Matsuya-style Japanese Pour-Over Coffee Method: Authentic Japanese Pour-Over Coffee Guide

The Matsuya-style Pour-Over Method: A Classic Japanese Coffee Brewing Technique

Today, FrontStreet Coffee is here to share another pour-over coffee brewing method with everyone. This time, we're introducing a very classic Japanese pour-over technique—the Matsuya-style method.

This brewing method gives a very intuitive impression of "achieving true 'bloom' by covering with a lid," "pulling up a high water column when pouring water," and "producing a surprisingly small amount of coffee liquid." Nowadays, these types of Japanese techniques give people a sense of great观赏性 (appreciation), while also carrying mysterious and mystical colors. However, after reading this analysis, you should no longer find it "mysterious."

What is Matsuya-style Pour-Over?

Matsuya-style pour-over was invented by Kazuyoshi Matsushita in 1962, and it has been six decades since then (how many decades does a person have in their life). Because it was reportedly a relatively systematic brewing method in Japan at the time, due to certain limitations of that era, this method was passed down as the scientific extraction technique of its time.

Characteristics and Extraction Principles of Matsuya-style

Matsuya-style emphasizes stable extraction and clean flavors. Therefore, it requires a simple and straightforward method. Given the technological limitations of the past, problems that are easily solved today required various methods to overcome back then.

1. Matsuya-style uses an extraction metal rack invented by Kazuyoshi Matsushita specifically for this brewing method. The structure of the rack is also very simple, with the sole purpose of supporting the filter paper and preventing it from deforming. Therefore, the filter paper used also tends to be of a harder texture. It's estimated that another purpose was for quick heat dissipation and fast water flow.

2. The blooming process in Matsuya-style is quite interesting. Its philosophy is to completely exhaust the air from the coffee grounds, so that whether you're using freshly roasted coffee beans or beans roasted a month ago, the brewed coffee will taste the same.

The approach is to grind the coffee beans very coarsely, then pour water for blooming for 3 minutes. During the blooming period, a lid must be placed to ensure that most of the coffee's aroma doesn't escape.

3. The water pouring in Matsuya-style is also very interesting. Since thermometers didn't exist at that time, to achieve minimal temperature deviation, he researched and developed a "scientific" temperature reduction method. Hot water is boiled in a kettle (100 degrees Celsius), then poured into a pour-over kettle, where the temperature drops to approximately 95-96 degrees Celsius. However, such a high temperature can easily extract bitter and undesirable flavors from coffee.

Therefore, his approach was to elevate the water pour. If you're fortunate enough to see a barista lifting the water column to a height of 30cm while brewing coffee, it's highly likely they're using the Matsuya-style method.

The coarse grinding in Matsuya-style basically doesn't produce water pooling (soaking), achieving true pour-through extraction. This prevents the bitter and undesirable flavors that result from prolonged soaking.

4. Another characteristic of Matsuya-style is that it produces very little coffee. This is because he believed that the most essential part of coffee is in the first half, while the latter part easily produces bitter substances. Therefore, the coffee-to-water ratio in Matsuya-style can be as high as 1:5, meaning that if you use 20g of coffee grounds for brewing, you'll only get 100ml of coffee liquid. Afterwards, it's diluted with water to the appropriate concentration according to the customer's preference.

Let's Watch the Matsuya-style Brewing Process

First, you need to prepare the following equipment: a dedicated Matsuya-style metal filter holder, pour-over kettle, filter paper (harder texture), and dark roast coffee beans.

The coffee beans should be ground very coarsely, and it's necessary to remove fine powders. If judged by a #20 sieve, the pass rate should be 40-45%.

Place the filter paper on the filter holder, then pour the coffee grounds into the filter paper. Use a spoon to dig a small hole in the center, lift the water column high and pour from the center outward in circles, with a thin and straight water stream to completely wet the surface coffee grounds. Then cover with a lid and bloom for 3 minutes.

When the time is up, remove the lid and pour water from a 30cm height. In reality, at this height, the water below is no longer in a column shape but in a chain-like form (intermittent). Due to the coarse grinding, real-time pouring achieves real-time filtration, so soaking doesn't occur. The process is complete when the liquid reaches a 1:5 ratio.

At this point, the coffee liquid has a very high concentration, so it can be diluted with water in a 1:1 ratio. The coffee brewed using this method will be very clean, and the aroma will also be well preserved.

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