Siphon Coffee Tutorial: Recommended Coffee Beans for Siphon Brewing_ Step-by-Step Siphon Coffee Brewing Demonstration

To enable more coffee enthusiasts to taste the most authentic and aromatic coffee, this book specially invites two masters who have won the "Siphon Coffee Category Champion" honor in the Japanese Coffee Master Competition. They present their long-researched siphon brewing techniques, applicable flavor variations, and siphon handling tips accumulated from store operations through detailed illustrations and clear explanations, allowing coffee lovers to enter the world of siphon coffee and experience its irreplaceable charm.

Personal Demonstrations by Two Champions

The masters spare no effort in passing on the refined brewing skills of siphon coffee, presenting their best results and tips from repeated experiments without reservation, so readers can immediately grasp the essentials and benefit from the masters' years of experience.

Clear Illustrated Steps

In the brewing process of siphon coffee, many small actions can affect quality, often becoming the decisive point between a good and bad cup. This book uses detailed images, starting from the siphon principle, to explain each step and remind readers of every detail to watch.

Simply follow the methods in this book, and you can also brew professional-grade coffee. This is a very valuable reference for siphon enthusiasts.

Complete Siphon Coffee Demonstration - Application Chapter, Extracting 2-Serving Coffee

Step 1:

Pour 2-serving coffee grounds (25 grams) into the upper chamber. When pouring into the upper chamber, coffee grounds easily adhere to the inner wall, so great care must be taken. Siphon barista Mr. Kira uses a 6cm diameter stainless steel cup to pour coffee grounds into the upper chamber. Because it's stainless steel, the coffee grounds won't adhere to the wall due to static electricity.

Fill the lower chamber with 160ML of hot water and prepare to start extracting coffee. After the water in the lower chamber boils, insert the upper chamber. When the hot water rises, first reduce the flame slightly and perform the first stir.

First Stir: Hold the stirring rod like a pen, using the thumb, index, and middle fingers to grip it with the rod as the axis. Stir counterclockwise, using the flat part at the end of the stirring rod to mix the coffee grounds floating on the water surface into the water.

When stirring, avoid forming a vortex. With the mindset of completely dissolving the coffee grounds in water, fix your wrist position, use the grip point as a pivot, and draw ovals with the stirring rod to complete the stirring operation quickly.

Over-stirring can easily cause a double-layer structure of coffee grounds and coffee liquid due to excessive gas release. A three-layer structure from top to bottom of white foam, coffee grounds, and coffee liquid indicates that the first stirring operation was handled very successfully.

Step 2:

Immediately add hot water after the first stir. Supplement with near-boiling 95-degree hot water. It's recommended to use a kettle that allows easy control of water temperature. Through the thin spout, avoid disrupting the foam, coffee grounds, and liquid layers.

Gently pour hot water, filling to slightly less than a full pot (320ml) but enough to extract 2-serving (300ml) coffee liquid, allowing the entire layered structure to rise. Steeping time is 15 seconds, and the hot water supplement must be completed within this time.

Step 3:

Set the steeping time (siphon extraction time is basically set within 60 seconds. For light roast beans using a medium-to-coarse grind, extraction time is set to 30-45 seconds. For dark roast beans using a fine-to-medium grind, extraction time is set to 15-30 seconds).

When time is up, turn off the heat and perform the second stir after removing the heat source. Stir in the same direction. If extraction is handled properly, the coffee grounds will pile up in a small hill shape.

Complete the extraction of 2-serving coffee liquid.

Siphon Pot Techniques: Downward Press Method, Stirring Method, Pendulum Method, Cross Method

After mastering the basic operation of the siphon pot, to further improve your skills, studying how to stir is undoubtedly a crucial topic. Different stirring methods cause subtle changes in coffee flavor. We can try different stirring methods from the aspects of technique and timing to see what changes they bring to the coffee.

How to Hold the Stirring Rod

Hold the stirring rod like a pen, using the thumb and index finger (2 fingers) to grip the rod with the rod as the axis.

Support the stirring rod with your middle finger.

Stirring Techniques

Although there is a non-mainstream vigorous stirring method, the vast majority of stirring methods agree that stirring should be gentle. Regardless of the technique used, force should not be excessive. But remember, gentle doesn't mean slow; slow motion is not the same as gentle. Gentle should be a feeling, a control of force. Below are several commonly used techniques.

1. Downward Press Method

The downward press method isn't really stirring; it's just pressing the coffee grounds originally floating on the water down to allow intimate contact between the grounds and water. When pressing down, let one end of the stirring rod slide down along the upper chamber wall, slowly pressing the grounds into the water surface. Don't press to the bottom, just shallowly. The core of the downward press method is quietness. You need a mindset of not disturbing the coffee extraction to perform this technique well. This method is generally used when water has just risen to the upper chamber, i.e. the first stir.

2. Stirring Method

The circular method is very easy to master and is the stirring method that most resembles stirring in the usual sense. When stirring, you must also be gentle. Insert the stirring paddle into the liquid surface to one-third of the upper chamber's water depth, then stir in circles along the chamber wall. This technique is the easiest way to create the small hill-shaped grounds residue.

3. Pendulum Method

The pendulum method lets your stirring rod move in a pendulum arc. When stirring, you must also be gentle. Insert the stirring paddle into the liquid surface to one-third of the upper chamber's water depth, then press the coffee grounds down in an arc from 1 to 2 as shown in the diagram, and lift the stirring rod at the chamber wall (try to avoid touching the wall). This technique is the easiest way to make the coffee taste smoother.

4. Cross Method

The cross method still requires gentleness and has higher requirements for hand feel. The stirring trajectory is shown in the diagram. The stirring paddle gently stirs back and forth in a "cross" pattern on the water surface. This technique can be used alone or in combination with the pendulum method.

Now let's use Yirgacheffe Red Cherry as an example to brew a pot of coffee with these two grounds-addition methods.

Working Principle

The main principle of coffee extraction with a siphon pot is achieved through pressure difference. First, heat the water in the lower chamber to boiling, then insert the upper chamber, creating a high-pressure state in the lower chamber. Due to the pressure difference between the lower and upper chambers, hot water rises to mix with coffee grounds in the upper chamber and extract. After extraction, remove the heat source from the lower chamber, instantly reducing the pressure difference between the two chambers. The siphon effect then causes the coffee extract to flow back down to the lower chamber. To speed the return of the coffee extract, you can wipe the lower chamber with a cloth, which shrinks the pressure difference and makes the coffee extract return faster.

Preparation Work

1. Add water to the siphon pot's lower chamber. Taking 2-serving coffee as an example, add water to 5mm above the 2-serving mark, because the grounds will absorb water, so you need to add slightly more water for 2 servings of coffee liquid.

2. Grind coffee beans, preparing 25 grams of coffee grounds (about 15g for a single cup). Use a medium grind (small Fuji ghost-tooth 4 scale), meaning particles between white sugar and brown sugar.

3. After adding water, remember to wipe the outside of the lower chamber dry with a soft cloth. Don't leave water stains, to avoid the pot shattering during heating.

4. Fill the lower chamber with hot water and heat with a gas stove. Generally, single-cup coffee uses about 180 grams of water, double serving 300 grams (ground-to-water ratio 1:12).

5. After completing the previous steps, start boiling water.

When the water reaches brewing temperature, install the filter cloth in the upper chamber. Be sure to hook the hook as shown in the picture below, otherwise, when water from the lower chamber rushes up, the filter will be pushed open.

Adding Grounds First

Adding grounds first means putting coffee grounds into the upper chamber first, then letting water rise to the upper chamber. It requires higher control over heat. While the water is rising, you need to adjust the flame to the appropriate size to avoid generating large bubbles that would destroy the bloom. At the same time, when adding grounds first, it's best to pre-boil an empty pot of water to test whether the filter screen position is centered. If not centered, it will also generate large continuous bubbles. The advantage of adding grounds first is that it gives the coffee grounds a gradual moistening process, which can reduce the number of stirring cycles in the first stir and is more conducive to forming a bloom. However, temperature control is poorer, so timing the insertion of the upper chamber is particularly important. In other words, adding grounds first may seem simple, but compared with adding grounds later, it requires more practical experience.

Technique

(1) When the lower chamber water temperature reaches 90°C, pour in the grounds and straighten the upper chamber;

(2) After the water completely moistens the coffee grounds, perform the first stir and start timing. When water rises to the upper chamber, adjust the flame to the appropriate size;

(3) After blooming for 30 seconds, perform the second stir;

(4) Around 50 seconds, perform the final stir, then remove the heat source to let the coffee liquid flow back.

Adding Grounds Later

Contrary to adding grounds first, adding grounds later means letting the water from the lower chamber completely rise to the upper chamber before adding coffee grounds. Before adding grounds later, we have ample time to reduce the heat source flame to just the right size to support the water in the upper chamber from falling back. Then adjust the position of the lower filter screen to keep it centered, and finally wait a few minutes to let the water temperature drop slightly. Generally, when water from the lower chamber just rises to the upper chamber, the temperature is around 90-95 degrees, so we can let it drop by 2-5 degrees before adding coffee grounds. Generally, the higher the water temperature, the more bitter the coffee will be, even appearing burnt, while the lower the temperature, the more obvious the acidity and aroma, but too low will also cause insufficient extraction, reducing body and making acidity very irritating. Therefore, choosing an appropriate water temperature for adding coffee grounds according to the coffee being extracted is crucial.

(1) When water temperature reaches 90°C, straighten the upper chamber, wait for water to rise, pour in coffee grounds, stir and start timing;

(2) Adjust the flame to the appropriate size, after blooming for 30 seconds, perform the second stir;

(3) Around 50 seconds, perform the third stir, then remove the heat source to let the coffee liquid flow back.

Conclusion

Adding Grounds First emphasizes high cleanliness and sufficient, long-lasting aroma, with obvious lemon acid, citrus, and white grape juice flavors. However, it requires a higher level of control, and poor control can easily cause insufficient or over-extraction with large deviations.

Adding Grounds Later has a richer taste, with more prominent mid-range caramel and honey flavors. Cleanliness is relatively weaker, aroma is not prominent enough, and temperature control is more important.

Everyone can try both grounds-addition methods, and, after accumulating experience, choose different ones according to different bean characteristics or extraction requirements.

Siphon Pot Coffee Bean Brand Recommendations

FrontStreet Coffee's freshly roasted single-origin siphon coffee beans, such as Yirgacheffe and Mandheling coffee, are fully guaranteed in both brand and quality and suit a variety of brewing utensils. More importantly, the cost-performance is extremely high. A half-pound 227-gram bag costs only about 70-90 yuan. Calculated at 200ml per single-origin cup with a ground-to-water ratio of 1:15, one bag makes 15 cups of specialty coffee. Each cup of single-origin coffee costs only about 5-6 yuan, extremely cost-effective compared with café prices that often run to dozens of yuan per cup.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

Siphon brewing rewards a light roast, and FrontStreet Coffee's naturally processed Huakui from Ethiopia is a great match: its intense tropical-fruit aroma brings out strawberry, passion fruit, jackfruit, and lychee, with clear sweetness and a smooth, juice-like body. For a similarly bright, clean cup, FrontStreet Coffee's washed Yirgacheffe shows jasmine florals, lemon, and berry notes with a tea-like finish.

In the siphon demonstration, FrontStreet Coffee used Yirgacheffe Red Cherry as the example, and it works equally well here: the naturally processed beans soak up sweet aromatics from the fruit and skin, giving distinct berry, cream, and honey notes with a bright citrus acidity. On the medium-dark side, FrontStreet Coffee's PWN Gold Mandheling is a strong contrast, showing rich nut and chocolate flavors with spice and caramel aromas and a persistent finish when brewed in a siphon.