Hybrid Immersion-Filter Brew
A somewhat unconventional coffee brewing method combining immersion and filtration
I’ve played around with brewing coffee using a French press and a pour-over method, but couldn’t quite get the profile I was looking for:
- The intensive body could only be achieved with a French press, a pour-over could not come close to it.
- The French press came with a heavy body and lots of sediment, which I didn’t enjoy and also seemed to trouble my stomach. The pour-over didn’t have this issue.
Through a bit of experimentation (and inspiration from How to Make the Best Coffee At Home by James Hoffmann), I came up with a hybrid approach that combines the immersion taste and clarity of a pour-over (at least to my taste).
I find that this technique works quite well with a medium to dark roast, where you want to get the sweet and chocolatey notes without the bitterness.
Beans
Use dark roasted coffee beans, possibly even espresso beans.
There is probably an easy way to adjust this recipe for lighter roasts, for example with a higher temperature, but I haven’t experimented with that yet.
Weigh
Use 60g of coffee per 1 liter of water.
Grinding
Medium, similar to what you would use for a normal pour-over.
For my Baratza Encore, I set it to 26 out of 40 clicks. Every grinder differs however, so this is something you’ll have to experiment with.
Boiling
Boil water to around 90°C.
Darker beans, for example espresso-grade roasts, could profit from lower temperatures, while lighter ones could profit from higher temperatures. This is something you’ll have to experiment with using your own beans and equipment:
- Is it too watery / sour? Try a lower temperature.
- Is it too bitter? Try a higher temperature.
Brewing
Use a big container, similarly to one of a French press. Let it sit for 4 minutes.
Do not break the crust that forms on top of the coffee while it brews, just let it sit. After the 4 minutes, you can stir the coffee and if you’re able to, even remove the foam (not grounds) that might have formed on top.
Filter
Pour the coffee through a filter—for example a Melitta dripper with standard paper filters. This will remove the sediment, but retain a lot (but not all) of the body that you would get from a French press.
Do not remove the grounds before pouring, for example, by using a plunger or skimming. The grounds are important to catch fine particles that would otherwise clog the filter and stall the entire filtering process.