Should You Stir When Brewing Coffee with a Siphon? What Happens If You Don't Stir Siphon Coffee?

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When brewing siphon coffee, FrontStreet Coffee's baristas typically use more stirring to accelerate the extraction of coffee grounds, removing the heat source at about one minute to allow the coffee liquid to flow back.

The editor was curious: if we maintain the same parameters as usual but reduce stirring, thereby extending the extraction time, what would happen? So today, we're going to try it out~

Siphon Pot

The main principle of coffee extraction with a siphon pot is achieved through pressure difference. First, the water in the lower chamber is heated to boiling, then the upper chamber is inserted, creating a high-pressure state in the lower pot. Due to the pressure difference between the lower and upper chambers, hot water flows upward to mix with coffee grounds in the upper chamber and extract. When the extraction process is complete, the heat source from the lower chamber is removed, instantly reducing the pressure difference between the upper and lower chambers. The siphon effect between the upper and lower chambers causes the coffee extract to flow back to the lower chamber.

If you want to speed up the return flow of coffee extract, you can wipe the lower chamber with a wet cloth, which will reduce the pressure difference between the upper and lower chambers, making the coffee extract flow back faster.

Bean Introduction

Today, FrontStreet Coffee chose the Costa Rica Gigante Black Honey bean for this experiment. This bean showed excellent fermented wine aroma, strawberry, and sugarcane flavors during cupping. I wonder what flavors it would have when brewed with a siphon?

Costa Rica Gigante Estate

Country: Costa Rica

Estate: Gigante Estate

Grade: SHB

Processing: Black Honey Processing

Altitude: 1700-1800m

Variety: Caturra, Catuai

Experiment

In this experiment, we will stir once after adding the coffee grounds to ensure full contact between coffee and water, then directly steep for 1 minute and 5 minutes to see what differences in flavor emerge~ The basic parameters remain unchanged, only the extraction time is altered.

Parameters: 15g coffee dose, water temperature 90°C, medium grind (BG 6T: 50% pass-through rate on China standard #20 sieve), coffee-to-water ratio: 1:15

Let's first brew a pot using our usual method as a comparison!

Method: Add 225g of water to the lower chamber. When the water temperature reaches 90°C, insert the upper chamber tightly. When water reaches the upper chamber, add the coffee grounds and stir to ensure full contact between coffee and water. Stir again after 30 seconds to break the crust. Remove the heat source at one minute to allow the coffee liquid to flow back. (Timing starts from when grounds are added) Extraction time: 1'20"

Flavor: Fermented wine aroma, citrus, almond, hazelnut, cream.

[Steeping for 1 minute]

Method: Add 225g of water to the lower chamber. When the water temperature reaches 90°C, insert the upper chamber tightly. When water reaches the upper chamber, add the coffee grounds and stir to ensure full contact between coffee and water. Remove the heat source at one minute to allow the coffee liquid to flow back. (Timing starts from when grounds are added) Extraction time: 1'24"

Flavor: Fermented aroma, floral notes, tea fragrance, caramel. Overall flavor is thin, but sweetness is prominent.

[Steeping for 5 minutes]

Method: Add 225g of water to the lower chamber. When the water temperature reaches 90°C, insert the upper chamber tightly. When water reaches the upper chamber, add the coffee grounds and stir to ensure full contact between coffee and water. Remove the heat source at one minute to allow the coffee liquid to flow back. (Timing starts from when grounds are added) Extraction time: 5'34"

Flavor: Fermented aroma, tea fragrance, citrus, cherry, sugarcane. Sweet and sour sensations are relatively more pronounced.

Conclusion

When brewing siphon coffee with coarse grind but without stirring, even with extended extraction time, the resulting coffee extract will still taste weak.

Therefore, FrontStreet Coffee suggests that when brewing siphon coffee, if you don't want to stir, you might try adjusting the grind finer to increase its extraction rate~