Is the Taste of Pour-Over Coffee Affected by the Coffee Bed Depression? Does a Deeper Depression Mean Better Coffee? How to Achieve the Perfect Coffee Bed Depression in Pour-Over Brewing?

Many beginners hope that after coffee brewing is complete, the coffee grounds in the filter cup can form a deep, evenly symmetrical pit. Because people often judge the quality of coffee based on the state and structure of the coffee grounds pit, some friends may be misled and develop the idea that "a deep pit definitely means good coffee."

However, the appearance of a deep pit cannot represent whether the brewed coffee tastes good or not; it only indicates that the hot water was poured relatively evenly. Of course, not all friends think this way. Some are enthusiastic about deep pits simply because they look more visually appealing—that's all. But then some people discover that no matter how evenly they pour water, they cannot achieve a perfect coffee grounds pit in the filter cup after brewing. The reason is simple: even water pouring is just the basics. Besides achieving even water pouring, the formation of a perfect coffee grounds pit requires at least two additional conditions.

So today, FrontStreet Coffee will share with everyone how to brew a deep, symmetrical, and evenly distributed "dream pit"! But as always: the appearance of a deep pit doesn't represent the quality of the coffee~

1. Water Flow Rate Should Be Relatively Large

The reason why coffee grounds pits can be formed is mainly because coffee grounds can adhere to the walls of the filter cup. When the coverage area of coffee grounds is larger and the height is higher, the final formed coffee grounds pit will be larger and more perfectly deep. To achieve this, we first need to make the injected water flow rate greater than the percolation speed of the coffee liquid.

What does this mean? Raise the water level! As long as more water is injected into the filter cup than percolates out, water can continuously accumulate in the filter cup, thus raising the water level. Then the coffee grounds will be carried up by the hot water, rising with the water level. When the hot water percolates out, these coffee grounds will adhere to the surrounding walls of the filter cup, forming a coffee grounds wall. Next, you only need to ensure that subsequent water pouring doesn't wash away the coffee grounds wall, and you can obtain a deep coffee grounds pit. If we inject a smaller water flow, with a pouring rate equal to or less than the coffee's percolation speed, then the water level won't be raised. The coffee grounds therefore won't have the opportunity to adhere to the higher walls of the filter cup. Due to insufficient coverage area, a deep coffee grounds pit naturally cannot form, and even the phenomenon of a completely flat coffee bed might occur. Of course, this isn't necessarily a bad thing~

2. Coffee Grounds Density Cannot Be Too High

I wonder if friends have noticed that when we brew coffee beans with darker roasts, the coffee grounds pit is easier to form. When the coffee grounds we brew have lighter roasts, the coffee bed is more likely to appear flat. This is caused by different densities of coffee grounds. When the density of coffee grounds is greater, they are heavier and have less buoyancy. Even if we increase the water flow, because the coffee grounds themselves are heavier, hot water cannot carry them up when raising the water level. When the density of coffee grounds is smaller, they are lighter. When the water level is raised, the coffee grounds will also rise with the water level.

So relatively speaking, dark-roasted coffee beans are easier to brew into coffee grounds pits because they have higher expansion rates and lower densities. When coffee beans are lighter roasted, they have higher densities and are more difficult to brew into deep coffee grounds pits (though it's actually not necessary). Next, FrontStreet Coffee will share how to brew the perfect coffee grounds pit.

How to Brew the Perfect Coffee Grounds Pit?

Reminder again: Here, FrontStreet Coffee is only sharing how to brew good-looking coffee grounds pits. Whether coffee tastes good or not has little correlation with whether the coffee grounds pit looks good. Please be sure to remember this point.

The water flow rate determines the height of the coffee grounds pit, but it's ultimately limited since there's only so much coffee grounds. If we want the coffee grounds pit to look bigger and thicker, we can increase the size and thickness of the coffee grounds pit by increasing the amount of coffee grounds.

For this sharing, FrontStreet Coffee uses dark-roasted Indonesia Golden Mandheling coffee beans because they have the darkest roast, very high expansion rates, and can easily brew perfect coffee grounds pits. Parameters are as follows: 20g coffee grounds, ground at Ek43 setting 10.5, with 80% passing through a #20 sieve, coffee-water-ice ratio 1:10:6 (because I want to drink it iced—hot brewing method is similar), water temperature 88°C, Kono filter cup, three-stage pouring method. (This is a regular three-stage pour! The fewer brewing stages, the easier it is to form a coffee grounds pit.)

Similarly, use twice the amount of water as the coffee grounds (40ml) for a 30-second bloom~

After the bloom ends, we use a large water flow in large circles to inject the second stage of 100ml of hot water. Because we're using a Kono filter cup with slower flow rate, we don't need to worry about insufficient extraction due to too fast water flow from the large water stream.

Finally, we use a small water flow in small circles around the center to inject the final stage of hot water (60ml). Be careful not to pour on the surrounding coffee grounds wall. Immediately after, we just need to wait for the hot water to finish percolating, and we can obtain the perfect coffee grounds pit like the one shown at the beginning.

The final event of the year will start tomorrow evening, friends remember to pay attention~

Important Notice :

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FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473