American barista teach you how to brew coffee

The theory is to pour an even layer of coffee grounds into the dripper of your choice and a wetted filter (filter cup, filter paper, or filter cloth).

Slowly wet the coffee grounds with water, continue adding water to reach the appropriate strength. The dissolved coffee will drip through the filter cup.

The inventor of pour over coffee was Ms. Merita from Germany. She did not care for the residue texture in found in coffee, so she combined ink-absorbing paper and a perforated copper bowl to filter coffee grounds. The experiment created the prototype of filter paper and filter cup. This kind of filtered coffee has clean and clear taste characteristics, which can showcase the unique flavor of different coffees and become an indispensable way of brewing in third wave specialty coffee.

• Indicators of brewing: The ideal extraction flavor can be achieved by adjusting the grind size, water temperature, water flow rate, time and coffee-water ratio.

• Equipment preparations: grinder, filter, filter paper, sharing vessel, pour over kettle, wooden stick (used for mixing),thermometer, kettle, electronic scale.

• Steps:

• Preparation for equipment, hot water and coffee.

• Fold the filter paper along the seam and place it in the filter cup. Soak the filter paper with hot water in order to stick filter paper to the filter cup.

• Put filter cup on top of the sharing vessel and pour the coffee grounds evenly into the filter cup. We use 16:1 water-coffee ratio, and the amount of coffee we use is 20g.

• Make sure the water temperature is between 190°F and 201°F（88°C and 94°C）. Choose the appropriate water temperature according to different coffee beans. Start pouring water into coffee grounds in circles.

• Wait until the water in the filter cup has completely dripped into sharing vessel (the time is calculated from the beginning of blooming, within 2-3 minutes). Remove the filter cup, and you can begin to taste the coffee. 

First water pouring (blooming): 3 times the amount of water used to coffee. The dose is 20g, so our water amount should be 60g. Allow all the coffee to be wet in 20-30s. Carbon dioxide in coffee will be released during blooming. The fresher the coffee, the more gas it releases.

Second water pouring: pouring 260g of water by drawing circles evenly. We can pour water in several times to adjust to the appropriate brewing method.

• Brewing suggestion

• Note: In the process of adjusting the brewing method, we often use the method of adjusting only one variable at a time to find the appropriate brewing parameters.

When it comes to selecting tools for a pour over, an indispensable one is flannel filter cloth. Unlike the other filters, the filter cloth is made of soft velvet-like fabric.

With more filter holes, the cloth absorbs and retains the oil in coffee, which make the coffee taste mellow and smooth. The filter cloth should be cleaned after every use.

The must-try summer coffee

Summer is around the corner. A cup of hot coffee is less tempting for most people. However, as coffee lovers, we still need our caffeine fix as usual. 

A friend from Chongqing (Hotpot city) asked me about cold brew coffee because she would like to introduce a new beverage in her recently opened hotpot restaurant.

My first reaction was: This is cool! It’s a bold and chic combination, and yet its flavor is mysterious. 

My friend has inspired me to understand what cold brew is and how it is made.

What is cold brew?

Many people know about cold brew from Starbucks.

We usually order a pour-over or siphon single-origin coffee as hot brewed, i.e., using hot water to extract coffee and also then drinking it hot.

Cold brew is different from ordinary iced coffee, which was brewed with hot water and then added into ice cubes. 

Cold brew is to extract coffee using room temperature water or even ice water.

Due to low temperature, substances with larger molecules, such as tannic acid, are not easily extracted. Therefore, cold brew coffee is smooth, less bitterness, and has zero astringency.

Cold beverages are instantly refreshing durning the hot summer. Cold brew not only energizes our brain but is also convenient. It can keep the original flavors of the hot coffee we love, depending on coffee varieties and roasting level, but now with the new trend of home-made cold brew. 

 Market Trend

In fact, cold brew has been popular in the U.S. for quite a while and is still increasingly trendy.

Data show that as new products continue to surprise us, sales of cold brew in the United States in 2017 are 28% higher than those of regular iced coffee, and by 2018 it is 40% higher. Meanwhile, cold brew is more popular in Canada than in the United States. To put it into perspective, in 2018, Canada sold 85% more cold brew than regular coffee!

The cold brew trend is continuing to get hotter and hotter.

Nitrogen cold brew coffee is amazingly delicious!

By adding nitrogen into the cold brew coffee, a unique silky and dense texture will be created. While drinking, countless small bubbles make the mouth feel thicker and smooth.

In addition, nitrogen helps keep coffee liquids fresh.

According to Matthew Hartings, a professor of food chemistry at a university in the U.S., coffee is highly oxidizable.  Similar to rusting of iron, the longer it’s exposed to oxygen, the more acid and bitterness it produces. Therefore, adding nitrogen can slow down the degradation rate of coffee flavor substances.

Through adding nitrogen, the oxygen in the coffee liquid is forced out, which makes the flavor essences in coffee more stable.

In the hot summer of almost 40 degrees, who can refuse a glass of smooth, delicious and flavorful nitrogen cold brew?

Making and storing is easy

Most of cold brew can be produced in bulk. Since it's extracted in a lower temperature, cold brew beverages can be stored for a longer period of time, which is convenient for (chain) coffee shops of higher volume. 

Creative recipes

    --How many ways to serve cold brew?

    -- The answer is infinite!

You can make different extraction cold brews by adjusting water and coffee ratio, or adding juices, syrup, honey, milk, soda, alcohol or even food.

Maybe my hotpot restaurant owner friend will dip hotpot food into cold brew coffee and eat. Who knows, it may work! The recipe combinations of cold brew drinks are beyond your imagination.

For example, at Torch café, we added nitrogen into cold brew coffee, which makes an explosive mouthfeel. 

Not only do we have millions of flavor combinations, but also thousands of creative packaging ideas. 

Some designs are dazzling and too lovely to resist. 

Some cold brew capsules are designed as pocket-sized takeaway cups. 

Some are like tea bags that can be soaked and drunk. 

Mixed with Gin is also a popular choice. 

Maybe you would like some spice.

Of course, you can be adventurous and add fruit and cream. 

For coffee shop owners, these are all ideas of seasonal drinks! 

How can we not love this one drink that satisfies our many desires? Come on and check out this trendy beverage immediately! 

We’ll share more about the theory and methods of making cold brew next time. Stay in tune and feel free to share your thoughts or recipes!