Beginner's Guide to Coffee Dripper Recommendations! Detailed Features and Usage of the Ice Pupil Dripper and Its Differences from V60

It's today's star: the Ice Pupil Dripper, shimmering under the light and perfectly fitting with filter paper! Our barista "model" reports that brewing coffee with this Ice Pupil Dripper is truly a delightful experience!

What are the characteristics of the Ice Pupil Dripper?

Most coffee drippers we encounter daily have prominent ribs on their walls, creating space between the filter paper and the dripper wall (known as exhaust channels). The length and direction of these exhaust channels determine the speed at which water flows through the coffee grounds layer.

For example, the V60 dripper's exhaust channel design features curved spiral rib structures (what we commonly call spiral patterns). These ribs extend from the rim to the drain hole, maximizing the coffee grounds' exhaust process while the curved path increases water flow distance, thereby extending contact time between coffee particles and water. The large-diameter filter hole at the bottom allows users to control coffee flavor extraction time by adjusting water flow rate.

The Ice Pupil Dripper's exhaust channel design, however, features indented grooves! From the side, we can observe that the Ice Pupil Dripper's texture is divided into three layers. The upper smooth surface can completely seal and fit with the filter paper. The middle layer consists of 24 short grooves extending from the smooth surface to half the dripper's depth. The lower layer has 12 long grooves extending from the short grooves to the dripper's drain hole.

The grooves in the lower and middle layers are arranged in a staggered pattern, so the lower layer remains essentially suspended. This staggered design allows water to slowly pass through the middle layer for full extraction, then immediately accelerates in the almost suspended lower layer to avoid over-extraction. It truly resembles a "roller coaster" experience, giving the coffee liquid sufficient "psychological preparation" before rapidly descending into the lower pot.

What's the difference between coffee brewed with Ice Pupil and V60?

Both being conical drippers with relatively fast flow rates, we can observe that both drippers can achieve sufficient coffee extraction while effectively reducing over-extraction in certain conditions, making them very user-friendly for coffee beginners. This time, we'll use the same brewing parameters for Yirgacheffe Gedeb Cooperative washed coffee beans to see how each performs in terms of flavor.

Brewing parameters: 15g coffee beans, grind size: fine sugar consistency (78% retention on China No.20 standard sieve), water temperature 91°C, coffee-to-water ratio 1:15. Using a three-pour method: first pour 30g of water for 30-second bloom, then pour 95g of water for extraction, and when the water level drops to two-thirds, add another 100g of water. Total water poured: 225g.

V60 extraction time: 2'10", coffee flavor表现为 jasmine aroma, bright lemon acidity, cane sugar sweetness, and green tea aftertaste, with rich flavor layers.

Ice Pupil extraction time: 2'10", coffee flavor表现为 precious flower aroma, pomelo fragrance with a hint of pomelo peel bitterness, very prominent honey sweetness, oolong tea-like aftertaste, with full and solid mouthfeel.

Using Experience

The Ice Pupil Dripper's user experience is a dream come true for perfectionists! Because after wetting, the dripper truly fits tightly against the wall, eliminating concerns about uneven extraction caused by poor filter paper adhesion affecting the uniformity of the coffee grounds layer.

V60's advantage lies in controlling extraction time through water flow rate, resulting in brighter taste and richer layers, though it may lack richness. However, if water pouring stability is insufficient, it's easy to break through the coffee grounds layer/flow too quickly, causing uneven extraction.

Ice Pupil's advantage is that the upper and middle layers fit tightly with the filter paper, creating an immersion-style extraction. Even if water flow isn't perfectly controlled, there's room for recovery! The brewed coffee has a more balanced and saturated overall taste, with sweetness more pronounced than V60-brewed coffee. However, due to increased saturation, the layers are not as good as V60's, and aroma and acidity become somewhat general.

Recommendations

Both coffee drippers have very similar overall flow rates and are very suitable for brewing light to medium roast coffee beans. However, for coffee beans with brighter acidity/richer aromas (such as light to medium roast washed coffee beans/light to medium roast natural process coffee beans), V60 is more recommended for brewing to enhance overall layering and make flavors clearer. For coffee beans with higher sweetness/fermentation notes (such as light to medium roast natural process coffee beans/honey process coffee beans), the Ice Pupil Dripper is more recommended for brewing, as it will produce fuller mouthfeel and more pronounced sweetness.

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

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