If we don't want to go through overly complicated coffee-making steps but still want to enjoy the deliciousness of freshly brewed coffee, then drip bag coffee is definitely the most suitable choice.Making drip bag coffee is very simple—no need to grind beans, no need for professional brewing tools. All we need is a cup and any kind of pouring kettle, and we can make a drip bag coffee. Its only drawback is that because the coffee is pre-ground, it loses a bit of aroma, so it doesn't taste as fragrant as coffee ground and brewed fresh. However, its convenience more than makes up for this shortcoming, which is why drip bag coffee has become a must-have staple for many friends who work, study, or travel away from home.Although Front Street Coffee has already shared quite a few drip bag brewing tutorials, we still receive a constant stream of feedback from friends both on our backend and in our stores about common problems like "I can't brew drip bag coffee well," "The drip bag coffee I brew doesn't taste good or has no flavor." So today, Front Street Coffee is here to share with you how to simply brew a cup of drip bag coffee that tastes just as good as pour-over!(Well, close to it—it will still be slightly inferior in terms of aroma.)First, we need to understand that whether it's pour-over or drip bag coffee, if we want it to taste good, it needs to have an appropriateextraction yieldand concentration. Grind size, water temperature, time, and ratio are the four major parameters that control coffee extraction yield and concentration during the brewing process. Since drip bag coffee uses pre-ground coffee, the only parameters we need to control are water temperature, time, and ratio—just these three.1. What water temperature should be used to brew drip bag coffee?Water temperature determines the rate at which flavor compounds dissolve. When brewing drip bag coffee, the higher the water temperature, the faster the flavor compounds in the coffee dissolve, and vice versa. The reason many friends can't brew drip bag coffee well is that the water temperature they use isn't high enough, so they can't extract the coffee's flavor.As Front Street Coffee often mentions, most office workers get their hot water mainly from water dispensers. Most water dispensers on the market keep hot water at around 80°C. If we use water at this temperature to brew drip bag coffee, then due to insufficient extraction efficiency from the water temperature, the resulting coffee will often be bland and weak.So, if you want to brew a delicious pot of drip bag coffee, the first thing you need to nail down is the water temperature.Generally speaking, if what we're brewing is a light-roast or medium-light roast drip bag coffee with rich fruity and floral notes(such as the Huakui and Yirgacheffe drip bag coffees on Front Street Coffee's Taobao flagship store), then Front Street Coffee recommends a water temperature of 90–93°C. This is because this type of coffee has a higher density and needs hotter water to dissolve the flavors in a short time;And if what you're brewing is a medium-dark or dark roast coffee bean with rich roasted aromas like nuts, cream, and chocolate(such as the Mandheling and Brazil drip bag coffees on Front Street Coffee's Taobao flagship store), then Front Street Coffee recommends a brewing water temperature of 86°C–89°C. This is because this type of coffee grounds has a looser structure, and the flavor compounds can dissolve out very quickly—water that's too hot can easily cause over-extraction.2. How much water should be poured when brewing drip bag coffee?The amount of water poured not only affects the quantity of substances dissolved from the coffee but also determines the coffee's concentration. When the extraction yield remains constant, the more water you use during brewing, the lower the coffee's concentration, and vice versa. If you don't want to drink a cup of drip bag coffee that's bland as water or overly concentrated, Front Street Coffee would recommend controlling the amount of water poured. So exactly how much hot water should be poured?Thecoffee-to-water ratiofor drip bag coffee is the same as for pour-over coffee! Generally speaking, the ratio Front Street Coffee uses for pour-over is 1:15—a coffee-to-water ratio that makes the coffee slightly more concentrated. Coffee brewed at this ratio has both prominent, distinct flavors and a full body. So if you can accept a slightly more concentrated, slightly stronger-tasting coffee, then a 1:15 coffee-to-water ratio will be a good choice.The Front Street drip bag coffee sold on Front Street Coffee's Taobao flagship store is 10g per packet. Following a 1:15 coffee-to-water ratio, the amount of water we need to pour is 150ml. If you want it a bit stronger, you can use a 1:14 ratio and brew with 140ml of hot water. If you want it a bit lighter, you can use a 1:16 or 1:17 ratio—that is, use 160ml–170ml of hot water for 10g of coffee.Then, depending on different needs, we can choose different ways to measure the water. If you don't mind the trouble, Front Street Coffee recommends getting a kitchen scale—it's small, doesn't take up space, and is affordable. It can help you precisely control the amount of water poured, ensuring you can make equally delicious coffee every time. If you find that troublesome and want to stick to the "minimalist" spirit of drip bag coffee, you can estimate the water amount by the markings on the cup or the water level in the drip bag during brewing.
Taking Front Street's drip bag as an example—Front Street's drip bags are 10g per packet. After many tests, Front Street found that when the hot water poured reaches half the height of the coffee packet(be sure to pour slowly with a thin stream), the water amount will be around 30–40ml(affected by the pouring rate); and if poured to nine-tenths full(be sure to pour slowly with a thin stream), the water amount will be around 70–80ml(affected by the pouring rate). Through this visual water-level measurement method, we can estimate the total water amount based on the specific brewing stages.For example, if you want to pour 160ml of water, you can choose to pour four times to reach half the height of the coffee packet, or pour twice to nine-tenths full. And so on. Front Street Coffee recommends that before "blind brewing," you first use a scale to confirm the specific water amount corresponding to each water level. The specific number of stages is mainly determined by our brewing time.3. Brewing time for drip bag coffeeLastly, the brewing time for drip bag coffee! Brewing time is the contact time between water and coffee grounds. The longer the water contacts the grounds, the more flavor compounds the water can extract from the coffee, and vice versa.Many times, people use the right water temperature and set the right water amount, but the coffee still doesn't taste pleasant. The reason is that the brewing time is too short—the hot water doesn't have enough time to fully dissolve the flavor compounds in the coffee, causing an imbalance in taste and a decrease in concentration. The coffee tastes extremely sour and even has a noticeable astringency. So the brewing time for drip bag coffee is also something Front Street Coffee recommends you control well!Since the grind size of Front Street drip bag coffee is the same as for pour-over coffee, Front Street recommends controlling the extraction time to about 2 minutes. As long as the water temperature and water amount are normal, 2 minutes is enough to dissolve a large amount of flavor compounds from the coffee. Even if the resulting coffee isn't outstanding, it will still fall into the category of "tasty." So here's the question: how do we control the brewing time?Actually, it's very simple—just two steps! The first step is to slow down the pouring rate and pour the hot water slowly, which extends the coffee's extraction time. The second step is to pour the hot water in multiple stages! Generally, the more stages you divide it into, the longer the extraction time. Usually, Front Street Coffee recommends dividing the hot water into 3–4 pours, because this makes it easier for us to estimate the amount of water poured.As Front Street Coffee mentioned earlier, if you want to pour 160ml into a 10g packet of Front Street drip bag coffee without a scale, you can pour to half the height of the coffee packet, then repeat three more times—the total water amount will be roughly around 160ml. Then, note that the first pour is thebloom, which needs to sit for 30 seconds to let the coffee grounds degas. Each subsequent pour of hot water should only be done after the coffee liquid in the packet has drained completely. This effectively extends the extraction time and allows the flavor compounds in the coffee to dissolve more completely.
In summary, if you're brewing a packet of light or medium-light roast Front Street drip bag coffee, the recommended extraction parameters are: water temperature 90°C–93°C, brewing time 2 minutes, water amount 140ml–170ml, poured in 3–4 stages. And if you're brewing a packet of medium-dark or dark roast Front Street drip bag coffee, the recommended extraction parameters are:water temperature 86°C–89°C, brewing time 2 minutes, water amount 140ml–170ml, poured in 3–4 stages. The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.
