Coffee Beginner Q&A Collection | How Much Circulation for Milk and Coffee Fusion? What's the Ideal Coffee Ground Layer State for Pour-Over

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Coffee Q&A for Beginners

Hello everyone! It's been quite a while since we shared our beginner Q&A collection. Today, the editor brings you several questions from beginners or novices along with answers, so we can learn and exchange together~

Why does Mandheling coffee have a minty flavor?

Regarding minty flavor, this herbal plant aroma does indeed exist in Mandheling coffee, but the editor needs to break down the minty flavor into mint aroma and mint mouthfeel~

First, the aroma of mint. Friends who have eaten mint leaves know that mint itself doesn't have much taste (sweet, sour, or bitter). What we actually perceive is the aroma (flavor). The cool sensation in the throat that we can actually taste in coffee is the mouthfeel of mint, or more precisely, a cooling sensation similar to menthol components. Additionally, another famous coffee that causes this cooling sensation in the throat after drinking is civet coffee. The musk components in it also create a cooling sensation, but only authentic Indonesian civet coffee that feeds on Mandheling coffee beans has this effect! The unique herbal medicine aroma of Mandheling and the regional flavors of Indonesia create this unique mouthfeel!

When making milk coffee, should you stir in large circles or small circles for integration?

This question首先要问: Is your milk foam steamed well?

First: If the milk foam is too coarse and you haven't removed the excess thick foam, yet still want to create latte art, to give the milk coffee fluidity, you must stir in large circles and raise the height of the milk flow during integration. However, this will bring too much coffee crema into the milk coffee, causing the surface color to appear lighter.

Second: If the milk foam is steamed very well, during integration, you basically just need to make integration movements around a coin-sized area in the center of the milk coffee. If you stir in circles that are too large, it will actually create turbulence that affects subsequent latte art and also damages the taste of the coffee. For specifics, please refer to "Do the integration well before making latte art."

As for which strength to use and what posture? The editor believes you need to use both arm strength and wrist strength, plus fine adjustments with your fingers. Muscle movement is a set of dynamic balance actions. You can't say you must use strength from one part and not use strength from another. But if you're taught to only move your wrist or only your arm, you'll never be able to integrate properly no matter how much you practice!

Should the coffee grounds bed be concave or flat after brewing?

This is a common question among pour-over coffee enthusiasts.

Actually, we might more commonly encounter concave grounds beds when brewing only around a coin-sized center area, while brewing methods that completely extract the entire coffee will result in flat grounds beds. This difference is caused by pouring technique and range. The editor understands it this way: as long as you can extract a delicious cup of coffee, even if the grounds bed is convex, it's acceptable! However, the prerequisite is uniformity. This uniformity indicates even water flow during pouring and even extraction. If the grounds bed is high on one side and low on the other, or has an uneven surface, it means the water flow impact is uneven, leading to uneven coffee extraction!

So how can you make the water flow even? One word: practice!

How to practice?

First, practice the stability of your water flow. Try to consistently fill a mug with a uniform-sized water stream. Note that the water flow should be perpendicular to the desktop and cannot form a parabola.

Then, on the basis of the first step, practice pouring around a coin-sized area. Note that you should pour in parallel circles without sudden rises and falls, otherwise it will cause uneven water flow pressure.

What if my pour-over kettle tends to "splash water" in a parabola? What should I do?

As shown in the picture above, when parabolic water flow reaches the near side of the kettle, the lower water flow is actually scouring roughly the middle layer. When circling to the far side of the kettle, it's almost hitting the filter paper! Therefore, the editor suggests that students who have bought this type of pour-over kettle or are used to parabolic water flow techniques should try to consciously pull back a bit, keeping the final landing point of the water parabola near the center. This way, you won't have normal extraction on one side and filter paper scouring on the other!

That's all for today's topic. Welcome to contact us with any questions and suggestions~ FrontStreet Coffee will do our best to answer your questions!

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