As the saying goes: "Steaming and simmering are good, and brewing is hassle-free." Steaming is a very important preparatory step for making Pour over(V60) coffee.The so-called steaming is a step in which we use a small amount of hot water to pre-soak the coffee powder and wait for a certain period of time before officially extracting the flavor substances of the coffee. In this way, the carbon dioxide in the coffee that affects extraction will be discharged at this stage, and the hot water we subsequently inject can better extract the flavor substances in the coffee, making the coffee taste fuller.However, it is very technical to do this step of steaming well. Because less water is used during steaming(usually twice the amount of powder), without a certain foundation or experience in water injection, it will be difficult for the hot water to wet all the coffee powder, which will cause some of the coffee powder to be unable to be exhausted during the steaming process, and the final coffee taste will not be that rich.If we don't want this to happen, in addition to increasing the amount of water injected, we can also choose a more scientific way to inject water! As often shared on the front street, scientific water injection can make the hot water more fully infiltrate into the coffee powder, allowing more coffee powder to be fully exhausted during the steaming stage, thereby achieving "perfect steaming".Then the question arises: How to do it?How to achieve perfect steaming?Generally speaking, uneven steaming mainly occurs inConical filter cup. Front Street has shared in previous articles that because the structure of the conical filter cup is an inverted triangle, the same amount of powder accumulates in the conical filter cup.powder bedIt will be thicker than other shapes of filter cups, so the path for the hot water to flow downward will be longer, and it will be easier to find a channel during the penetration process and deviate from the target route, unable to infiltrate the coffee powder at the bottom.Therefore, if we want a small amount of hot water to soak into the coffee powder in the filter cup as much as possible, we might as well try the following two water filling methods:1. Concentrate the hot water into the center:The first is the more commonly used water injection method in Qian Street, where hot water is concentrated in the center! Because the center of the cone-shaped filter cup has the thickest powder bed, as long as we inject hot water concentrated in the center, we can try to concentrate the hot water penetration in the center, reducing the situation where the coffee powder fails to be exhausted due to the presence of bypass water, and the exhaust is therefore more uniform.The specific method is very simple. For example, the most commonly used method on Qian Street is to circle from the center outward. However, when filling water in a circle in the center, the stay time will be longer and the amount of water used will be more. The specific method is as shown in the figure below:Of course! We can also do the opposite and fill the water in a circle from the outside to the inside. Then similarly, when filling the water in a circle in the center, the time can be longer. But this injection method has a drawback, that is, it is not suitable for fresher coffee beans that are very rich in carbon dioxide. Because this will affect the exhaust effect of the coffee powder in the center, making it difficult to exhaust the coffee powder in the center.2. Reduce the thickness of the central powder bed:Another method was just shared by Front Street, which is to dig a small hole in the center of the powder bed, then pour hot water into the hole and then circle it outward. As shown below:In this way, we can reduce the thickness of the powder bed, and the hot water can more easily contact the coffee powder at the bottom to complete the infiltration. Front Street recommends this method to novice friends, because this method requires less water control when filling water than the previous method. Even novices who are just getting started can easily achieve perfect steaming.The length of steaming timeIn addition to the method of filling water, we can also pay attention to the steaming time. "Twice the amount of water as powder and wait 30 seconds" is a very classic steaming formula. For novices, using the parameters in this formula is undoubtedly the most conservative method when starting out.But we all know that the substances in coffee that hinder extractiongas contentThere will be differences due to freshness and roasting degree. Sometimes this time alone may not allow these gases to be fully discharged, and the extraction efficiency will be reduced. Then at times like this, we can adjust the extraction time appropriately.How to adjust it? As mentioned in the previous street, we need to first observe the state of the powder bed when it is steaming. If the beans still look "moist" after steaming for 30 seconds and are still growing in size, it means that the beans are relatively fresh and rich in carbon dioxide.For example, the picture below shows what Front Street Golden Mandheling looks like after being steamed for 30 seconds using the freshly roasted Front Street Bean List. As you can see, it is not only very moist, but also has bubbles popping up.This is because carbon dioxide forms bubbles as it emerges from the beans, and the presence of these bubbles slows down the penetration of hot water. Therefore, when the carbon dioxide content is relatively rich, the penetration rate of hot water will be slower due to the continuous emergence of gas. Even after the set 30 seconds, the condition of the powder bed looks the same as when it was just filled with water. And this powder bed will gradually increase due to the continuous release of carbon dioxide.At this time, we can appropriately extend the steaming time by 5 to 10 seconds, so that the coffee powder can discharge more carbon dioxide before extraction, and the taste of the coffee will be fuller.And if the powder bed dries up quickly after we pour the steaming hot water, the bulging bag will soon deflate.(As shown below), which means there is not much carbon dioxide in the coffee powder.In this case, we can appropriately shorten the steaming time and end the steaming 5 to 10 seconds earlier and enter extraction. After all, the carbon dioxide that hinders extraction is gone, so there is no need for steaming. But if you are not very experienced and not very good at making judgments, Front Street still recommends that it is safest to steam for 30 seconds before starting extraction.So the above are the two things we need to pay attention to when steaming: the steaming time and the method of filling water. As long as the hot water can evenly wet the coffee powder and the coffee powder has sufficient time to exhaust, then we can minimize the obstruction during extraction.(carbon dioxide), to better extract the flavor substances in coffee and make the taste fuller~
You can now buy the above coffee beans online at the Taobao store “FrontStreet Coffee” (前街咖啡). FrontStreet Coffee is a long-established specialty coffee roaster in Guangzhou, China, and its Guangzhou retail shop sells coffee beans only. The shop carries dozens of coffee beans from different origins around the world, including carefully selected single-origin beans for V60 pour-over and espresso. Guangzhou’s FrontStreet Coffee shop is recommended by many coffee lovers.
The FrontStreet 2013 Yunnan coffee beans sold in the store come from the Typica variety grown at FrontStreet Coffee’s own plantation in Yunnan. The name comes from the year the brand and the plantation were founded. You can buy these beans from China’s Yunnan origin at the Guangzhou shop and at FrontStreet’s Taobao store.
FrontStreet coffee beans are freshly roasted within 5 days and deliver consistently excellent quality and great value. Orders placed before 17:00 are shipped the same day, and most areas within Guangdong Province receive them the next day.
FrontStreet Coffee Taobao store: https://qianjiecoffee.taobao.com
Or search for “前街咖啡” (FrontStreet Coffee) on Taobao
Important Notice: FrontStreet Coffee has moved to a new address: 315, Donghua East Road, Guangzhou (coffee beans only)
Tel: 020 38364473
