The siphon pot, due to its unique coffee making method and high ornamental value, once became a popular coffee utensil in the last century. Last winter, Qianjie mentioned that in today’s trend of retro fashion, more and more shop owners have added the option of siphon pot coffee to their menus, which allows friends in the new era to have the opportunity to enjoy the deliciousness of the past.
Because it is also a way of making specialty coffee, people inevitably compare it with the modern mainstream extraction method – “hand brewed coffee”. And friends who have tasted siphon pot coffee know that there is still a significant difference between siphon pot coffee and hand brewed coffee, in terms of taste and taste.
Hand brewed coffee tastes cleaner, more layered, and has a more prominent flavor. And the taste of siphon pot coffee will be more mellow, with a stronger aroma and a more solid taste. So I believe many friends are curious why there is such a big gap between the two. Why is there such a big difference between a siphon pot and coffee made by hand?
1、 Different extraction methods
The main extraction method for hand brewed coffee is drip filtration, also known as filtration. While injecting hot water to extract coffee, the coffee liquid will also seep out of the filter paper, which is known as drip filtration. Careful friends will notice that Qianjie is talking about “main” rather than “all”. Because hand brewed coffee also exhibits a soaking effect during the brewing process, it does not mean that water directly washes through the coffee powder, but rather stays for a short period of time before seeping out from the filter paper. Therefore, hand brewed coffee is not completely extracted through drip filtration.
Most people would think that the extraction method of siphon pot coffee is “siphon type”, which is not right~because siphon pot only uses the siphon principle to draw hot water to the upper pot, which is not used for coffee extraction.
After hot water is extracted into the upper pot, adding coffee powder for soaking is considered the official start of extraction, so more accurately, the extraction method of siphon pot coffee should be “soaking”. Extract the flavor substances from the powder by soaking it in water and coffee powder.
Because soaking extraction uses all hot water to come into contact with coffee powder, when the substances in the water reach a certain level, the dissolution rate will slow down and there will be no more extraction of flavor substances from the coffee, which is commonly known as saturation. Therefore, the taste of siphon pot coffee will be relatively balanced, with a full aroma, but the flavor will not be too prominent (which is also related to the second factor). Drip filtration extraction continuously uses pure hot water to extract flavor substances from coffee, which has a large amount of storage space and continuously extracts flavor substances from coffee. Therefore, coffee made from hand brewed coffee will have a fuller coffee flavor, but it is also more prone to over extraction.
It is worth mentioning that compared to conventional soaking extraction, the soaking extraction of siphon pots may be slightly different. Due to the principle of siphon extraction, hot water continuously heats up during the coffee extraction process, providing enough air to keep the hot water in the upper pot. Therefore, the soaking extraction of a siphon pot is completely constant temperature, while conventional soaking and drip filtration extraction processes are constantly losing temperature. The temperature of water gradually decreases with time, resulting in a higher extraction rate. With stirring, the siphon pot can complete the extraction in a shorter time.
2. Different filtering methods
In addition to the extraction method, the filtering methods of the two types of coffee can also have a significant impact on the performance of the coffee. Hand brewed coffee uses extremely dense filter paper, and substances other than coffee liquid cannot pass through. Only coffee liquid permeates out.
The main filtering device used in a siphon kettle is flannel filter cloth. Although filter paper can also be used, it cannot fully cover it, which makes it unable to form a “closed” space like hand brewed coffee. Fine powder, oil, and other substances can fall into the lower pot through the gaps and be added to the coffee liquid, so the coffee in a siphon pot may appear cloudy. Although fats and fine powders may make the coffee liquid less clean, they can provide a richer taste for coffee, so siphon pot coffee tastes richer.
On the other hand, when it comes to hand brewed coffee, it is precisely because it is filtered too cleanly that it lacks a certain mellow taste, but this is also one of its major advantages – ultimate cleanliness! So we can understand why there is such a big difference in taste between coffee made from a siphon pot and hand brewed coffee, not only due to the impact of extraction methods, but also because of the different filtration systems, the coffee liquid has a completely different taste.
Post time: Jul-09-2024