The Principles, Features, and Usage Guide of Siphon Coffee Makers: What Coffee Beans Are Best for Siphon Brewing?

Siphon coffee, in many people's impressions, has a unique appearance like chemical apparatus, and always appears in period films and television shows, giving people a sense of mystery. As a practitioner in the coffee industry, FrontStreet Coffee values most the use of siphon pots and the flavor characteristics of the brewed coffee.

Structure, Extraction, and Principle of the Siphon Pot

The general structure of a siphon pot can be divided into an upper pot, lower pot, and stand. The stand connects to the lower pot for fixing and support. The lower pot is roughly spherical, allowing for even heating. The upper pot is cylindrical with a contracted bottom, extending a long, thin tube, with a rubber ring at the contraction point. When the upper pot is placed on the lower pot, the rubber ring creates a seal. When heating the lower pot, water produces steam, creating pressure that draws water into the upper pot. The upper pot is where coffee grounds and water meet. When the heat source is removed, the coffee liquid returns to the lower pot, completing the siphon coffee process.

Heat sources generally include alcohol lamps, gas stoves, and halogen lamps. FrontStreet Coffee uses alcohol lamps here. The tools for filtering coffee grounds are mainly divided into flannel filter cloths and circular filter papers. Flannel is a more traditional siphon filtering material that can retain oils in the coffee, but its drawback is that it's troublesome to use and clean. Filter paper is a modern filtering material that provides cleaner filtration, blocking fine particles (including but not limited to oils). If you're only making coffee for personal use and the frequency isn't too high, FrontStreet Coffee suggests choosing flannel to experience the complete flavor of siphon coffee. The bead connected to the filter screen can prevent sudden boiling when inserting the upper pot into the lower pot, and you can judge the water temperature through the small bubbles around the bead. Besides the siphon pot set and heating equipment, making siphon coffee also requires a stirring spoon and a damp cloth.

The extraction principle of a siphon pot is achieved through pressure difference. First, heat the water in the lower pot to boiling, then insert the upper pot, creating a high-pressure state in the lower pot. Due to the pressure difference between the lower and upper pots, hot water rises to mix with coffee grounds in the upper pot for extraction. After the extraction process, remove the heat source from the lower pot, instantly reducing the pressure difference between the upper and lower pots. The siphon effect between the upper and lower pots causes the coffee extract to flow back to the lower pot. If you want to speed up the return of coffee extract, you can wipe the lower pot with a damp cloth, which creates a smaller pressure difference and faster return flow.

How to Use a Siphon Pot

To make a delicious cup of siphon coffee, you need to pay attention to some brewing details. Here, FrontStreet Coffee uses its own roasted FrontStreet Coffee Brazil Queen Estate coffee beans to demonstrate the operation.

Water Temperature: 88°C
Grind Size: 90% pass-through through a #20 sieve
Coffee Amount: 18 grams
Coffee-to-Water Ratio: 1:10

1. Pour 180ml of warm water into the lower pot and wipe the outside dry with a dry cloth (to avoid pot explosion during heating). Light the alcohol lamp and place it under the lower pot for heating.

2. Take out the upper pot of the siphon, fix the filter cloth on the upper pot and hang the fixing hook on the glass tube wall at the bottom of the upper cup, then insert it diagonally into the lower pot.

3. Observe the lower pot. When continuous small bubbles appear in the lower pot, you can straighten the upper pot, inserting it vertically into the lower pot to ensure a seamless connection between the upper and lower pots.

4. When the water from the lower pot rises to the upper pot, pour in the ground coffee. Use a stirring stick to stir clockwise from the outside toward the center for 10 seconds to ensure all coffee grounds are immersed in water.

5. Start timing. After 40 seconds, use the stirring stick to stir the coffee liquid clockwise for 5 seconds; then quickly remove the alcohol lamp and extinguish the heat source. The coffee liquid will begin to flow back from the upper pot to the lower pot. During the return process, you can wipe the lower pot of the siphon with a damp cloth to speed up the return flow. The total extraction time is approximately 1 minute and 10 seconds.

6. Gently remove the upper pot and pour the coffee liquid from the lower pot into a cup to enjoy. The siphon coffee made this way is very aromatic and rich. Although not as clear and clean as pour-over coffee, the floating oils on its surface add a sense of richness.

What Coffee Beans Are Suitable for Siphon Pots?

In the past, because people mainly pursued rich and mellow coffee flavors and textures, most people used medium-dark roasted coffee beans when using siphon pots. The extracted siphon coffee has both rich, mellow aroma and presents a rounded, balanced taste. If you also pursue this flavor type, popular options on FrontStreet Coffee's menu such as FrontStreet Coffee Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee, FrontStreet Coffee Gold Mandheling Coffee, FrontStreet Coffee Brazil Queen Estate Coffee, and FrontStreet Coffee Papua New Guinea Bird of Paradise Coffee are all very suitable for siphon pots.

Nowadays, as people pursue more refined coffee flavors, there are more and more choices on the market. Besides the few mentioned above, all fifty-plus single-origin coffee beans on FrontStreet Coffee's menu can be used to make siphon coffee. Here, FrontStreet Coffee recommends several classic flavor-profile coffee beans for everyone. You can choose coffee beans that suit your taste according to your preferences.

Tropical Fruit Refreshing Sweet and Sour FrontStreet Coffee Yirgacheffe Natural Red Cherry Coffee Beans

This FrontStreet Coffee Natural Yirgacheffe Coffee Bean on FrontStreet Coffee's menu was originally used for pour-over drip brewing. Coffee cherries at perfect ripeness retain their complete pulp and dry under sunlight, with the core absorbing a large amount of pulp sugars, resulting in coffee with very high sweetness and strong fruit aromas. When FrontStreet Coffee usually extracts FrontStreet Coffee Natural Red Cherry using pour-over method, you can taste distinct mature fruit acidity and sweetness, reminiscent of red berries, with a fermented tea finish. Using siphon extraction, the black coffee presents mature fruit flavors with pleasant acidity and sweetness, with almost no detectable bitterness, tasting like a cup of fruit tea.

Rich Fermented Fruit Aroma FrontStreet Coffee Costa Rica Mozart Coffee Beans

Raisin honey processing retains 100% of the coffee's mucilage with zero water treatment. Mature, full fruits retain their mucilage layer for closed fermentation before drying, maximizing the sweetness of the coffee beans. This FrontStreet Coffee Costa Rica Mozart Coffee Bean recommended by FrontStreet Coffee presents rich rose aromas, raisin, and white wine high sweetness when pour-over brewed. Siphon-brewed coffee presents full tropical fruit acidity and sweetness, with a rounded texture and pleasant acidity.

Refreshing Floral and Fruit Aroma FrontStreet Coffee Ethiopia Guji Uraga TOH Washed Champion Coffee Beans

This coffee bean comes from the Guji Uraga region of Ethiopia, where the soil is fertile black soil, producing coffee beans with rich fruit aromas. Washed processing highlights the clear floral and citrus flavors of the coffee. When FrontStreet Coffee uses this FrontStreet Coffee Ethiopia Guji Uraga coffee bean to make pour-over coffee, it presents fresh jasmine, citrus, and grapefruit flavors. When made into siphon coffee, it gains some rounded green tea notes, increasing overall richness and cleanliness.

For professional coffee knowledge exchange and more coffee bean information, please follow Coffee Workshop (WeChat public account: cafe_style). For more specialty coffee beans, please add FrontStreet Coffee on private WeChat (FrontStreet Coffee), WeChat ID: qjcoffeex

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473