"Absolutely delicious!"This is how Mr. Tetsu Kasuya introduced the coffee brewed with his improved hybrid brewing method at the beginning of his earlier video.(Call me the screenshot master)Front Street believes that everyone is already familiar with Tetsu Kasuya. He is not only the champion of the 2016 World Brewers Cup, but also the inventor of the famous brewing methods "4-6 method" and "hybrid/devil brewing method."Whether it's the "4-6 method" or the "hybrid brewing," they were all researched by Mr. Tetsu Kasuyaaround the concept of "anyone can brew delicious coffee." So these methods are very simple to operate, and even a complete beginner can easily brew a cup of delicious coffee.As Front Street mentioned earlier, Mr. Tetsu Kasuya recently improved the hybrid brewing method. Although only two small adjustments were made during the brewing process, they greatly improved the stability and uniformity during brewing, making it even easier to brew delicious coffee. So today Front Street will share this brand new(all-new)version of hybrid brewing—what exactly is this brewing method~New · Hybrid Brewing MethodWhat is hybrid brewing? It's actually easy to understand—it's a brewing method that combines different extraction methods, and the different extraction methods here actually refer to "immersion" and "drip."So-called immersion is a method of extraction by soaking coffee in water; and so-called drip is another extraction method that uses water to wash through the coffee. The hybrid brewing method means that during the brewing process, there is both immersion extraction and drip extraction, which is a relatively rare practice in coffee making. But because this method requires the coffee grounds to soak in water for a period of time, it needs to be used with a smart cup that has a valve.Since the hybrid brewing method is a brewing method derived from the 4-6 method, the theory behind both is exactly the same, and the only difference is in the actual operation.As the name suggests, the 4-6 method splits the total pouring water into the first 40% and the latter 60%. The water poured in the first part is 40% of the total water, and it determines the flavor direction of the coffee(the balance between acidity and sweetness); the water poured in the latter part is 60% of the total water, and it determines the mouthfeel of the coffee.
The hybrid brewing method also divides the hot water used for brewing into the first 40% and the latter 60%. The principle is the same, but the difference is that it has fewer pouring stages, and immersion extraction is added during the brewing process.The 4-6 method has five stages: the water poured in the first two stages adds up to 40%, and the water poured in the last three stages adds up to 60%. As for the hybrid brewing method,the first two stages are the same, both are drip extraction. The difference is that the last three stages are concentrated into 1 stage, still 60% of the total water, except that the extraction method to be used is immersion rather than drip. The specific operation is very simple: before pouring water, close the valve of the smart cup and then pour.But because immersion extraction is combined, and the immersion time is relatively long, in order to prevent undesirable substances from being dissolved out, the water temperature of the third stage is lowered.The improved version of the hybrid brewing method, on the basis of the original, changes the first stage's bloom from drip to immersion, and splits the latter 60% into 2 stages, one drip and one immersion. The purpose of this change is to allow the coffee grounds to fully contact the water during the bloom stage so as to fully degas, and then the subsequent extraction can be more uniform and more stable.That's roughly an introduction to the operation. Next, Front Street will demonstrate how to brew with this new version of the hybrid brewing method~How to brew with the New · Hybrid Brewing Method?This time Front Street will use Front Street Emerald Estate · Diamond Mountain from Front Street's bean list for the demonstration. The brewing parameters are as follows:Dripper used: Hario V60 Smart CupCoffee-to-water ratio: 1:15Grind size: caster sugar grind, Ek43 setting 10 (75% passing through a No. 20 sieve)Brewing water temperature: first three stages 92°C, last stage 70°CFirst, we close the valve of the smart cup, then pour in water at 2 times the weight of the coffee for a 40-second bloom(the purpose is to allow more complete degassing).After the bloom ends, we open the valve and let the coffee liquid in the dripper drain out. When the coffee liquid has finished dripping, use a small stream of water and pour the second stage of hot water in circles from the center outward. This stage requires 80ml of water, that is, the electronic scale shows 120ml, and the pouring time can be controlled within the range of 20~30 seconds.When the coffee liquid in the cup has mostly dripped through, keep the valve open, and we pour the third stage of hot water. Similarly, use a small stream of water and pour in circles. This stage requires 80ml of water, that is, the electronic scale shows 200ml.While waiting for the coffee liquid to drip through, we add a certain amount of room-temperature water to the kettle to lower the hot water temperature to the range of 70°C~80°C.At about 2 minutes 10 seconds, the coffee liquid in the smart cup has finished dripping, so at this time we can close the valve, then pour in the remaining 100ml of hot water in one go for a 35-second immersion.When the time reaches 2 minutes 45 seconds, we can open the valve to end the immersion, then wait for all the coffee liquid to finish dripping, and we can remove the dripper and complete the extraction!The total time is 3 minutes 20 seconds. Although it is much slower than regular brewing time, because we lowered the water temperature and it is mostly immersion extraction, the coffee does not have an over-extracted taste; instead, it is very delicious. The flavors of citrus, berries, and apricot are all well displayed. The taste is balanced, the sweetness is higher, the mouthfeel is as smooth and rich as honey, and the finish is oolong tea, very long-lasting.So the above is the operation process of the new version of the hybrid brewing method, and everyone can refer to it. But just as Mr. Tetsu Kasuya said in the video, everyone can treat this operation process as a template for reference, and anyone can freely change it, because everyone's taste preferences, equipment used, and beans are all different. As long as you understand the general principles and operation, and then customize the operation according to your own understanding, the coffee you brew will definitely be a flavor that better suits your preferences, and this is also the concept Front Street has always shared with everyone~ The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.
