How Does the LilyDrip V60 Dripper Balance Cone Optimize Pour-Over Coffee Flavor?

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Introduction

With the popularization of specialty coffee, pour-over coffee has become a part of many people's lives. While pursuing the joy of brewing coffee, people also research more filter cups/tools that can make the pour-over process easier, more stable, and have a higher fault tolerance, changing coffee extraction through physical conditions.

Among these tools, there's one that, despite its small and delicate size, can greatly enhance the balance of coffee—the LilyDrip (Lily Pearl)/Balance Cone was once called a "divine tool" by pour-over beginners. How divine is it really?

The Birth of LilyDrip

The inspiration for LilyDrip came from a marble. A little girl named Lily placed a marble in a V60 dripper while her father was preparing to brew coffee. Instead of removing the marble, the father continued brewing with filter paper. Surprisingly, with the marble's assistance, the coffee turned out exceptionally delicious. Thus, after researching and improving upon the principle, LilyDrip was born.

LilyDrip's Extraction Principle

Let's review the extraction characteristics of the V60 dripper: The 60-degree angle conical design of the dripper presents a wide top and narrow bottom, which means that when coffee grounds are poured into the dripper, the middle of the coffee bed will be thicker. Due to the thicker coffee bed, resistance increases, prolonging the contact time between water and coffee grounds. The spiral rib design accelerates flow rate, reducing the likelihood of blockage.

This also makes the V60 dripper very particular about coffee grind size! If coffee grounds are ground too fine, it will increase the density of the thick coffee bed, prolong extraction time, and easily extract undesirable unpleasant flavors; if coffee grounds are ground too coarse, it will reduce the density of the thick coffee bed, slow down extraction time, and the overall coffee flavor will be relatively flat. However, with the addition of LilyDrip, the thickness of the coffee bed is reduced, thereby accelerating water flow.

Reducing Coffee Bed Thickness and Water-Coffee Contact Time

The addition of LilyDrip folds the conical angle of the filter paper inward. After pouring coffee grounds, the original conical coffee bed becomes a conical ring shape, which immediately reduces the overall thickness of the coffee bed. For 15g of coffee grounds poured into conical filter paper, the total thickness of the coffee bed is about 5cm, while when poured into conical ring-shaped filter paper, the coffee bed thickness is about 2.5cm, meaning the coffee bed thickness is reduced by about 1/2. At the same time, the areas of the upper and lower coffee beds become closer.

Some readers might wonder at this point, wouldn't a flat-bottom dripper work just as well, why bother with an extra tool! Flat-bottom drippers on the market originally have no rib design, relying entirely on the wavy edge filter paper to form exhaust channels. This presents a problem: slow flow rate, creating a soaking process that makes the coffee overall more full-bodied but lacking in layering.

However, LilyDrip changes the shape of the filter paper, reducing coffee bed thickness while maintaining the advantage of fast flow rate, making the coffee more balanced while also showcasing the layered character of V60 dripper brewing.

With the upper and lower coffee bed areas becoming closer and thickness reduced by 1/2, the contact time between water and coffee grounds will also shorten. So will there be under-extraction problems? Let's find out through experiments.

Brewing subject: FrontStreet Coffee's Costa Rica Giant Stone Estate Blueberry Coffee Beans. Brewing parameters: medium-fine grind (78% pass rate through China standard 20 mesh sieve), water temperature 90°C, coffee-to-water ratio 1:15, circular three-stage pouring.

Brewing method: First pour 30g of water, then let it bloom for 30 seconds. Continue pouring to 125g for segmentation, when the water level drops and is about to expose the coffee bed, continue pouring to 225g and stop pouring. When the water level drops and is about to expose the coffee bed, remove the dripper.

Without using LilyDrip, total extraction time 2'01", brewing flavor: blueberry gummies, citrus-like acidity, floral notes, fermented aroma, noticeable sweetness, full and smooth mouthfeel.

Using LilyDrip, total extraction time: 1'40", brewing flavor: blueberry jam, roses, noticeable sweetness, lemon acidity, overall balanced but with a relatively thin aftertaste.

This set of experiments shows that using LilyDrip significantly shortens brewing time. Although the overall balance is improved, the actual extraction rate is lower than normal V60 brewing, and the aftertaste is not as pronounced as direct V60 brewing. However! If the grinder you're using produces too many fine particles, using LilyDrip will effectively solve the "over-extraction" problem.

Conclusion

Can LilyDrip only be used with V60 drippers? No! It can match almost all conical drippers, and combining it with various conical drippers will produce different effects.

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Important Notice :

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