Nel drip style coffee

Coffee preparation techniques besides espresso like pourover.
Felice
Posts: 114
Joined: 9 years ago

#1: Post by Felice »

So... I'm new to nel. My questions are what type of grind (I'm using a Baratza encore in the chemex range,) what kind of beans- I've seen folks mention washed centrals but I tried a Guat but the acidity was overwhelming. I had good luck with a natural Ethiopian but it was still a bit too acidic. The Japanese videos on youtube show oily beans, any experience with roast levels out there? Lastly, how old are the beans you use? I've seen suggestions of 1-3 weeks and 2-6 weeks.

I love the idea of having something to do with old beans...

Thanks in advance.
Felice

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happycat
Posts: 1464
Joined: 11 years ago

#2: Post by happycat »

I have a Yama sock dripper. I grind finer than Chemex or Kalita.

if it tastes too sour and water is going through fast, a finer grind will slow it down particularly if you bloom first then use a gentle even pulsing pour over.

I roast my own beans pretty light though well developed (meaning dropped around 400f but roasted using the Rao declining ROR method with a hot 400f charge). I have roasted centrals and Africans and South Americans. I don't think the roast or origin should make the coffee too acidic for the method if you grind finer.

I boil the sock before use and after use after rinsing it out first and store it wet Ina ziplock in the fridge,

If you find flavour too amplified (meaning it would taste ok if you add some hot water to your cup), you can change your water to coffee ratio, or let your water sit a bit to cool before pouring.

I would note that I have an Encore and don't think it's very good for brewing. I often would get an "edge" in the flavour. It overproduced fine particles (baratza admits as much) I found life got easier when I started grinding with a big flat burr with a used Bunn g1. You can swap a Preciso burr for the Encore one.. Much sharper cutting surfaces.
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Felice (original poster)
Posts: 114
Joined: 9 years ago

#3: Post by Felice (original poster) »

This guy:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uq9UDRTlKo0

and a menu:


So on the menu I see that much of the coffee for nel is aged green. Is the "stale coffee" used in nel staled as a green or post roast? It seems like there's a fair amount of off gassing which makes me suspect that the greens are old but the roast is fresh.

Thanks for the advice.

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Eastsideloco
Posts: 1657
Joined: 13 years ago

#4: Post by Eastsideloco »

FWIW: Here's the Blue Bottle recipe:

https://bluebottlecoffee.com/preparatio ... s/nel-drip

I've always wanted to try this.

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happycat
Posts: 1464
Joined: 11 years ago

#5: Post by happycat »

Felice wrote:This guy:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uq9UDRTlKo0

and a menu:


So on the menu I see that much of the coffee for nel is aged green. Is the "stale coffee" used in nel staled as a green or post roast? It seems like there's a fair amount of off gassing which makes me suspect that the greens are old but the roast is fresh.

Thanks for the advice.
Interesting question thanks for pointing this place out. Here's an article

http://www.perfectdailygrind.com/2016/0 ... -23-years/

From the article:
So let me just summarise this for you: I was going to drink a coffee that was 7 years old, roasted dark as dark could be, and brewed with boiling water over an old cloth sock.

This defied everything I was taught to be meticulous about. Beans have X amount of days as a shelf life, good brewed coffee should always be roasted light, water temperature should be regulated (and definitely NOT boiling), and you should definitely always use the newest, most technically advanced brewing gadget available on the market. Screw any of these factors up, and you'd never get good coffee. Right?

Wrong.
And the greens are aged up to 40 years before roasting....

And from Sprudge:

http://sprudge.com/in-tokyo-roasting-co ... 79240.html

And Tokyo Food Life

http://www.tokyofoodlife.com/?p=323

This site (Tokyo coffee) has details about doses, water and flavours

https://tokyocoffee.org/2016/05/29/cafe-de-lambre/
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