Are Drip and Pour Over methods the same?

[Old Hippie]

I bought a used, ancient GE electric percolator that I run 12 ounces of (sorry, blasphemy warning!) water over Sam's Club coffee in.

Some days I think there oughta be One Right Way To Make Coffee, but I'm really grateful for the diversity.

I dug into some of the research William Coffin Coleman (yeah, the Coleman company) did back when Coleman made a lot of kitchen appliances for home and commercial. They had a massive hotel perc pot that by all reports made some of the best coffee people had ever had. I don't need a 100-cup percolator...

Anyway, what stuck in my mind was the observation that the coffee and water should be held hot and stay on the grounds for a few minutes. This allows the oils to express but then for them to adsorb partially back onto the grounds. I think the same thing is going on in steep-and-strain, and perhaps to some extent with other methods of making coffee. Having some circulation at first, then a good filter bed of grounds seemed to be key.

That's all old news. I'd be interested to read some newer research.

O.H.

 

[FarmerTan]

Some days I think there oughta be One Right Way To Make Coffee, but I'm really grateful for the diversity.

I dug into some of the research William Coffin Coleman (yeah, the Coleman company) did back when Coleman made a lot of kitchen appliances for home and commercial. They had a massive hotel perc pot that by all reports made some of the best coffee people had ever had. I don't need a 100-cup percolator...

Anyway, what stuck in my mind was the observation that the coffee and water should be held hot and stay on the grounds for a few minutes. This allows the oils to express but then for them to adsorb partially back onto the grounds. I think the same thing is going on in steep-and-strain, and perhaps to some extent with other methods of making coffee. Having some circulation at first, then a good filter bed of grounds seemed to be key.

That's all old news. I'd be interested to read some newer research.

O.H.

We have, I'll bet, a hundred cup percolator at our Lodge. I remember it looked old when I was a kid 50 years ago. Has ornate feet and everything. Lol, I think when I was Senior Deacon all we ever did to clean it was leave it where it sat and run water through it to rinse it out.

Of course, the cheapskate brothers never bought anything but whatever was on sale in the grocery store, and we got it at cost because he was a Lodge brother.

And we'd all drink that swill and play euchre until too late and wonder why we couldn't fall asleep!

 

[GoodShave]

When I was looking at goose neck kettles for different pour over techniques, I thought it was a pretty extravagant purchase for which I did not know if I would even like the coffee produced by using such a kettle. I also looked at the different goose neck kettles that were not electric and were less expensive. Then I started doing some research and found that certain kinds of teas benefit from different brew temperatures (instead of always using boiling water). I like the variety you can find with loose teas. So I figured had more than one use for the kettle if I didn't like making coffee with it. So now I use my electric goose neck kettle for pour over coffee as well as tea. I really enjoy the feature to hold the water at a certain temperature so I am not rushing to get all the other prep done in time for the water to hit my target temperature for a specific recipe.

I also like using different drippers in making coffee so I can adjust how I make the coffee depending on the coffee beans I am using. If the coffee is roasted bolder than I like, I will use an immersion technique. If the coffee has a very mild flavor I may use the Melodrip with a V60 to get more extraction. When I try a new coffee, I will try it with a variety of drippers to see which ones bring out the best flavor of the beans.

I used to make french press coffee exclusively for years but lately I find myself liking the clean cup taste of using pour over drippers with filters (which take out much of the oils that you get when you use a french press). These days I use my french presses for making cold brew concentrate for when it is too warm for hot coffee.

So if you are happy with how your coffee tastes with your current process, stick with it. That is great!
If you get bored with how your coffee tastes, then try out different beans/roasts/brew methods and see what you find.
It can be a fun journey.

 

[Oliviamaynard]

I got a pour over thing and coffee and syrup. I usually use blond drip.
The taste is definitely stronger. I like it. I think it was a good deal. I only paid $9 for all those things
Yay employee discount

 

[Oliviamaynard]

I got a pour over thing and coffee and syrup. I usually use blond drip.
The taste is definitely stronger. I like it. I think it was a good deal. I only paid $9 for all those things
Yay employee discount

 

[APBinNCA]

That looks like it takes #4 filters which are very common. One thing, the different filters can perform differently surprisingly. It's a good way to tweak brew time with pre-ground, a bit of trial and error. Re-usable filters, cotton or metal, should flow faster if the coffee is too strong. I use Melitta Pour-Over brand in a white box, used to use another that became unavailable.

 

[global_dev]

OK, cut to the chase. Steep and strain, for me, is 4 tablespoons of coffee in a pint cup, pour hot water over, stir and sit for five minutes. Then strain through a regular unbleached filter. Been doing that for 40 years.

Sounds a lot like the clever brewer.

 

[garyg]

Some things to try thanks folks .. I just came off trying pour over (Hario & the Clever Dripper) and it gave good coffee .. but a tad high on the fussiness scale for me. Today I went with the old Pyrex Perc like my Nan's .. ground the beans very large, 8 minutes gentle perk after the first pop, 2 minutes to settle .. o crap, wait, that's as much folderol as pour over?!@

Difference is I got 6 "cups" for all the fooling around, versus one for being a drip ..

Many ways to get there

 

[nickm]

They kinda seem the same to me. Pour over seem fun for one cup at a time, but often I am lazy.

It's an excuse to get a goose neck kettle I guess.

Hello, I was from Stow (not Maynard) though familiar with the area. I liked the Hario kettles. If you need another excuse to get a device get a Zojirushi hot water brewer and then add to the kettle. If you do the kettle, then you likely should get a 1000g gram scale to weigh your coffee grounds and also the water added. And if you really need another excuse to buy another device the Barratza Virtuoso offer a very consistent grind to adjust the amount of fines in your coffee. Basically fancy sediment. French Presses have a lot of sediment and thick super rich oils. Me, I like a light roast for a perfect cup of coffee. And yes, the size of the coffee cup matters. Intelligentisa makes a small, medium and large ceramic cup so you can determine how fast or slow to drink your beverage, and of course, get the optimum amount of temperature as your coffee cools. Flavors change from piping hot to stone cold. If you still have a Donelan's nearby you get far better coffee at your grocery store than most.

 

[APBinNCA]

Hello, I was from Stow (not Maynard) though familiar with the area.

You are going to really confuse her with that... she's not from MA.
Or is she? Well not currently living in...

 

[nickm]

Oye, it is not meant to be confusing. Stow was confusing. Everyone confused it with the Sound of Music, Julie Andrews and Swiss Family Robinson. Here is the address, phone and email.

312 School Street Acton, MA, 01720
ph: 978.635.9033 | email: [email protected]

George Howell

 

[APBinNCA]

Oye, it is not meant to be confusing. Stow was confusing. Everyone confused it with the Sound of Music, Julie Andrews and Swiss Family Robinson. Here is the address, phone and email.

312 School Street Acton, MA, 01720
ph: 978.635.9033 | email: [email protected]

George Howell

Hey at least I learned something; they have the oldest manual wound clock in the country and a superfund site!

 

[McBlade]

I think the size of the grind and the extraction time are the key. The rest not so much.

I take my cue from espresso coffee: fine grind, fast extraction. You get less of the bitter flavours this way. That's really important for highly concentrated espresso. Also seems to work well for more diluted styles of coffee.

Usually I make a kind of "cowboy coffee": hot water added to grounds then simply filtered through a tea strainer. There will be mud if you try to drink the last gulp! Some fine particles will also remain suspended in the coffee but IMO they add to the flavour. Like whisky which hasn't been charcoal filtered.