There seems to be a continual force present among ourselves to resolve the issue of uneven extraction. With the exclusion of espresso, there’s copious variety when it comes to brewing methods and the intricate subtleties of style and technique. From the agitation being sourced due to the flow and contact of water with grounds, to the perpetual struggle of channeling and uniform pouring - everything seems to make such substantial alterations to the final extraction. Grind consistency and distribution, maintaining proper slurry temperature, low and flat beds, brew ratios, degassing, and so many other parameters and elements to disarrange and contort - and when it comes down to it, it’s all an effort to evade the well known and unpleasant taste of simple bitterness. It’s all a fight, and quite frankly one that we often lose. So what truly is the most dependable method for extracting coffee, and is dependency and the ability to remain uniformity even relevant? I enjoy and appreciate the labor, effort, and reward of manually brewing a cup of coffee. Where you can express personal characteristics and convey specific attributes that you want present more than others, and in each cup there is something new and unique whether good or bad. I dislike the idea of a machined robot making my coffee, despite if there is consistency there or not, there is frankly a lack of love and focused disposition. Also, and quite surprisingly - I very infrequently get an exceptional cup from an automated coffee machine. I mean seriously, have you seen those beds? High, dry, channeled, and all over the place. Perhaps one day I'll be united with the perfect machine that brews the perfect cup every time, but until then lets discuss the good ole pour over.
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| Without stirring |
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| With Stirring |
In a pour over, there are many inconsistencies and obstacles that present themselves. First off water temperature. What ever temperature it is that you deem optimal is going to dramatically drop in the actual slurry. So perhaps you over compensate for the temperature loss by five degrees, but now you have an undesirable and overly heated water temperature coming out on top, and a decreasing temperature as it subsides. This is quite unreliable, and is dependent on other elements such as room temperature, and unless you have a heat regulated pouring vessel, then the temperature of your pouring vessel is dropping as well. Each dispersion of water you make is another opportunity to create non-uniformity among the slurry. The pour over's design is somewhat flawed in the sense that it's nearly impossible to always have all grounds being extracted at the same time (and evenly at that). Due to that charming thing called gravity, the water is constantly being pulled down, and unfortunately wet grounds create a lot of surface tension, and clench to the sides as the water depletes. All this means is that the water level is leaving the grounds high and dry above, where extraction ceases, and the lower section of the bed becomes extracted at a higher rate. So how do you avoid this? Well, keep your slurry as low and even as possible. I'm a large fan of stirring - during the bloom, as needed during extraction, and after the final saturation. I truly believe it assures uniformity and even agitation with a little practice. Stirring the slurry will encapsulate the grounds grasping onto the sides, and mix them with the rest. This is fantastic as well, because while extracting it's of good practice to avoid pouring directly down the filter because it's an easy place to channel, and by stirring you get the grounds you miss while pouring. Next time you brew, look at the differentiation between colors throughout the slurry (as in the pictures above). It's quite apparent the different levels of extraction, usually being under extracted and darker on the outer perimeter, and further even and lighter in the center. Stirring may have a draw back as well, depending on how you look at it, and should be accounted for the additional agitation which may induce extraction. This could be a simple fix as to slightly coarsening the grind. The pour over is traditional, and manages to still be one of the dominant methods to produce coffee, but is most assuredly far from perfect.
So where does this bring us now? Well, there are some imperfections in percolation style brewing, and yet it's still my go to method every morning. Perhaps the hassle and time put into a syphon pot isn't something I want to go through every morning, but does it actually produce a better cup anyway? I think that's for another post - and discussion of infusion styled brewing methods. I really do enjoy brewing pour overs, It's sincerely and simply fun. Funny enough, sometimes I find myself sad once it's finished, almost like beating a game and then not knowing what to do after. But then you realize that you just produced something (hopefully) delicious, and you get to indulge in a creative and beautiful beverage. A cup of coffee that has been touched by the hands of many, all just to get onto your counter for you to take pleasure in brewing and drinking.
