Baristas getting into hand-brewed coffee for the first time are presented with a bewildering array of devices to choose from. For some, this is exciting: I ended up with a kitchen drawerful of brewers in my early days of exploring. For others, it can be daunting: Why are there so many to choose from?! What do they all do? Which one is right for me? It may be stating the obvious, but the coffee you select will have a far greater impact on how your coffee tastes than your choice of brewer. The novice brewer then should buy their first brewer to meet the way they want to brew, rather than the flavours they’re trying to create.
For the last few years, Five Senses has supported three brewers: The Aeropress, the Kalita Wave 185 and the Clever Coffee Dripper. I’ll be taking you through each one, explaining why you might want to buy it, and then our beautiful new brew guides will show you how to use them. Oh, and that drawerful of brewers? Over the years I’ve given them all away, and now my kitchen only contains one, my perfect brewer*.
Clever Coffee Dripper
The Clever Coffee Dripper (CCD) is by far the easiest to use of our three devices. If you’re looking for a no nonsense way to brew delicious coffee, look no further! Other benefits are its size: you can brew up to 500ml at a time, and its consistency: it’s very easy to control variables and repeat brews with the CCD. The CCD is what’s known as an immersion brewer, which means all of the water and coffee hang out together for most of the brew time. This means that even though it looks similar to a pourover, it actually behaves more like a plunger, but with a cleaner body due to the paper filtration. The hidden strength of the CCD lies in its flexibility: not only are those variables easy to repeat, they’re easy to manipulate independent of each other, which gives you lots of room to play if you like experimenting.
Tools
– CCD
– Filter papers
– Grinder
– Digital scales
– Timer
– Kettle or urn
– Cup or vessel
Ingredients & Targets
– 15g of your favourite filter roast coffee (lighter than espresso)
– 250g (or ml) of filtered water, or adjust to a Coffee Brew Ratio of 16:1 (brew water : coffee)
– Target TDS: 1.23% ‐ 1.48%
Method
1. Bring your kettle to the appropriate temp (~94°C).
2. Insert filter paper into CCD.
3. Use hot water to thoroughly rinse filter paper and preheat device.
4. Grind 15g of coffee at a medium coarseness (18‐22 on a Baratza grinder).
5. Place CCD, with pre-wet filter paper on scale, add ground coffee and tare the weight.
6. Pour 50g of 94°C brewing water in the first 15 seconds. This allows the grinds to release the gas they contain and makes it easier to integrate them in to the brew while pouring.
7. Wait 15 seconds before pouring another 200g of brewing water over 15 seconds (during 0:30-1:00) in a steady circular motion.
8. At 2:15, drain into a carafe or pot.
9. After all liquid has dispensed, discard the used filter paper and rinse CCD.
10. Sit back, relax and sip your deliciously brewed coffee.
Aeropress
The Aeropress is a compact, syringe looking device for brewing coffee. Created by the inventor of the flying disk, the Aeropress has taken the world by storm and even has its very own competition. Like the CCD, the Aeropress is fairly easy to get started with and is a very versatile brewer. It’s also incredibly portable and makes a great travel companion, particularly with a Porlex grinder tucked neatly inside. One downside is the size: the Aeropress will only brew enough for one cup. Great for the solo coffee enthusiast but some households might need a his and hers.
Tools
– Aeropress
– Filter papers
– Grinder
– Digital scales
– Timer
– Kettle or urn
– Cup or vessel
Ingredients & Targets
– 13g of your favourite filter roast coffee (lighter than espresso)
– 200g (or ml) of filtered water, or adjust to a Coffee Brew Ratio of 16.7:1 (brew water : coffee)
Method
1. Bring your kettle to the appropriate temp (~94°C).
2. Insert filter paper into Aeropress lid, and use hot water to thoroughly rinse.
3. Attach the rubber stopper with about 1cm to spare on to the base, and make sure there is no danger of slippage. Do not attach the lid or filter at this stage.
4. Invert the Aeropress so the rubber stopper is facing upwards so you can fill the brew chamber with grounds and water.
5. Use hot water to preheat device and then empty for the next steps.
6. Grind 13g of coffee at a fine-medium coarseness (14-18 on a Baratza grinder).
7. Place Aeropress on scale, add ground coffee and tare the weight.
8. Pour 200g of 94°C brewing water into Aeropress and start timer.
9. Gently stir for 10 seconds.
10. Add lid and steep for 2 minutes total.
11. At 2 minutes place your cup upside down on top of the Aeropress and, while gripping the cup and Aeropress brew chamber, flip so cup sits right way up on your bench with Aeropress on top ready for plunging.
12. Plunge into your cup. Plunge should take 15-30 seconds.
13. Plunge all the way down until you can’t anymore.
14. After all of the liquid has dispensed, remove the cap, point the Aeropress at a bin and hammer the base to shoot the coffee puck and filter into the bin.
15. Rinse Aeropress.
16. Sit back, relax and sip your deliciously brewed coffee.
Kalita Wave
The Kalita Wave is what’s known as a pourover: a cone-shaped device with a paper filter, where water is poured through the coffee bed before dripping into a cup or carafe below. There are many such devices; we picked the Kalita for its consistency and relative ease-of-use. The device’s flat bottom and three small holes make it easier to pool water in the device; while its wavy filters help keep the coffee in contact with the water. The Kalita is also the brewer in our line-up which requires the most expertise – there are more variables at play and you’ll need a bit of practice to become consistent with it. That hard work will pay off however, as it can produce some really tasty brews! You’ll also need a bit of extra kit to make pourovers – while a normal kettle will suffice for other brew methods, a gooseneck kettle will help you get the most out of your Kalita.
Tools
– Kalita Wave
– Filter papers
– Grinder
– Digital scales
– Timer
– Kettle or urn
– Cup or vessel
Ingredients & Targets
– 15g of your favourite filter roast coffee (lighter than espresso)
– 280g (or ml) of filtered water, or adjust to a Coffee Brew Ratio of 16.7:1 (brew water : coffee)
– Beverage after brew: 250g
– Target TDS: 1.23% ‐ 1.48%
Method
1. Bring your kettle to the appropriate temp (~94°C).
2. Insert filter paper into Kalita.
3. Use hot water to thoroughly rinse filter paper and preheat device.
4. Grind 15g of coffee at a medium coarseness (18‐22 on a Baratza grinder).
5. Place Kalita, with pre-wet filter paper on decanting device and scales, add ground coffee and tare the weight.
6. Pour 50g of 94°C brewing water in the first 15 seconds. This allows the grinds to release the gas they contain and makes it easier to integrate them in to the brew while pouring.
7. Wait 15 seconds before pouring another 130g of brewing water over 15 seconds (during 0:30‐0:45) in a steady circular motion. Stay in the centre and avoid pouring into the gaps of the filter.
8. Pour another 100g of brewing water over 15 seconds (during 1:00‐1:15).
9. After all liquid has dispensed, discard the used filter paper and rinse Kalita.
10. Sit back, relax and sip your deliciously brewed coffee.
Our updated brew guides should help you get started in the world of filter coffee but if you’re keen to dive deeper into the techniques behind awesome brewed coffee, we’d love to have you along to our Filter Brewing workshop hosted at our Barista Academies.
Happy drinking!
*It’s an Aeropress
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