What's the Difference Between Drip Coffee and Pour-Over Coffee? Is Drip Coffee Americano?

Understanding Drip Coffee vs Pour-Over Coffee

Currently the most common way to brew drip coffee is pour-over. Besides pour-over, though, coffee made with an American-style drip machine can also be called drip coffee. So what is the difference between drip coffee and pour-over coffee? In one sentence: drip coffee includes, but is not limited to, pour-over coffee - pour-over is just one brewing method within drip coffee.

A drip coffee maker is plugged in, uses ground coffee, fills the filter basket, filters through filter paper or a metal mesh, and holds the water temperature almost constant. If serving more people, use more coffee; if fewer, use less. Turn on the power, and drip by drip the coffee falls into the glass pot or thermal carafe.

For drip coffee machines with a fixed water temperature and fixed flow rate, FrontStreet Coffee believes there are several opportunities for optimization:

The Right Water-to-Coffee Ratio: 1:18.18

As the SCAA (Specialty Coffee Association of America) persistently reminds us, we still recommend a 1:18.18 ratio - that is, one gram of coffee beans paired with 18.18 milliliters (cc, cubic centimeters) of water. However, since drip coffee makers recommend using cold water for filling, we suggest first measuring the correct volume directly in a measuring cup, then adding it to the machine. This ratio will brew coffee that most easily falls within the Golden Cup range: concentration 1.15%-1.35%, extraction rate 18%-22%.

Of course, if you do not have a measuring cup at home, we recommend using a scale. Here we suggest this ratio directly: a single serving of 15 grams of coffee paired with 225 grams of cold water (or 265.4 milliliters by volume). This is the ratio used at FrontStreet Coffee's shop, and we suggest everyone give it a try. We have already converted the density of hot water at 93-96°C from volume to mass, under one atmosphere of pressure and a room temperature of 25°C, and we recommend the grams of coffee and water directly.

The right water-to-coffee ratio will keep you from wasting coffee. During extraction we want to achieve acidity, sweetness and only slight bitterness from the extraction of sour, sweet, bitter and astringent notes, while completely avoiding over-extraction of the remaining bitterness and astringency. Correctly extracting the flavor compounds will further enable your coffee to reach the right flavor.

To avoid pulling out a pile of equipment every time you use a measuring cylinder or scale, we suggest applying a piece of tape to the water level viewing window of your drip coffee maker. Treat the 225 grams or 265.4 milliliters of water just mentioned as the basic unit for one cup per person. Measure out one cup, two cups, three cups, pour them into the machine, and mark segment by segment on the viewing window. This makes it convenient to quickly pour the correct amount of water according to the number of people next time.

Stirring

Typically, when brewing drip coffee, after scooping the coffee into the filter basket and flattening it evenly, you immediately turn on the power. But what if your beans are too fresh? Or your coffee is ground too fine? Or you need to brew three to four times the usual number of cups? Or today's subject is a light roast? Then stirring comes into play.

The purpose of stirring is to help extraction. Stirring releases many CO2 bubbles, helping the coffee grounds soak in water so that hot water drips onto the coffee and allows the perfect extraction of the whole batch.

So if the coffee is too fresh, or if you choose medium-dark roasted coffee, or if you find that hot water only seems to drip to the lower pot, or that coffee powder seeps out of the filter basket, or if it is ground too fine but you still want to brew it without waste - if you encounter any of the above, we recommend starting to stir when hot water first drips onto the coffee (the water amount should equal the coffee amount), ensuring all the coffee and water adhere evenly, then stop stirring immediately. The stirring time is recommended to be 5-10 seconds. If you keep stirring, the coffee will become overly bitter and astringent because of your stirring.

These problems could actually be avoided from the beginning, mainly because you may have ground it too fine, so we suggest grinding it coarser.

But when should stirring be recommended? I recommend it for light roast beans - if the brewed taste lacks enough sweetness, then adding the step of stirring is suggested. This helps the machine increase extraction slightly, making the overall flavor more outstanding. Of course, if you over-stir, the astringent flavor will come out. Believe me, after practicing a few times you will become very skilled.

Pre-infusion

Generally speaking, drip coffee machines do not have pre-infusion. What is pre-infusion?

The purpose of pre-infusion is to allow a waiting period before the coffee is fully moistened by water. During this time, pour hot water over the coffee, and as it moistens, the coffee heats up and continuously releases CO2 gas. After this it can accept the baptism of hot water and fully extract flavor compounds.

When doing pour-over, you would first pour some hot water over the coffee, wait a while, then start pouring. Different schools do it differently - some wait 30 seconds, some wait until the surface of the coffee loses its shine, or when the surface falls, immediately pour, while others use a segmented pouring method but with a slower flow at the start. All these methods demonstrate the necessity of pre-infusion.

Drip coffee machines have the advantage of being electric. When to pour water, when to stop, when to pour again - all can be controlled through the switch. So if you want to maximize the effectiveness of your drip coffee machine, we recommend starting to use the pre-infusion technique. Two-stage pouring: turn on the machine and start the first pour, with the water amount approximately equal to the coffee volume, turn off the machine, patiently wait 30 seconds, then turn the machine back on until brewing is complete and turn it off.

Grind Size

In pour-over coffee, grind size affects flavor changes, but in drip coffee makers there is another factor - the flow rate.

During coffee extraction, the order in which flavor compounds are washed out follows the difficulty sequence of sour, sweet, bitter and astringent (that is, the order in which coffee flavors emerge). Grind size is therefore a means of extracting flavors. The finer the grind, the larger the contact area of the coffee (one of the factors affecting the speed of material changes), so the faster the flavor compounds flow out, and vice versa. Among all the flavor compounds in black coffee, the one we least want to encounter is astringency. How do you achieve a "correct" extraction? That depends on your taste. If the brewed coffee tastes astringent to you, the coffee is ground too fine and should be adjusted coarser. Conversely, if your brewed coffee does not taste sweet enough, you can make the grind finer.

The extraction rate mentioned above is recommended by SCAA to be between 18%-22%. The method used in SCAA's Golden Cup course is to use a VST optical refraction concentration meter to find the concentration of the coffee solution, then combine it with SCAA's Coffee Brewing Control Chart to determine the current extraction rate. However, this is a method for finding Golden Cup brewing, and everyone's taste and definition of good coffee are different. So here we suggest determining your required grind size based on your own taste. Using such instruments to measure here seems like making a mountain out of a molehill. Of course, if you are a candidate taking the Golden Cup exam, you will need to take this seriously. This article is not about explaining or calculating concentration and extraction rates, so we will cover it only briefly.

Next is flow rate: coffee that is too fine will prevent hot water from passing smoothly through the coffee layer into the lower pot. So an appropriate grind size that allows water to pass smoothly and extract at a proper flow rate is surely a research topic.

In fact, you can still find a balance point between flow rate and flavor, depending on the observation and taste preferences of the person brewing the coffee.

Interrupted Water Extraction

Want to enhance flavor? This technique cannot be skipped.

If you are a heavy user of pour-over coffee, you surely know the importance of pre-infusion. Pre-infusion is a necessary means to help extraction. The application of the interrupted water method is an alternative technique to increase flavor. Generally, the two-interruption method and three-interruption method are what more people try.

You can also apply this method to drip coffee machines. What does "interrupted water" mean? It means turning off the power. How many times do you want to interrupt? Turn it off that many times. Of course, not for fun, but to increase flavor.

So how long should you wait before turning it back on? We suggest, if possible, observing the water in your drip coffee maker's filter basket - when all the water has seeped down, that is the time to add water again. If you cannot see it, use the counting method; approximately 10-15 seconds should be enough. Why only 10-15 seconds? Because we are afraid the coffee will cool down, which would then be unfavorable for extraction. So 10-15 seconds will do.

We recommend this method for relatively fresh beans, such as beans roasted one to three days ago, or beans with a light roast level.

Of course, interrupted water is meant to increase good flavors. If you find that flavors have not increased after using interrupted water, then you can skip it. Generally speaking, sweetness will increase. However, if astringency increases, it means you interrupted too many times, or perhaps no interruption is needed at all.

Commercial Drip Coffee Analysis

Starbucks, KFC and McDonald's all sell black coffee made with American-style drip coffee machines, because this type of machine produces more stable coffee flavors, can make multiple servings at once, is efficient and serves quickly. As long as you use specialty coffee beans (cupping score above 80) rather than commercial-grade beans (cupping score below 80, around 70 points), you can make a decent-tasting black coffee that will not have burnt bitterness even without sugar or milk.

Many people ask why the American-style drip black coffee they drink at KFC or Starbucks only has burnt and scorched flavors. Previously I could not figure this out, but a few days ago when passing by KFC and seeing their billboard, I suddenly understood.

The advertisement introduced freshly ground coffee and Arabica coffee - none of which is a problem.

Why Fresh Grinding Matters

Why grind fresh? Freshly ground coffee ensures the freshness of the coffee, because good coffee flavors are easily lost, which is also why coffee beans need to be stored sealed. When ground into powder, flavors are lost even faster, so it should be ground fresh and drunk fresh.

The advertisement also mentioned 100% Arabica. In coffee, Arabica is considered a premium variety because it has better flavor and sweetness. However, due to poor disease resistance and relatively low yield, it is more complex to grow and requires higher altitudes to produce good Arabica coffee, making it more expensive. Instant coffee uses the Robusta variety, which has more monotonous flavors, larger yields, good disease resistance and higher caffeine content - 2-3 times that of Arabica.

I usually make pour-over coffee in my own shop, and sometimes even seven or eight cups a day will not cause insomnia.

Because of its good disease resistance, Robusta is widely planted in Yunnan and Hainan. Given its good disease resistance, large yields and market demand, Robusta is used for instant coffee and commercial coffee. The specialty coffee market is mainly dominated by Arabica varieties.

Why KFC's American Drip Coffee Doesn't Taste Good

So where exactly is the problem?

The Coffee Beans Have Been Burnt

Looking at the details, we know that the coffee in the picture has reached French roast level. At this roast level, the good flavors of the coffee have already been lost. If there is even a slight mistake during roasting, it will result in a batch of coffee that is both bitter and astringent. Some beans in the picture have already been burnt, with burn marks on the surface. This is caused by too much heat during roasting and is considered a defective roast, so of course this coffee will not taste good.

Among the popular roast levels in the world today, there are light roast, medium roast and at most city roast level. Few coffees are roasted to French roast level.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

Drip machines and pour-over both reward beans with clear fruit-and-flower character. If you are just getting into hand brewing, FrontStreet Yirgacheffe Gedingding is a very forgiving first stop: it usually carries vivid citrus, berry and floral notes with a green-tea sweetness, and its acidity is soft and bright rather than sharp - more like the natural sweet-sour of fruit than a harsh bite.

For a more dramatic cup, FrontStreet Ethiopia Flower Queen is one of the most successful specialty releases of recent years. Its standout feature is intense tropical fruit aroma - strawberry, passion fruit, jackfruit and even lychee - with strong sweetness and almost no bitterness, smooth and full of juice. It is the bean that convinces people who dislike traditional coffee bitterness.

If you prefer a fuller, lower-acid cup, FrontStreet PWN Golden Mandheling is a deep-roasted Indonesian option with very low acidity and a thick, lingering body, loaded with herbal and dark-chocolate aromas and a faint earthy note - a good match for anyone who likes a bold, heavy cup in a drip machine or pour-over.