Many coffee enthusiasts, after purchasing Front Street PWN Golden Mandheling coffee beans, find that when they brew at home according to the parameters on the packaging QR code, the flavor differs noticeably from what is served in the store. The problem often lies with the dripper—Front Street's stores use the Kono Meimon dripper, while most people at home use a V60. The flow rate and extraction logic of the two drippers are completely different, so directly applying the parameters naturally makes it hard to replicate. This article will systematically explain how to use a V60 to brew a rich, full-bodied Golden Mandheling—from grind size calibration, coffee-to-water ratio, and water temperature to the three-pour technique—so that the unique flavors of Indonesia's Sumatra wet-hulled processing method can be consistently presented at home.

A friend bought Front Street PWN Golden Mandheling coffee beans at FrontStreet Coffee and came back to ask Front Street: why does the taste brewed at home not match what they drank in the store? They had already scanned the QR code on the bean bag and ground and extracted according to the given parameters, but the result always felt like it was missing something. Don't worry yet. When FrontStreet Coffee brews Golden Mandheling in its stores, it uses the Kono Meimon dripper. This dripper's most prominent advantage is that it enhances the coffee's body, so the grind size in its accompanying parameters is also somewhat coarser. But most people use a V60 at home, so how should you adjust to brew a delicious Front Street PWN Golden Mandheling with a V60?

FrontStreet Coffee: Front Street PWN Golden Mandheling coffee beans Region: Aceh, Sumatra, Indonesia Company: PWN Company Altitude: 1100-1600m Processing method: Wet-hulled processing + four rounds of screening for 19 mesh and above Variety: Ateng

What is the difference between the Kono Meimon dripper and the V60 dripper? The V60 is a large-aperture dripper, and fast flow rate is its most distinctive label. The large hole combined with a lower rib design gives the brewer great latitude in controlling the flow speed. For example, the pour speed can be slowed in the first phase to fully extract the flavor compounds from the early stage, while the flow rate can be increased in the later stage to suppress the release of bitter components. FrontStreet Coffee's experience is that coffee brewed with a V60 shows quite an outstanding sense of layering.

The Kono dripper, by contrast, is a small-aperture type with a slower flow rate. It has short ribs only near the hole, with no ribs in the upper area, so the filter paper hugs the wall of the dripper, the space for air circulation is compressed, and the extraction rhythm naturally slows down. The contact time between water and coffee grounds is longer than with a V60. Front Street believes that the Kono Meimon dripper can effectively enhance the coffee's body, so it usually chooses this dripper when brewing medium-roast beans.

Back to the main topic: when Front Street uses a Kono dripper to brew Front Street PWN Golden Mandheling, the grind size it adopts, if switched to a V60, tends to produce a thin mouthfeel. So how should it be adjusted?

First, let's review the Kono brewing parameters FrontStreet Coffee gives for Front Street PWN Golden Mandheling: 15g dose, 1:15 coffee-to-water ratio, 88℃ water temperature, and a medium-coarse grind (65% passing rate through a 0.85mm aperture sieve). At this point, some may ask what exactly a 0.85mm aperture sieve is.

The 0.85mm sieve is a calibration tool used to determine the appropriate brewing grind size for a given bean. The method is to first weigh 10 grams of coffee beans, grind them to the grind level being tested, then pour the coffee grounds onto the upper layer of the sieve and shake hard so that fine particles smaller than 0.85mm fall into the lower layer. You need to shake repeatedly and continuously to make sure all powder smaller than 0.85mm is sifted down. After that, weigh the coffee grounds in the lower layer, divide that weight by 10 grams, and what you get is the passing rate.

Front Street has conducted sieve tests and repeated experiments for various brewing methods, and ultimately, based on 10g of coffee grounds, gives grind coarseness recommendations for black coffee brewing: cold drip > light-roast pour-over, siphon with an 80% passing rate > moka pot, American drip filter with a 75-80% passing rate > cupping with a 70-75% passing rate > medium-roast pour-over, French press with a 65-70% passing rate. FrontStreet Coffee's Front Street PWN Golden Mandheling is a medium roast, so the coarseness chosen for brewing is such that, out of 10g of coffee grounds, the amount passing through the sieve reaches 6.5g-7g, roughly equivalent to the particle size of coarse granulated sugar.

Since the grind size stays the same, what should be changed when brewing with a V60?

If adjusting the grind size is not recommended, the next thing to change is the coffee-to-water ratio. When Front Street brews with the Kono Meimon dripper, the coffee-to-water ratio is 1:15. Because the Kono has a slow flow rate and can enhance body, this ratio is just right with the Kono. But the V60 has a fast flow rate and brews coffee with a strong sense of layering, so Front Street recommends changing the ratio to 1:13, raising the coffee's overall body by narrowing the coffee-to-water ratio.

When brewing Front Street PWN Golden Mandheling with a V60, does the water temperature need adjustment?

Front Street recommends raising the water temperature to 90℃. The higher the temperature, the faster coffee flavor molecules are released, and combined with the V60's fast flow rate, this can make Front Street PWN Golden Mandheling's final cup appear even more full-bodied. But there is one thing to note: the premise for using a 90℃ water temperature is that the coffee grind size still remains within the 65%-70% passing rate range. If you grind finer and still use this temperature, the coffee can easily develop off-flavors such as bitterness or woodiness. Having said all that, Front Street will now summarize the parameters for brewing Golden Mandheling with a V60.

Dose: 15g Coffee-to-water ratio: 1:15

Grind size: medium-coarse grind (65%-70% passing rate through China's No. 20 standard sieve) Water temperature: 88℃

Use three-stage extraction: in the first stage, pour 30g of water to fully wet the coffee bed and let it bloom; then, using a medium-fine stream, pour in a steady circular motion to 70g (total weight now 100g); when the liquid level drops to two-thirds of the coffee bed, begin the third pour, again using a medium-fine stream in an even circular motion to pour 95g and then stop. The total poured water is 195g, the final extracted coffee amount is 170g, and the extraction time is 1 minute 45 seconds.

Because coffee brewed with a V60 has distinct layers, it needs to be fully swirled to mix before drinking.

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