The Case for In-Cup Steeping

Coffee preparation techniques besides espresso like pourover.
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mrinaldo
Posts: 24
Joined: 9 years ago

#1: Post by mrinaldo »

Curious to know of others' thoughts, or if anyone else brews in a similar way.

There are master brewistas who could pour 3 drip cone brews back to back with uniform results. Then there's the rest of us, with lesser techniques and talent, who find consistency in manual pourover a tad elusive. In search of an easier way to achieve consistency, I've been playing more with immersion this past year.

The result: filtered in-cup steeping with a tea strainer (Forlife brand).



1. Fit a paper filter (ex. V60) inside the strainer. Then put strainer inside the cup. (I use a Porlex hand grinder to push down and shape the filter.)
2. Prewet filter and insert ground coffee.
3. Pour and steep. (I tried both continuous and pulse pours, stirring and no stirring.)
4. Gently lift and wait for remaining liquid to draw down (10-30 sec depending on grind size).



The flat-bottom strainer usually results in an even drawdown.



With a suspended strainer, it's key to fill up to the brim so the grounds are fully immersed. I like making 200 mL brews with 12.5 g coffee (1:16 coffee: water ratio). So a 210 mL-size cup is perfect for me.

I've tried brewing with different paper filters (yup, even cut paper towels). Ultimately, it's a lo-fi way to combine the ease of immersion with the clarity of different pourover filters (esp. V60 and Chemex filters). So choosing between pourover and immersion to me can be more an issue of filtration, not just simply the mechanics of water/coffee interaction.
Where mystique and simplicity collide, you get religion.
-D. Wondrich on Martini

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Boldjava
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Joined: 16 years ago

#2: Post by Boldjava »

Then there's the rest of us, with lesser techniques and talent, who find consistency in manual pourover a tad elusive.
With your set-up, you will have more consistency in the cup than with pourovers. 1-cup pourovers can be difficult to achieve consistency of taste. I prepare a quart every morning and find that volume more consistent.

Nice job.
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LMWDP #339

brianl
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Joined: 10 years ago

#3: Post by brianl »

I too have switched to steeping, except I use the Clever. The pour over technique was nothing i was too interested.

borisblank
Posts: 134
Joined: 10 years ago

#4: Post by borisblank »

Pourover with this small of a starting weight would be tough to get consistent with my Kalita Wave. Maybe it's my technique, but I miss some of the "edge" on really bright coffees with immersion brewing. I imagine it has something to do with temperature drop and equilibrium of extraction in immersion brewing, versus more constant temperature water with much less equilibration in pour-overs. But I have been accused of having an over-active imagination, so...

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mrinaldo (original poster)
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Joined: 9 years ago

#5: Post by mrinaldo (original poster) »

borisblank wrote:...I miss some of the "edge" on really bright coffees with immersion brewing.
I don't think you're over-imagining at all. I've definitely had cases where immersion can take off the "edge" of really bright coffees. This was my experience in briefly trying out the Bonavita Drippers using 1:16 ratio, medium-coarse grind, and a 4 min total brew time (though a different story when doing a 1:12 ratio, coarse grind, and 2:20 total brew time). But I've also had cases where pourover brewing does the same--diminished clarity, increased perceived body--which I guess may at least be due to two factors:

1. increased draw down time thanks to pourover device designs like Bee House's, especially with brewing larger amount using one continuous pour.

2. the type of paper filters used in Bee Houses versus in V60s and Chemexes.

I find that playing with filtration can really be a co-determining factor in achieving clarity using immersion. You won't necessarily get the same profile using a Chemex filter in immersion brewing vs. a Chemex pourover setting. But a Chemex-filtered immersion would be worlds away clarity-wise from a metal-filtered immersion (e.g. French press, ImPress).

I'm really curious if people who use steep-release brewers like the Bonavita Dripper or Clever have brewed using paper filters other than the default Melitta ones. Any differences in the cup? :?:
Where mystique and simplicity collide, you get religion.
-D. Wondrich on Martini