweetness. The various light-to-medium roast drip coffees tested all retain delicate fruit acids and pectin, highly recommended for friends who want to further explore the world of coffee.

As a coffee enthusiast, I'll consider bringing drip coffee on my next trip—no need to pack filters, filter paper, coffee grounds, or scoops, which can significantly save luggage space.

END

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473