How Does Fine Coffee Behave in a Syphon Brewer?

A syphon brews a fuller-bodied cup because its cloth filter has wider gaps than paper, letting some fine coffee grounds pass into the liquid. That gives the drink a heavier mouthfeel. Any single-origin bean can work, including a Costa Rican Mozart, but the grind, water temperature and contact time matter more than the bean's origin label.

The device itself traces back to 1830-1840, when Loeff in Berlin patented the glass double-chamber method; it spread through France, the UK and Germany, then reached Denmark and Japan in the mid-20th century. Heat pushes water from the lower chamber up into the upper one, and removing the heat pulls the brewed coffee back down.

When we correctly use a siphon to brew a pot of coffee, the coffee has a fuller aroma and a richer mouthfeel. The reason is that the siphon filters coffee grounds with a cloth filter, and the gaps in the cloth are relatively large, so it cannot filter out some fine coffee grounds. Therefore, coffee brewed with a siphon has a pleasant texture in the mouth. To bring out the above advantages in the final coffee, Front Street believes that when using a siphon, you still need to pay attention to some details and choose the right coffee beans.

First, let's briefly talk about the origin of the siphon. The siphon originated in Europe, 70 years earlier than pour-over. Between 1830 and 1840, Loeff in Berlin, Germany, first invented and patented the glass double-chamber siphon extraction method. Later, through continuous improvements in France, the United Kingdom, and Germany, it was brought to Denmark and Japan in the mid-20th century and began to enter the market on a large scale, becoming extremely popular in the 1950s.

Siphon principle
The lower chamber of the siphon can be called the capacity chamber. It is spherical and marked with water volume scales for several cups, and it is used to hold the coffee liquid. The upper chamber is cylindrical and used to extract coffee. This principle is actually the siphon phenomenon in physics.

 
When the water in the lower chamber of the siphon is heated, it produces steam and pressure, pushing the hot water from the lower chamber up through the glass tube into the upper chamber and beginning to brew the coffee grounds in the upper chamber. After extraction is complete, turn off the heat and remove the heat source. At this point, the lower chamber is already in a semi-vacuum state and has lost the upward pressure, so the lower chamber then draws the coffee liquid from the upper chamber back down. (If you want the coffee extract to flow back faster, you can wipe the lower chamber with a wet cloth. This reduces the pressure difference between the upper and lower chambers and makes the coffee extract flow back faster.) The coffee grounds are blocked by the cloth filter in the upper chamber, completing extraction.

There are many ways to brew coffee. Different equipment, different techniques, different grind sizes, different times, and so on can all extract a cup of coffee. Or, with the same set of equipment, you can also play with different variations, and maybe the extracted coffee will surprise you quite a bit~~ Today let's share the stirring method and the immersion method for the siphon!!

Don't rush, first take a look with Front Street at the basic information of the beans used in this brewing experiment~~

Costa Rica Canet Musician Series Mozart 
Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee): Costa Rica Mozart coffee beans
Region: Tarrazu Canet Estate 

Variety: Caturra, Catuai
Altitude: 1950
Processing: Raisin honey processing
Flavor: raisin, osmanthus, berry, pineapple, caramel

This Costa Rica Canet Estate · Music Series Mozart bean has rich floral notes and soft fruit acidity. The raisin processing method also gives this bean fermented aromas, berry, and raisin flavors! Alright, without further ado, let's brew quickly. First, let's look at a stirring method～
 
Parameters: 1:10 coffee-to-water ratio, 20 grams of coffee, fine grind (EK43s grinder setting 9 / China standard No. 20 sieve pass rate 85%), water temperature 90℃.

 
Method: Add 200 grams of water to the lower chamber. When the water temperature in the lower chamber reaches 90℃, insert the upper chamber tightly. When the water rises to the upper chamber, add the grounds and stir so the coffee grounds fully contact the water. After 30 seconds, stir back and forth in a cross pattern for one round to break the crust. At 56 seconds, remove the heat source and let the coffee liquid flow back. (Timing starts when the grounds are added.) Extraction time is 1 minute 8 seconds.

Front Street Mozart siphon coffee flavor: floral, berry, fermented wine aroma, raisin.
 
Next, let's do an immersion method.

Parameters: 1:10 coffee-to-water ratio, 20 grams of coffee, medium-fine grind (EK43s grinder setting 9 /China standard No. 20 sieve pass rate 85%), water temperature 90℃.

Method: Add 200 grams of water to the lower chamber. When the water temperature in the lower chamber reaches 90℃, insert the upper chamber tightly. When the water rises to the upper chamber, add the grounds and stir so the coffee grounds fully contact the water. After 1 minute of immersion, remove the heat source and let the coffee liquid flow back. (Timing starts when the grounds are added.) Extraction time is 1 minute 32 seconds.
 

Front Street Mozart siphon coffee flavor: osmanthus aroma, berry, raisin, caramel.
 
The difference between using these two methods for siphon extraction is that the coffee extracted by the stirring method has a stronger fermented wine aroma and a thicker mouthfeel, and as the temperature drops, it has the sweet acidity of raisins; while the coffee extracted by the immersion method has a more obvious osmanthus aroma, and when it is a bit cooler, it has berry and raisin notes. The mouthfeel is slightly thinner, but very fresh and sweet. One is relatively fuller, and the other is relatively more refreshing.

Of course, taste varies from person to person, and everyone can also choose their preferred extraction method according to their own taste~~ However, regarding the siphon, the editor still has something to say. The siphon extracts coffee under continuous heating, and the water temperature should be kept between 86-94 degrees as much as possible. In this way, the extraction rate of the coffee grounds is higher, and it remains stable, with fewer variables, so the extracted coffee tastes more stable. Even if you are just a beginner in coffee, you can brew a full-bodied, rich, and aromatic cup of coffee. Remember to clean the cloth filter after each use, and replace it after a period of time, otherwise it can easily affect the coffee's flavor~~

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