Coffee is no longer just coffee anymore. Today, we know it by many names: a cuppa joe, java, jitter juice, morning jolt, cupped lightning, and many more.
More than that, specialty shops and baristas are continuously reinventing our favorite morning drink to the point of evolution. From ready-to-drink mixes to espresso shots, coffee has become many things – with each one catering to people’s different preferences and tastes. And one of these variants is called filter coffee or drip coffee.
As the name suggests, this type of coffee (or method of brewing coffee) entails pouring water over ground coffee beans. After a while, the resulting liquid is allowed to drip into a cup and served hot, like your favorite lly coffee in Saudi Arabia.
Here, we’ll teach you all about filter coffees, including the brewing methods and different things you need to make that perfect cup of delicious morning jolt.
Also called “pour-over coffee,” you can make filter coffee using two different methods:
This is the traditional method of making drip coffee. The mechanics are just as they sound – you let water flow through the coffee grounds and catch the dripping brown juice in a cup.
Although disposable coffee filters can be used to make flow-through coffee, some brewer models incorporate this method into their mechanism. One example is the elegant Chemex, which uses a double-bonded paper filter to get that clean, crisp coffee flavor.
Immersion is a method of coffee brewing where both coffee and water come in contact freely within the same space before being filtered. Though uncommon, this method has been used to brew full-bodied coffee using an Aeropress, French press, and V60.
Besides the coffee brewing method, it also pays to learn the six important things necessary to get your desired flavor and body in a filter coffee, including:
You don’t need that full barista coffee collection while you’re still learning the ropes of brewing. A few essential tools should suffice to get a good, consistent quality of pour-over coffee.
These include:
Different methods of brewing require varying levels of coffee bean coarseness. This means knowing the right grind to use for your methodology and equipment will help you get the best possible outcome.
Using your burr grinder, you can get the coarser coffee grounds required for the flow-through brewed coffee using a Chemex. But if you prefer a more full-bodied coffee, use the immersion brewing method (via a V60 and Aeropress) with finer coffee grounds.
How much water is needed to brew the perfect drip coffee? If we’re talking specialty coffee standards, you should stick between a 1:15 and 1:17 coffee-to-water ratio.
Of course, you can always adjust this according to your taste and create your very own signature coffee recipe. Just remember that even the slightest adjustment can drastically affect the flavor and body of your caffeinated drink.
The quality of water used in brewing is crucial not only to achieve the correct flavor and boldness but also in keeping your equipment and tools in good condition.
While you don’t need to have your own in-line water filtration, the water you use for coffee brewing must be clean and free of colors, odors, and off-flavors. It also must have the following ideal chemical make-up:
Coffee can be brewed at any temperature. (There’s even something called a “cold brew.”)
Because of this, there’s not a single universally applicable ideal temperature for brewing – just some recommendations by different organizations. Below are a few popular examples:
What coffee experts agree on is the importance of temperature stability.
No matter what temperature you decide , the brewer must stay within the same temperature range throughout the process. This is why preheating your brewer is necessary, as it helps prevent sudden heat loss.
Brew time describes the duration at which the ground coffee and water are in contact. It is also affected by the method of brewing and the equipment used.
In general, brewing time can be determined by considering the following factors:
For example, a Chemex brewer used for flow-through filter coffee brewing requires four to five minutes for six-, eight-, or 10-cup batches.
For V60, brewing can be anywhere between three minutes to six minutes for 400-milliliter to one-liter brews.
Drip or filter coffee offers a convenient alternative to traditional coffee brewing.
Whether you want a full-bodied cuppa joe or a clean and crisp beverage, this article can help you advance your knowledge of perfecting the brew.
As one of the most reputable beverage companies in Saudi Arabia, we can help you get all the supplies you need for that perfect cup of filter coffee.
