How to Create the Perfect Hill in Siphon Coffee - Step-by-Step Guide to Siphon Coffee Brewing Techniques

For pour-over coffee, we look at the "coffee pit"; for espresso, we look at the "puck"; for siphon coffee, we look at the "little hill." This is the "ancient mysticism" circulated within the coffee community. "Ancient" refers to the fact that it's impossible to trace who specifically or which schools of thought first proposed these ideas, which were then passed from person to person, gradually forming a "consensus." "Mysticism" refers to how the originally proposed statements have been continuously misinterpreted and distorted in transmission, becoming inexplicable mysteries.

The practice of forming a "little hill" when stirring siphon coffee at the end is a classic example. Many friends learning siphon coffee didn't seriously understand the meaning of this "little hill," but simply saw others doing it and followed suit like blind imitation. It eventually evolved into an essential finishing step for brewing siphon coffee: "After turning off the heat, use a stirring rod to stir in one direction in the upper chamber. When the coffee liquid flows into the lower chamber, the coffee grounds in the upper chamber form a rounded little hill."

This then gave rise to the belief that "if a little hill appears at the end, it represents a successful (delicious) brew, and the higher the hill, the better."

Why Stir to Form a Little Hill

FrontStreet Coffee will first explain why it's necessary to use a stirring rod to stir in one direction at the end. There are mainly two reasons. The first is to avoid bitter and undesirable substances flowing into the lower chamber. In the past, people who brewed siphon coffee generally believed that bitter substances would be released at the very end. Vigorously stirring the coffee grounds layer could make these impurities float on the surface, preventing them from flowing into the lower chamber together with the coffee liquid.

The second reason is that forming a hill shape allows water to penetrate the grounds layer more evenly when entering the lower chamber. If you carefully observe the structure of the siphon upper chamber, you'll notice there's a stepped narrowing design where the filter is placed. Moreover, the place where water flows down is only as thick as the small tube in the center. If the grounds layer is flat, the coffee descent trajectory around the edges passes through more coffee grounds, while the center passes through the least. When the grounds layer forms a hill shape, it reduces the difference between the center and the surrounding areas.

Does a Higher Hill Mean Better Coffee?

Finally, FrontStreet Coffee wants to clarify that stirring to create a high little hill in siphon coffee doesn't necessarily mean the coffee will be delicious. In fact, there's no such standard because stirring to form a little hill is just one technique among many for siphon coffee. There are also methods that don't include this step, where the final grounds layer remains flat without a raised hill, and this doesn't necessarily mean the coffee tastes bad.

How to Create the Little Hill

Actually, creating a little hill is very simple. Just after turning off the heat, use a stirring rod to stir 3-5 circles in the upper chamber, and when the coffee liquid flows into the lower chamber, a little hill naturally forms in the center. The height of the little hill is related to the amount of coffee grounds, stirring depth, and stirring intensity.

Given the fixed bottom area of the upper chamber, a larger volume (meaning more coffee grounds) can push the hill higher. Stirring depth refers to how deep the stirring rod goes. If you only stir the surface, the resulting hill will be relatively low. If you stir deeper, you can drive the middle and lower parts of the coffee grounds to move, accumulating into a larger hill. Stirring intensity is even more direct—the stronger the stirring intensity, the more obvious the little hill effect.

Conclusion

However, the formation of a little hill has no direct relationship to whether the coffee tastes good or not. That said, forming a little hill does look more attractive than a flat surface!!!

Important Notice :

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