In recent years, coffee culture has continued to deepen, and many "early-shift workers" need a cup of coffee every day to have the energy to "haul bricks." However, not everyone can go to a coffee shop anytime to properly enjoy a delicious cup of pour-over coffee, so for convenience people invented drip bag coffee.

What is drip bag coffee?

Drip bag coffee is coffee that has been ground in advance and packed into a sealable filter bag with two "ears" that can hang securely. With just hot water and a container for the coffee, it is a coffee packet that can be brewed anytime, anywhere.

Like pour-over, drip bags are a form of filter extraction, but compared with the operation of pour-over coffee, drip bags are much more convenient and quick. Pour-over coffee requires at least the following equipment: a brewing kettle, a thermometer, a dripper and filter paper, a grinder, a timed scale, etc. Since drip bags are pre-ground, there is no need for grinding equipment. The filter bag usually uses degradable non-woven fabric. Water extracts the soluble substances from the coffee grounds, which seep through the non-woven fabric, so there is no need to prepare filter paper and a dripper for brewing.

How do you brew drip bag coffee?

Most drip bag coffees on the market usually come in small packages. For example, Front Street Coffee's drip bags contain 10 g of coffee grounds per bag, using a 1:15 coffee-to-water ratio, so 150 g of hot water needs to be poured.

First, we need to prepare a container to hold the coffee, either a sharing pot or a drinking cup; and a kettle for pouring water.

First tear open the sealed package, take out the coffee drip bag, and tear open the non-woven bag along the dotted line on top.

Pull apart the two ears, open the entire drip bag, and then hang them on the edge of the cup or sharing pot.

First, in the first stage, wet all the coffee grounds and let them bloom for about 10–20 seconds. In the second stage, pour in a steady small stream until the liquid surface is nearly full, then wait for the coffee liquid to descend until it has finished flowing. Pour in the final stage of water until full. Once all the coffee liquid has dripped through, gently shake it to even it out, and it is ready to enjoy.

What should you pay attention to when brewing drip bag coffee?

Similar to pour-over, the taste of drip bag coffee depends on the coffee beans; different producing regions and processing methods have different flavor profiles. The difference from pour-over is that the coffee grounds in drip bags have already been pre-ground in advance, so the aroma is not as full as freshly ground coffee.

After coffee beans are ground into powder, they have more contact area with the air, and the gases and aromatic substances inside them will be lost more quickly, which means the tasting period is shortened. The brewed coffee's aroma is not as rich, and it tastes somewhat flat and thin.If left for too long, the coffee grounds have already staled, and a "woody taste" can also appear.

Therefore, when buying drip bag coffee, we need to pay attention to the freshness of the coffee. The coffee beans shipped by Front Street Coffee are all freshly roasted within 5 days, and can also be made into drip bags, with a processing fee of 20 yuan/100 g. After purchase, everyone should also drink it as soon as possible; coffee at its best tasting period has the best flavor.

The brewing water temperature is also crucial. Usually, for pour-over, the water temperature is best controlled at 86–93°C. If the water temperature is too low, the coffee extraction efficiency will be slow, and under-extraction is likely to occur. If the water temperature cannot be increased, then extend the contact time between the coffee grounds and hot water, that is, let it steep a little longer.

The amount of water poured and the size of the stream can also change the strength of the drip bag coffee. Front Street Coffee suggests controlling the coffee-to-water ratio at 1:15, then adjusting up or down according to your preferred strength. In addition, if the poured stream is too fast, the extraction time of the coffee grounds is short, and the coffee taste tends to be lighter, so it is best to use a steady small stream throughout to make the extraction of the coffee bed more even.

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The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.