Why is it good to slow pour coffee in a dripper
Coffee extraction
Coffee extraction is a chemical reaction in which the individual components of coffee are dissolved in a solvent. That is, in water.
In coffee extraction, the light andfruity components are first dissolved. These are fruit acids and organic salts.
Nutty, chocolate or caramel tones are harder to extract from coffee at the same temperature . This means that they (like woody notes, tannins, etc.) take longer.
2 variables for optimal coffee extraction
For optimal extraction there are 2 basic variables. Well, there are of course many more, but for simplicity let's consider the following: time and coffee surface and grind coarseness, respectively.
We can work with their ratio to achieve optimal extraction. By working with the time or grinding coarseness, we can directly influence what is released into the prepared coffee and what is not.
Finer grinding also prolongs the entire preparation, as water flows more slowly through finely ground coffee and it becomesclogged and clogged more quickly the paper filter.
Therefore, we use a medium coarseness of grind ("smaller coffee surface area"), because of which we need considerably longer time to extract all the components that make up the desired coffee flavour. However, water flows through such coarsely ground coffee quite quickly.
But we need the coffee to be inconstant contact with it. And this is the main reason why we need to dispense water into the dripper slowly and continuously.
Gooseneck coffee pot
What can make theslow pouring of coffee in the dripper very easy is the gooseneck kettle. Thanks to the thin stream, we can dispense the water in a slow circular motion and thus pour the coffee evenly and over a longer period of time.
It can be a programmable kettlesuch as the Brewista Smart Pour 2.
Or a completely simple Hario Buono kettle designed to be used on any stove.
Barista scale
Abarista scale is an absolute necessity when preparing filter coffee. We can buy thebest coffee, grind it to the right coarseness in a branded grinder all slowly pour the best filtered water heated in a programmable kettle with a thermometer.
If we don't know how much coffee we've used and how much water we've poured over it, we've just voluntarily degraded all the previous processes from growing to grinding.
Of course, almost any kitchen scale can be used as a temporary solution. I recommend a real barista scale. Particularly for the accuracy of the measurement (usually to tenths of a gram) and also because most such scales have integrated stopwatches.
There are barista scales that connect via bluetooth to your smartphone. Using an app, you canprogram your recipe into the scale and the scale will help you monitor it during preparation. Examples of such scales are the AcaiaLunar or the AcaiaPearl S. Nowadays,the classic is the Brewista Smart Scale or any scale from the Timemore brand.
Why pour coffee in a dripper slowly?
Making coffee in a dripper is a constant balancing act on the edge of optimal extraction and fighting against over-extraction or under-extraction.
We use gravity to get the water through the coffee and speed is virtually impossible to work with. Combined with the medium coarseness of the grind causes us to need more time and care to properly extract and balance the flavor of the coffee.
Therefore, it is advisable to pour the coffee in the dripper slowly and thus give it constant (but not too long) contact with hot water.