Why is Immersion Coffee More Consistent Than Drip Coffee? How to Use a Clever Dripper? What Are the Characteristics of Pour-Over Coffee?

"Is brewing coffee difficult?"

"Not difficult, anyone can do it!" "But if you want to brew a delicious cup of coffee..." "Then it's a bit difficult!"

To brew a delicious cup of coffee, we not only need to ensure the extraction parameters are reasonable but also develop the ability to freely control the water flow. FrontStreet Coffee often mentions that the reason hot water needs to be poured in a circular motion when brewing coffee is to evenly extract the coffee grounds in the filter, ensuring the final coffee has excellent performance. The size of the water flow, the amount of water, and the range of the circular motion are all extraction factors that require manual control, and they will produce different effects in various aspects. While you don't need to master everything, to brew a delicious cup of coffee, you should at least understand the basics, otherwise, the coffee you brew will either be over-extracted or under-extracted. Does it sound complicated?

Right, FrontStreet Coffee thinks so too! So if you just want to enjoy a delicious cup of coffee simply and conveniently, without exploring too much brewing theory, then besides developing water control skills and mastering basic knowledge, we have another method! That is: don't brew it!

Immersion vs. Drip Brewing

Single-origin coffee can be prepared in more ways than just drip brewing. If you're looking for something more convenient and simple, immersion extraction might be a better choice. "Drip brewing" refers to extraction methods like pour-over coffee where hot water is poured in and coffee liquid drips out simultaneously. "Immersion extraction," on the other hand, refers to methods where coffee grounds are soaked in water for a period before the coffee liquid is filtered out (such as Clever Dripper, French press, etc.).

Compared to drip coffee, immersion coffee has a higher fault tolerance and is much less likely to be over-extracted. There are two reasons: one is that during the immersion process, the water temperature is not constant but continuously decreasing; another is that the coffee grounds remain still for a long time without stirring, so the hot water can't dissolve as many coffee substances. Therefore, immersion extraction has a higher fault tolerance compared to drip brewing! Even if you let it steep for seven or eight minutes, the coffee won't develop the unpleasant taste of over-extraction. And because there's less human intervention, we can more directly taste the inherent flavor of the beans.

Some might think that most people stick to pour-over coffee because immersion-brewed coffee doesn't taste as good.

Does immersion coffee really taste worse than drip coffee? It's undeniable that drip and immersion coffee do have certain differences. But they're not differences in good or bad taste, because changes in extraction methods don't alter the coffee's inherent flavor, just the extracted coffee characteristics will vary. For example, pour-over coffee will have more layered complexity, while immersion coffee will have a fuller body. The reason many people think immersion extraction is inferior to drip brewing is often because they're not using the right extraction parameters. When we use wrong parameters for pour-over coffee, it's also difficult to make it taste good. So, with the right parameters, immersion can also produce a delicious cup of coffee.

The Four Core Parameters of Immersion Coffee

Grind size, ratio, water temperature, and time - these are the four core parameters of immersion coffee. As long as we can find the right extraction parameters, brewing a delicious cup of coffee becomes effortlessly achievable. Since FrontStreet Coffee just shared "World Champion's French Press Brewing Method" a couple of days ago, today FrontStreet Coffee will share Clever Dripper brewing with everyone!

Brewing Guide

Today's brewing uses 90+ Estate's Eleta Geisha coffee beans! The extraction parameters are as follows:

Coffee amount: 25g (please decide according to your Clever Dripper size)
Coffee-to-water ratio: 1:15 (375ml, can be adjusted according to your preferred concentration)
Grind: Ek43 setting 10.5, coarse sugar grind, 70% passing through a #20 sieve
Water temperature: 94°C (boiling water is also acceptable)

You might notice that the most crucial parameter - time - wasn't written. That's because we can decide based on our desired time. If you want to quickly get a delicious cup of coffee, then add stirring during the brewing process to reduce steeping time. If you're not in a hurry to drink, you can choose to let it steep longer. The specific steps are as follows:

First, place the filter paper! Then pour in the coffee grounds and hot water sequentially.

Then wait for 4 minutes, and gently stir the liquid surface with a spoon for 2-3 circles!

After letting it sit for another minute, you can place the Clever Dripper on any container to filter out the coffee liquid.

Once filtration is complete, a delicious cup of coffee is ready! This cup of 90+ Geisha presents flavors of bergamot, pineapple, longan, and preserved fruit, with a rich texture and long aftertaste of red wine!

If friends find this method somewhat monotonous and lacking in participation, you might want to purchase some filter cups with closing plungers, such as Hario's V60 Clever Dripper, or Hero's Variable Speed Filter Dripper, etc.

These filter cups can not only be used for regular pour-over brewing but can also be switched to Clever Dripper mode when you want to be lazy and try a different brewing method! Excellent!

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Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473