Siphon Coffee Brewing Tutorial with Diagrams - Siphon Coffee Stirring Methods, Time, Grind Size, and Parameters

Looking at siphon brewers today, they are coffee brewing equipment with a strong sense of vintage. Currently, many coffee shops no longer make siphon coffee or offer it only as a specialty rather than a main product. Of course, as a siphon coffee enthusiast, if it's not available outside, I just make it myself. FrontStreet Coffee will share siphon coffee in the simplest possible language in this article.

Siphon Brewer Structure

The basic structure of a siphon brewer can be divided into an upper chamber, lower chamber, and a stand. The stand connects to the lower chamber, serving the purpose of fixation and support. The lower chamber is roughly spherical, which ensures even heating when heated. The upper chamber is cylindrical with a contraction at the bottom, extending into a long, thin tube. There's a rubber ring at the contraction point.

When the upper chamber is placed on top of the lower chamber, the rubber ring creates a seal. When the lower chamber is heated, water produces steam, creating pressure that draws water into the upper chamber. The upper chamber is where coffee grounds come into contact with water. When the heat source is removed, the coffee liquid returns to the lower chamber, completing the siphon coffee brewing process.

Filter Cloth and Filter Paper

We don't want to drink coffee full of grounds, so we need filtering equipment to separate the coffee grounds. Commonly used are flannel filter cloths and circular filter papers. Flannel is a more traditional siphon filtering material. Its characteristic is that it can retain the oils in coffee, but the disadvantage is that it's somewhat troublesome to use and clean.

Filter paper is a modern filtering material characterized by cleaner filtration, capable of blocking fine particles (including but not limited to oils). If it's just for personal use and coffee brewing frequency isn't too high, FrontStreet Coffee suggests choosing flannel to experience the complete flavor of siphon coffee.

Heat Sources

Currently, common heat sources include gas stoves, induction cookers, and alcohol lamps. Gas stoves and induction cookers can adjust the heat source size, with relatively fast and stable temperature increases, with the only disadvantage being slightly higher costs. Alcohol lamps have low costs but unstable heat sources and longer heating times.

FrontStreet Coffee believes all these heat sources can produce excellent coffee; the key is to make appropriate adjustments according to the heating characteristics. However, if conditions allow, it's still better to use a gas stove or induction cooker.

Pre-infusion vs. Post-infusion

There are two different approaches to adding coffee grounds when brewing siphon coffee. The traditional school chooses pre-infusion (adding grounds first). The latter believes that adding grounds first causes partial contact with coffee as water rises, leading to some coffee "sneaking out," which may cause uneven extraction, so they insist on adding grounds only after all water has risen to the upper chamber. This is similar to the debate in pour-over coffee about whether to start timing after pre-infusion or simultaneously with water pouring.

FrontStreet Coffee believes that beginners should choose the post-infusion method for more stability. This way, there are fewer unstable factors compared to pre-infusion.

Coffee Grind Size

The grind size for siphon coffee is finer than for pour-over. According to FrontStreet Coffee's measurements, the grind size should be approximately 90% through a #20 sieve. When using the EK43s grinder from our store, the corresponding setting is 9 clicks, while for the C40 hand grinder, it's 20 clicks.

Coffee-to-Water Ratio

The general coffee-to-water ratio for siphon coffee is between 1:10 to 1:12. More people use the 1:12 ratio. For home brewing of a single serving, you might as well use FrontStreet Coffee's usual parameters: 18 grams of coffee grounds to 200 milliliters of water.

Stirring Methods

There are many stirring methods: rotational stirring, cross-stirring, Z-shaped stirring, infinity-shaped stirring, patting method, and more...

FrontStreet Coffee suggests using the patting method when starting to stir, patting the coffee ground layer along the trajectory shown in the image below. The stirring rod uses the center as a pivot point, with both ends moving back and forth in a staggered manner.

The method is not the only way; FrontStreet Coffee just thinks this method is easier to control and beginner-friendly.

Ending Timing

When to turn off the heat for siphon coffee? Some people like to judge by smelling the coffee's aroma, which requires considerable personal skill and is difficult to describe in words. Therefore, FrontStreet Coffee recommends beginners use timing. If using the post-infusion method, start timing when adding the grounds; if using pre-infusion, start timing when preparing to stir with the stirring rod. The time to turn off the heat source is approximately within 50-70 seconds.

Specific Brewing Method

Taking FrontStreet Coffee's usual brewing method as an example:

1. Pour 200 milliliters of hot water, wipe the lower chamber dry, and turn on the heat source.

2. Insert the upper chamber diagonally into the lower chamber, with the explosion-proof ball touching the bottom of the lower chamber.

3. When continuous small water droplets appear in the lower chamber, straighten the upper chamber and press it firmly. Wait for the water from the lower chamber to be drawn into the upper chamber.

4. Add coffee grounds and start timing. In the first stage, use the stirring rod patting method to press all coffee grounds into the water for even absorption.

5. In the second stage, at 25 seconds, start using FrontStreet Coffee's recommended stirring method to stir, clearly separating the coffee into three layers: coffee liquid, coffee grounds, and coffee foam.

6. In the final stage, at 50 seconds, start stirring in the same direction. At 60 seconds, remove the heat source and wait for the coffee liquid to fall back.

The siphon coffee made this way is very aromatic and rich. Although it's not as clear and clean as pour-over coffee, the oils floating on its surface add considerable richness.

In FrontStreet Coffee's view, compared to pour-over coffee, using a siphon brewer is obviously more troublesome. First, you need a heat source before brewing, and you can't be distracted during the entire extraction process. After finishing the coffee, you also need to clean it promptly, washing the flannel used for filtering grounds. In a shop with high output volume, siphon brewing would be even more troublesome.

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473