Does Drip Bag Coffee Need Blooming? How to Brew Drip Bag Coffee for the Best Taste?

For professional coffee knowledge exchange and more coffee bean information, please follow Coffee Workshop (WeChat public account: cafe_style).

Recently, some friends have asked whether blooming is necessary when brewing drip bag coffee. In this installment of our Coffee Brewing Laboratory, we'll test whether blooming is essential for drip bag coffee!

Experiment Setup

For this experiment, we used FrontStreet Coffee's Yirgacheffe drip bag coffee, with each bag containing 10g of pre-ground coffee. Water temperature was set at 90°C, with a target coffee volume of 150ml. We conducted a careful comparison between one group with blooming and another without blooming.

Experimental Process

Blooming Method - Step by Step: Prepare a cup, tear open the outer packaging of the drip bag coffee. Inside is a white coffee filter bag. Tear along the line marked "Open," unfold the "ears" on both sides of the filter bag, and hang it on the cup.

For the first water pour, simply wet the coffee grounds completely and perform a 30-second bloom. During blooming, there wasn't much "burger-like" puffing up, and a small amount of coffee liquid flowed out from the filter bag.

After blooming, perform the second water pour. Use a small water stream to pour in circles until full. Wait for the coffee bed to settle slightly, then continue pouring until full again. Repeat this process until the coffee volume in the cup reaches approximately 140-150ml, then remove the drip bag.

Non-Blooming Method - Step by Step: Prepare a cup, tear open the outer packaging of the drip bag coffee. Inside is a white coffee filter bag. Tear along the line marked "Open," unfold the "ears" on both sides of the filter bag, and hang it on the cup.

Pour water in circles directly until the filter bag is full. Wait for the coffee bed to settle slightly, then continue pouring until full again. Repeat this process until the coffee volume in the cup reaches approximately 140-150ml, then remove the drip bag. (Small bubbles emerged when filling the filter bag for the first time.)

Flavor Comparison

With Blooming: Through blooming, the degassed coffee particles can absorb water and saturate evenly, allowing for more uniform subsequent extraction. The coffee flavors presented are richer, with both citrus and berry notes well-expressed.

Without Blooming: The direct pouring method produces flavors quite close to the bloomed version, also featuring citrus and berry notes, but comparatively lighter with more watery characteristics and more pronounced acidity in sensory perception.

Although drip bag coffee was designed for convenience, in terms of pouring technique, wetting the coffee grounds with a small amount of water before pouring for brewing can extract more coffee compounds. This small gesture, taking only 30 extra seconds, can yield a cup of coffee with a better experience. Why not give it a try!

For more specialty coffee beans, please add FrontStreet Coffee's private WeChat account: kaixinguoguo0925

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473