Understanding the Pros and Cons of Siphon Coffee Brewing | Which Tastes Better: Hand-Drip or Siphon Coffee?

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The siphon brewer, with its unique coffee preparation method and remarkably high visual appeal, once became the most popular coffee brewing apparatus of the last century. FrontStreet Coffee mentioned last winter that with the rise of retro trends today, more and more coffee shops are adding siphon coffee options to their menus, allowing friends of the new generation to have the opportunity to enjoy the deliciousness of the past.

Because it is also a brewing method for single-origin coffee, people inevitably compare it with the modern mainstream extraction method—pour-over coffee. Friends who have tasted siphon coffee know that the difference between siphon coffee and pour-over coffee is still quite significant, both in terms of mouthfeel and flavor.

Pour-over coffee tastes cleaner, with more distinct layers and more prominent flavors. Siphon coffee, on the other hand, has a richer mouthfeel, more intense aroma, and more substantial flavor. Therefore, many friends must be curious why the difference between the two is so significant. Today, FrontStreet Coffee will share why coffee made with siphon and pour-over methods has such big differences!

1. Different Extraction Methods

The extraction method of pour-over coffee is mainly "drip filtration," also commonly known as "filtration." When hot water is injected to extract coffee, the coffee liquid simultaneously seeps out from the filter paper. This method is called drip filtration. Some observant friends might notice that FrontStreet Coffee said "mainly" rather than "entirely." Because pour-over coffee also shows immersion characteristics during the brewing process, it's not that water directly washes over the coffee grounds, but rather it stays for a brief time before seeping out from the filter paper. Therefore, pour-over coffee is not entirely drip filtration extraction.

Many friends might think that the extraction method of siphon coffee is "siphon style," but that's not correct~ Because the siphon only uses the siphon principle to draw hot water to the upper chamber, which is not used for coffee extraction.

When hot water is drawn to the upper chamber, adding coffee grounds for immersion marks the official start of extraction. So, to be precise, the extraction method of siphon coffee should be "immersion." By immersing water and coffee grounds, flavor substances from the powder are extracted.

Because immersion extraction uses all the hot water to contact with coffee grounds, when the substances in the water reach a certain level, the dissolution rate will slow down, and it will no longer extract too many flavor substances from the coffee—what we commonly call reaching a saturated state. Therefore, siphon coffee tastes relatively balanced, with full aroma, but the flavors won't be too prominent (this is also somewhat related to the second factor). Drip filtration extraction continuously uses pure hot water to extract flavor substances from the coffee. Pure hot water has a large amount of "storage space" and will continuously extract flavor substances from the coffee. Therefore, coffee made by pour-over will have more abundant coffee flavors, but it's also more prone to over-extraction. It's worth mentioning that compared to conventional immersion extraction, siphon immersion extraction will be somewhat different. Due to the siphon principle, hot water will continuously heat during the coffee extraction process, ensuring the lower chamber has enough air to keep the hot water in the upper chamber. Therefore, siphon immersion extraction is completely constant temperature, while conventional immersion and drip filtration extraction are both processes of continuous temperature loss—the water temperature gradually decreases over time. This leads to siphon having a higher extraction rate, and with stirring, it can complete extraction in a shorter time.

2. Different Filtration Methods

In addition to extraction methods, the filtration methods of the two coffees also greatly affect the coffee's performance. Pour-over coffee uses extremely high-density filter paper, which allows only coffee liquid to pass through—nothing else can get through.

Siphon brewers mainly use flannel filters for filtration, although filter paper can also be used, but because it cannot fully cover, it cannot form a "sealed" space like pour-over coffee. Fine particles, oils, and other substances can pass through gaps and fall into the lower chamber, joining the coffee liquid, which is why siphon coffee looks relatively cloudy. Although oils and fine particles make the coffee liquid less clean, they can provide a richer mouthfeel to the coffee. Therefore, siphon coffee tastes richer for this reason.

Looking at pour-over coffee, it is precisely because it's filtered too cleanly that it lacks some richness, but this is also one of its major advantages—extremely clean! So now we can understand why there's such a big difference in taste between coffee made with siphon and pour-over. It's not just the impact of extraction methods, but more importantly, the different filtration systems give the coffee liquid completely different mouthfeels.

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