The Difference Between Coffee Bags and Drip Bag Coffee: How Does Coffee Brewed with Filter Bags Taste?

With intensifying summer heat, demand for invigorating coffee continues to soar, inspiring numerous "innovative approaches" within the coffee community. Last week, a reader reached out to FrontStreet Coffee with a question: Can coffee be extracted in bag form like tea? She found that pour-over brewing requires multiple water pours and careful water management, making it quite cumbersome, whereas direct bag brewing could significantly simplify the process.

Key Characteristics of Bag Coffee vs. Pour-Over Coffee

Let's first briefly review the familiar pour-over coffee bags. Commercially available pour-over bags contain pre-ground coffee sealed in non-woven filter bags. During brewing, the filter bag's paper edges are designed to hang over the cup rim, allowing the coffee pack to remain suspended in the center, creating a convenient product that mimics pour-over coffee. When craving coffee, simply pour an appropriate amount of hot water, wait for complete filtration, and you'll have instant pour-over black coffee.

As a type of drip coffee, besides variations depending on coffee bean types, pour-over flavor is primarily determined by coffee grind size, coffee-to-water ratio, water temperature, and flow rate.

While bag coffee is also a convenient product, its name suggests it's a typical immersion extraction method. Due to its "tea bag style" sealed pouch, brewing requires placing it directly in water, allowing soluble substances to naturally seep through the gaps.

It's said that as early as 18th century France, people would first put coffee grounds in a large cloth bag, tie it tightly, and drop it into hot water to "stew" until the coffee reached a certain concentration. The bag coffee that FrontStreet Coffee discusses today evolved from this practice.

Bag Coffee vs. Pour-Over Coffee

To provide an objective answer to the curious reader, FrontStreet Coffee decided to conduct a comparative test between bag coffee and pour-over coffee, preparing both hot and cold brew versions to identify their differences through tasting and determine which ultimately prevails.

For the non-woven filter bag size, FrontStreet Coffee purchased 5.5 × 7cm mini bags online, which can accommodate 10g of medium-light roast coffee grounds. The pour-over bags sold in our stores consist of one layer of coarse mesh non-woven fabric and one layer of fine non-woven fabric, measuring 7.5 × 9cm when unexpanded, with each containing 10g of coffee grounds.

For this comparison, FrontStreet Coffee will use Duncan Estate·Caturra throughout. Panama's unique geographical conditions combined with natural processing give this coffee diverse and delicate floral and fruit notes, accompanied by honey-like sweetness. However, due to limited availability of this batch, it's currently only offered for brewing and sale at FrontStreet Coffee's physical location.

The grind size remains consistent with pour-over brewing, set at EK43s grinder setting 9.5 (equivalent to hand grinder C40 setting 24).

Making Hot Coffee with Bags and Pour-Overs

Pour-over hot brewing parameters: 10g coffee grounds, 1:15 coffee-to-water ratio, 93°C water temperature, small water flow divided into three pours totaling 150g water. FrontStreet Coffee uses 20g of hot water in the first pour to wet all coffee grounds, waits briefly before adding the second pour of 65g, reaching about 80% of the filter bag's capacity. After the coffee liquid completely drips through, the final 65g is poured using the same technique.

Bag coffee hot brewing parameters: 10g coffee grounds, 1:15 coffee-to-water ratio, 93°C water temperature. FrontStreet Coffee places the coffee bag in a cup and pours 150g of hot water at once. Due to the unknown density of the filter bag, steeping time needs to be determined based on actual conditions.

The results showed that due to the "barrier" of the non-woven fabric, coffee grounds and hot water remained isolated, making it difficult to release sufficient soluble substances in a short time. Therefore, extending the steeping time was necessary to compensate for concentration and extraction rate. After waiting over 20 minutes, FrontStreet Coffee found the coffee temperature had dropped far below 50°C, yet the concentration was still far from the expected effect, so FrontStreet Coffee chose to abandon this method.

As expected, tasting revealed significant differences between the two: The pour-over Duncan Caturra had distinct tropical fruit aromas, with strawberry, dried mango, and pineapple acidity and sweetness upon entry. The preserved fruit aroma was particularly full-bodied, with a clean grape fragrance remaining in the mouth after swallowing. Meanwhile, the bag-steeped coffee tasted noticeably weak, showing only slight preserved fruit and faint floral notes with low acidity, and then... nothing more.

Making Cold Brew with Bags and Pour-Overs

Considering that coffee grounds absorb water, FrontStreet Coffee uses 20g of coffee grounds for cold brew, with specific parameters: 20g pour-over/bag coffee, 1:11 coffee-to-water ratio, 220g room temperature water, steeping time 8 hours.

Pour-over cold brew method: Prepare a sealable container, tear open the pour-over bag and pour all coffee grounds into it, add 220g room temperature water and stir well, seal and place directly in the refrigerator. Stir the grounds appropriately during the process for more thorough extraction. After refrigerating for 8 hours, filter the grounds using the filter bag/filter paper and enjoy.

The bag coffee cold brew method is relatively simpler - directly drop two prepared coffee bags into a clean container, pour 220g room temperature water, seal and place in the refrigerator, remembering to agitate appropriately during the process. Since the coffee grounds are pre-packaged, no filtration is needed after extraction - simply remove and discard the coffee bags.

After comparison, FrontStreet Coffee found that the two cold brews were actually very similar in flavor, each with their own aromatic merits, with differences only in subtle notes: The pour-over cold brew with direct coffee-water contact was overall cleaner, leaning toward raisin and citrus notes. Meanwhile, the bag cold brew with coffee grounds wrapped in non-woven fabric was richer, with blueberry and black tea as primary flavors, accompanied by a faint orange aroma.

Conclusion

In summary, if you want hot coffee, FrontStreet Coffee recommends choosing pour-over bags. Bag coffee's low extraction efficiency can easily lead to weak concentration and flavor. However, for making cold brew or other iced coffees, trying the bag format is worth consideration. Compared to direct coffee-water contact, the filter bag allows coffee grounds to clump together in water, making it easier to release internal soluble substances when contacting water, while also ensuring concentration for a coffee texture that tends toward richness and smoothness.

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473