For more specialty coffee knowledge, please pay attention to: Frontstreet Coffee
The most attractive thing about Pour over(V60) coffee is its adjustability. Customers who often come to the Front Street store to drink coffee often try to brew coffee by hand at home. They always report that brewing coffee by hand is too difficult. They don’t know how to brew it well. They have to control the water flow and adjust the grinding. There are too many aspects to consider. This is indeed true, but because of this, Front Street feels that this is the biggest charm of Pour over(V60) coffee. As long as we slightly change one variable, the flavor of the brewed coffee will be completely different.
In fact, there are many ways to brew coffee. Brewing coffee by hand was first invented by Ms. Melita from Germany in the early 20th century. Coffee beans will undergo different changes in various roasting stages. Different roasting degrees also have different requirements when brewing. Hand-brewed coffee base Coffee beans of a single variety and origin are used for brewing. Each different coffee bean has a different flavor. Front Street will brew it by hand according to the characteristics of the beans. For example, for lightly roasted coffee beans, a filter cup with a higher water temperature, a larger flow rate, and a finer grinding degree will be used. Next, Front Street will talk about how to brew coffee by hand and what aspects need to be paid attention to.
Pink to water ratio
30% of coffee beans are soluble, but it is not best to extract all 30% of the soluble substances. The Gold Cup extraction rate defined by SCAA is 18-22%, that is, 10g of coffee powder extracts 1.8-2 .2g comes out, and the TDS concentration of drip coffee is about 1.2-1.45%, that is, the extracted 18-22% coffee substances account for 1.2-1.45% of the whole cup of coffee, so most of the Pour over(V60) coffee we drink is water. FrontStreet Coffee recommends that you use a calculator to calculate. In order to achieve the concentration range of 1.2-1.45%, the ratio of coffee powder to water injection is between 1:12-1:15.
FrontStreet Coffee standardizes our brewing parameters based on this range. Every time new beans are put on the shelves, they will go through adjustments such as roasting, cupping, and manual brewing. The adjustment direction of manual brewing is to look at the TDS concentration. Of course, if you usually drink coffee at home, you don’t need to buy a special instrument. You can just judge the intensity based on the taste. After many brewing tests and customer feedback, FrontStreet Coffee recommends that the powder-to-water ratio be controlled at 1:15.
1.2-1.45% is just a statistical range, which is suitable for the taste of most people. If it is lower or higher than this range, it is fine as long as it meets your own taste requirements. However, as shown in the picture below, FrontStreet Coffee brews Butterfly Coffee with a powder to water ratio of 1:10. The results measured by the TDS tester are too much outside the range, almost more than double, and the taste will obviously feel over-extracted.
Amount of powder
After determining the ratio of powder to water, let’s determine the amount of powder. That is, many people will ask FrontStreet Coffee how much coffee powder should be added. One serving of FrontStreet Coffee is 15g of powder, which FrontStreet Coffee determines based on the filter cup used. If it is 10g of powder, the surface of the powder layer will be relatively low. During the brewing process, the height of the water column will increase, so the force of the water flow hitting the powder layer will increase. FrontStreet Coffee also compared the 20g powder volume and found that the time it takes for the water flow to pass through the powder layer increases, which increases the extraction time, which can easily lead to over-extraction.
Grinding degree
The grinding degree of Pour over(V60) coffee should not be too coarse or too fine. Too coarse will cause the water to flow through too fast, resulting in insufficient extraction and insufficient aroma. Too fine will cause the water to flow slowly, causing the coffee brewed by over-extraction to be bitter.
According to SCAA standards, FrontStreet Coffee determines that the No. 20 screen pass rate is 70-80%. FrontStreet Coffee recommends using 80% for light roasted coffee beans and 70% for dark roasted coffee beans. Dark roasted coffee beans have a higher dissolution rate, so when encountering dark roasted coffee beans, FrontStreet Coffee Coffee) will use slightly coarser powder. On the contrary, the lighter the roasted coffee beans, the finer they should be ground.
Brewing water temperature
Generally speaking, the hotter the water, the faster the coffee extraction speed. Dark roasted coffee beans are very porous, so the dissolution rate is very high. Lower water temperature can slow down the coffee extraction speed and avoid extracting too much bitter substances. Compared to darkly roasted beans, lightly roasted beans are more resistant to extraction and can use higher water temperatures.
According to SCA’s brewing recommendations, light roasted beans are recommended to be brewed at 90-91°C, and medium-dark roasted beans are recommended to be brewed at 85-87°C. A customer once questioned the brewing temperature. FrontStreet Coffee used Golden Mandheling coffee beans (dark roast) and brewed it with 90°C water temperature. The result was a taste that was almost "comparable" to espresso.
Brewing time
In the extraction of coffee, the early aroma and taste are strong and the concentration is also high. The later the extraction liquid goes, the taste and aroma will become lighter. At the same time, the amount of water when feeding water will also affect the extraction time of coffee. If the water supply is large, the water will flow directly down, and the extraction time will naturally be shortened. FrontStreet Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) generally uses 15 grams of powder. When the water to powder ratio is 1:15, the brewing time will be within 2 minutes to 2 and a half minutes, which will not lead to over-extraction or under-extraction.
After talking about the above essential elements, Front Street is talking about hand brewing techniques. There are so many hand brewing styles, but there is only one purpose. In addition to getting a unique cup of good coffee, there is also a lot of experimental fun. Front Street takes [FrontStreet Coffee Yirgacheffe Ding Ding] as an example to demonstrate how the flavor will be expressed using the one-knife flow, three-stage and stirring methods.
The name of Dingding comes from the famous Yirgacheffe Dingding Cooperative. It adopts the traditional washing method. In order to highlight its elegant white floral aroma and citrus tones, Front Street roasts it at a medium to light level. In addition to hand brewing, it is also suitable for making cold brew, French press, hanging ear and other coffee methods.
One sword style
After the steaming, only one uninterrupted water injection is done, hence the name. After steaming, an uninterrupted injection of water can keep the coffee powder soaked in water. The retained liquid can fully release the aromatic substances in the coffee powder. The flow rate of the water flow continues to increase, and the water flow rate is reduced before the water reaches the filter cup.
Brewing parameters: V60 filter cup, 15 grams of powder, water-to-powder ratio 1:15, water temperature 90 degrees, grinding fine sugar (No. 20 mesh sieving rate 80%)
Brewing method: Steam 30g of water for 30 seconds, inject water directly to 225g in the second stage, extraction time is 1 minute and 50 seconds (including steaming time).
Flavor description: The overall feeling is relatively thin, the aroma is obvious, the acidity is bright, the taste is tea, and the aftertaste is not long-lasting.
When FrontStreet Coffee operates the one-knife flow, the main control is the amount of water injected and the flow rate to achieve the overall balance of the coffee.
three-stage
To put it simply, the three-stage technique is an upgraded version of the Yi Dao style. One stage of water is injected into three stages.
Brewing parameters: V60 filter cup, 15 grams of powder, water-to-powder ratio 1:15, water temperature 90 degrees, grinding fine sugar (No. 20 mesh sieving rate 80%)
Brewing method: Steam 30g of water for 30 seconds, add water to the second section until it reaches 125g, and finally stop when it reaches 225g. The extraction time is 2 minutes (including the steaming time).
Flavor: citrus, black tea, floral, cream, caramel, almond, clean taste, soft acidity, and long-lasting aftertaste.
FrontStreet Coffee compared the three-stage and one-stage coffee brewing and found that the three-stage brewing method produces richer flavor levels and can clarify the flavors of the front, middle and back sections of the coffee.
Stirring type
During the steaming stage, cross-stirring is performed with a [stirring stick], which is also a branch of the three-stage brewing method. It was the hand brewing technique that was developed after the 2012 World Brewing Competition champion Matt Perger. This approach can effectively increase the release of aromatic substances in coffee beans, magnify the flavor advantages of coffee beans, and enhance the taste of coffee without being too thin.
Brewing parameters: V60 filter cup, 15 grams of powder, water-to-powder ratio 1:15, water temperature 90 degrees, grinding fine sugar (No. 20 mesh sieving rate 80%)
Brewing method: Steam 45g of water + stir, and stir with a spoon in a circle while steaming, then continue to spirally inject water from the periphery to 125g segments, and finally add water to 225g and stop. The extraction time is 2 minutes. It should be noted that if you use an external object to stir, the amount of steaming water must be more, otherwise it will not be stirred.
Flavor: full taste, full aroma, citrus, almond, black tea, with a sweet aftertaste.
The stirring method has high requirements on the quality of coffee beans. If poor coffee beans are used, its bad flavor will be amplified. In addition, the stirring and steaming method is more suitable for brewing lightly roasted coffee beans. The grinding degree is often relatively fine, which can increase the water immersion area of the coffee powder and improve the extraction rate. The bad thing is that it is difficult to control the degree of stirring. If you stir too much, it will taste harsh and sour, and if it takes a long time, it will taste bitter, so the intensity must be gentle.
How to brew light roast and dark roast coffee beans in Front Street?
The Yirgacheffe Kocher mentioned earlier uses a light roasting technique. The main idea of Front Street brewing is to use high temperature and fine grinding to extract enough coffee substances. However, in order to avoid over-extraction, a filter cup with a faster flow rate such as V60 was chosen. As mentioned before, dark roasted coffee beans have a high dissolution rate and are easy to extract impurities at high temperatures. Therefore, a lower water temperature should be used and the grinding should be coarser accordingly. However, the filter cup should be selected with a slower flow rate to ensure that there is no under-extraction.
Take [FrontStreet Coffee Golden Mandheling] as an example to show the brewing details of dark roasted coffee beans.
Brewing parameters: Kono filter cup, powder to water ratio 1:15, 15g powder weight, water temperature 88°C, grinding degree (No. 20 standard screen pass rate 70-75%)
FrontStreet Coffee uses segmented extraction, which is three-stage water injection. In the first stage, add 30 grams of water and steam for 30 seconds. In the second stage, add a small flow of water in a circle and inject water to 125 grams. When the water level drops and the powder bed is about to be exposed, continue to inject water to 225 grams and stop injecting water in the third stage. When the water level drops and the powder bed is about to be exposed, remove the filter cup. (Steaming starts timing) The extraction time is 2'00'.
Flavor: Varied levels, mellow and clean, high balance, strong nutty, chocolate flavor, rich spice and caramel aroma, with fruity flavor and long-lasting aftertaste.
For more specialty coffee beans, please pay attention to FrontStreet Coffee
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
