Pour-over coffee is gaining strong momentum in China, and many enthusiasts are rushing to get their hands on pour-over gear. On one hand, pour-over equipment is relatively affordable; on the other, this method brings out the flavors of the coffee beans themselves to the greatest extent. But there are many factors that affect the pour-over result, and the same beans often taste completely different in different people's hands. This article focuses on the brewing approaches of the top six competitors at the 2015 World Brewers Cup, going through the bean varieties, equipment, parameters, and techniques they used one by one, to see how top experts each interpret a good cup of coffee in their own way. It also includes Front Street Coffee's recommendations and interpretations regarding competition beans and brewing logic.
In recent years, pour-over coffee has gained strong momentum in China, and many enthusiasts have rushed to get their hands on pour-over gear. On one hand, pour-over equipment is relatively affordable; on the other, this method brings out the flavors of the coffee beans themselves to the greatest extent. But there are many factors that affect the pour-over result, and the same beans often taste completely different in different people's hands. Below, let's review the brewing approaches of the top six competitors at the 2015 World Brewers Cup.
Sixth place: Ruslan Shulga of "Omni Coffee" in Russia
This Russian competitor chose a naturally processed Geisha from Hacienda La Esmeralda at an altitude of 1,700 meters. He repeatedly emphasized that natural beans are extremely sensitive during roasting. Before the competition, Shulga had already tested this batch of beans repeatedly with multiple roasters and different profiles, comparing them to find the most suitable roast level and profile.
He used a Hario V60 dripper, with 15 grams of coffee to 250 grams of water, and the brewed coffee had a strong and complex fruity acidity. The wet aroma showed orange, caramel, and vanilla; on the palate there were iced peach tea, orange, and a medium-sweet citrus note. As the temperature dropped, the acidity rose further.
Fifth place: Rob Kerkhof of "Barbo Coffee" in the Netherlands
"Welcome, everyone, to my micro coffee bar"—this was the Dutch competitor's opening line. He also mentioned that every link in today's coffee industry is full of innovation. And "innovation" was precisely the core of his competition entry. The beans he chose came from Costa Rica's Diamante estate, using anaerobic fermentation, with a variety that is a cross between Catuai and Caturra. The beans, which retained their mucilage, underwent 20 hours of fermentation, and thus carried a cinnamon wet aroma.
Kerkhof created his own brewing method. He said: "I kept asking myself what I like? The answer is: first, I like the body of cupped coffee; second, I like the clarity of Chemex." So he combined the two, pairing a hand-pressed espresso maker with CHEMEX filter paper. The parameters were 18 grams of coffee, 300 grams of water, 120 base pairs, pH 7.1, water temperature 93 degrees Celsius, and 5 minutes 30 seconds of even stirred extraction. The final cup showed a light apple-like fruit acidity, a cinnamon sweetness in the finish, and a medium-light body, with the entire process taking 9 minutes 40 seconds.
Fourth place: Sarah Anderson of "Intelligentsia" in the United States
Sarah chose Colombia's Eugenioides variety, which she called "the mother of Arabica." This variety has a unique flavor, with strong sweetness and delicate acidity. Last year's annual output was only 200 pounds, but the growth trend is clear. Sarah said that Eugenioides needs to grow in a greenhouse and requires extremely meticulous care. After harvesting, the cherries were fermented in stainless steel water tanks, and she and the Intelligentsia team in Los Angeles went through more than 80 roasts before finding the ideal flavor profile. During the experimental stage, they also collaborated with Copenhagen's "Coffee Collective" to study this bean.
Sarah used an ALTOAIR paper-filter pour-over device, with 19 grams of coffee to 300 grams of water, and a brewing time of 8 minutes 30 seconds. She believed that extracting with a low dose of coffee can fully reveal the coffee's brightness. She mixed the coffee grounds with hot water into three cups of solution and let them settle, stirred again after 1 minute 30 seconds, then poured them one by one into the dripper. As she worked, she said: "What I love doing most is making sure guests always find my coffee fresh." She also told the judges: "You are coffee professionals, and today you are tasting the best coffee in the world, so I won't let you drink a flavor you've tasted before."
The coffee she brewed had a wet aroma of black butter and black tea, a full and smooth body, clean and bright, with a flavor profile including sugarcane sweetness, genmaicha aroma, sandy melon, juicy ripe pear, and apple-like acidity.
Third place: Benjamin Prager of "Bear and Cow Coffee" in Switzerland
"To me, Kenyan coffee is almost perfect." Benjamin Prager opened with this and chose Kenyan beans with a delicate, clean, sweet, and soft taste for the competition. The beans came from SL-28/34 near Nyeri in southern Kenya, grown at an altitude of 1,800 meters. He described poetically: "The fertile soil of the volcanic region gives birth to coffee with a rich flavor profile."
He used a Hario V60 dripper. The 14 grams of coffee were obtained by first grinding the beans, then sifting through a 350-micron stainless steel sieve, and then sifting a second time through a 250-micron sieve. With 236 grams of water, he first poured 30 grams for the bloom, then poured the remaining hot water into the dripper all at once to avoid losing water temperature, thereby achieving a silky medium body.
The beans he used were harvested last December, processed by washing and natural methods, and stored in specialty crop packaging bags. Prager noted that the wet aroma of the beans was floral, dried red currant, and black currant. With a medium-light body, it tasted like blueberry, Manet grape, and black currant infused into tea. The competition time was 10 minutes.
Second place: Konstantinos Latridis of "Taf Coffee" in Greece
Konstantinos chose a naturally processed Geisha from Panama's Micro Estate and brewed with a Hario V60. He used 15 grams of beans to 250 milliliters of water. He first bloomed with 96-degree hot water, and after the bloom ended, switched to another kettle of water to continue brewing.
He explained to the judges that the V60 is easy to control and produces obvious results. The finished flavor profile was berries, chocolate, and stone fruits, with a wet aroma similar to magnolia, black honey, and milk tea. Its floral notes and fruity body led him to call this bean "a natural bean with washed characteristics." The stop time was 9 minutes 32 seconds.
First place: Odd Steinar Tøllefsen of "Supreme Roastworks" in Norway
This Norwegian competitor chose "Ninety Plus" Ethiopian natural "Nekisse." Tøllefsen called it the "improved version of Nekisse," using a shade-dried processing method. He said: "Saying too much about this bean is dangerous, because it will speak for itself." He also revealed that Nekisse has so far produced only 7 bags worldwide. He described drinking Nekisse as "the most beautiful coffee can be no more than this, as if it were its mission."
Tøllefsen used a V60 dripper, with 20 grams of beans to 300 grams of 92-degree hot water, a 45-second bloom, and a total extraction time of 3 minutes 30 seconds. The brewing water came from pure natural mineral water from the west coast of Norway, with a low mineral ratio and a smooth, delicate mouthfeel.
To show the judges the real-time brewing index, Tøllefsen used an ACAIA digital scale (commonly known in China as a tofu scale), connected via Bluetooth to an Apple phone. The finished wet aroma had moderate sweetness, tropical fruit flesh, apricot, mango, and passion fruit. The flavor profile was tropical fruit flesh, apricot, mango, passion fruit, licorice apricot, and strawberry. The finish had the lingering quality of passion fruit and the elegant acidity of mango. The whole process took exactly 10 minutes.
(This article is excerpted from the WeChat public account: Coffee Salon)
The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.
