Syphon Special Sat, Woodneck Sunday

This coming Saturday 8-7-10 we will be brewing Syphons for a discounted rate of $3.00 each but only from 12pm-3pm. Come in and check out the methodology and science that goes into the cup for a one time only bargain.

The following day, we will be doing 4 oz Woodneck cloth brews all day Sunday 8-8-10 will be the same price as an espresso. Can't beat that!

On both days, we will be focusing on our new Costa Rican coffees, shots of the El Llano as espresso, as well as Woodneck of the buttery citrus Mt. Canet lot 4 and Syphon's of the light roasted and aromatic Mt. Canet lot 5.

Adjusting the grind

Our approach to espresso is the same as our approach to manual methods. It involves eliminating (by controlling or making fixed) the majority of variables. Our approach to espresso has been to work from a point of the ideal situations for time, temperature, volume, and dose backwards. Once we find the sweet spot in an espresso, it becomes a formula of adjusting the grind to account for environmental or outside factors.

So, we use our ideal settings for dose, time, and temp as rather fixed and then tune the grind to adjust volume as needed.

The same approach is taken with Syphon as it is with all hand pour methods we work with. Find an ideal set of parameters and work backwards. Determine an ideal temperature relative to dose, timing, and volume.

For our Syphon methods, grind is easy to adjust. Once you choose a dose, temp, and brew volume relative to a specific time. In this instance, we choose the draw down time as the coffee comes from the top to the bottom globe. We treat it as a fixed value which for our method, relative to our specific dose and time, which is 30 seconds. Change the brew time or dose significantly and this value of 30 seconds becomes a bit arbitrary, needing a recalibration.

For v60 and other free pour methods like the Cloth Flannel Woodneck, grind is not alone in affecting the brew volume. The pour rate has a large effect.

For beginners to v60, we recommend using a scale underneath to measure pour rates. Rather than using it for resulting brew volumes, we use it as a measure to know for certain we have (for example) poured 6 ounces in the first minute. Knowing the rate of pour is a good way to pin that down as a variable and then adjust the grind.

In the same way as we do the Syphon, we choose the last 30 seconds for draw down in the one cup method as a point for grind calibration. If we stop pouring at 30 seconds and the last drips flow through before the time is up, the grind is too coarse. If there is substantial water left, the grind is too fine.

This is, of course, subjective to dose and whether the pour itself created an even dispersion of grinds in the filter bed.

The summary being, we attempt to hold all variables firm to the only one that is most effective in compensating for environmental variables, the grind. The grind has an effect on flow and resulting brew volume so the key is constantly adjusting the brew volume back towards ideal throughout the day with a fixed dose, time, and temp.

Replacing syphon filters

There's a trick to getting a new vac pot filter on. First thing is to get some replacement cloth filters.

Once you remove the old cloth, boil some water to rinse the new cloth through. A trick Ben C. showed me is that you have to start with a warmed and wet cloth filter and stretch it tightly when tying it on. Taking a little time to rinse it with water and then stretch it out making certain there are no folds or areas of crimping at the edges before tying it tight is essential.

The reasoning for this is largely that the filter needs to be tight but also that the filter needs to set flush in position against the glass when brewing. Any crevices or uneven spots around the edge will allow steam bubbles to gurgle from the sides of the filter. This is uncontrolled agitation and will add unpleasant bitterness (not unlike whisking the grinds excessively during brewing). Make sure that filter sits flush when brewing.

The Syphon Primer Companion

Forward: With Syphon brewing becoming tragically hip lately, we decided to go back and do a comprehensive look at our development in this Simon Hsieh inspired methodology for the Hario TCA-2 and how it has expanded in our community.

We started getting deep into Syphon more than a year ago. It was when we had access to some of Simon Hsieh's coffee and were inspired to understand more that we became serious. We adopted his methods off his blog and began an exchange with him about coffee and brewing in general that has really shaped our current direction away from where our community was headed (see Clover) at the time. We quickly adapted as much as we could understand and began quantifying the methods. We spent time evaluating why each step was important in the brewing process and where could we go with it. We attempted a basic video that got solid feedback and that was the beginning of a series of steps focused around Syphon brewing and demos.

We did demos here in town for small groups, traveled out west for a friend's Jam, and shared the methodology with others who were interested. Which brought us back to the beginning when Simon Hsieh visited us in the US. Some hands on technique was applied and some extra movements were removed to simplify and refine our brewing method. A few autographed copies of his book for good measure and a Syphon demo event topped the visit.

Fast forward to the future and you see competing methods being posted on other sites and more discussion about this old school method but more to the point, three of the six USBC finalists use a version of our preferred method!

So as we are moving on to new subjects we decided to compile a comprehensive primer and updated video people can use based on our experience. This is especially relevant as we now have the TCA-2 for sale at the brick and mortar shop. Enjoy~

The Complete Syphon Primer

Barismo Syphon Primer Demo

barismo: Syphon Coffee Primer

by Benjamin Chen (based on Simon Hsieh method).
For brewing with a Hario TCA-2
Before you start:

1. Rinse your filter in hot water and wash with cold water until it runs clear.
If this is a new filter, run through the brewing once without coffee to get rid of the cloth smell.

2. Rinse your Syphon to make sure it's clean. Check for cracks, Dry all exterior and make sure the lower globe is secured.

3. Hook the filter to the top. Make sure it's centered.

4. Pre-boil water in kettle and prepare a cold, damp towel.

5. Place ~35g of beans in the grinder. Run a little bit through to clean up previous grinds.


Heat-up:

1. Fill hot water to the "2" mark on the side of the lower globe. These are little number inside a cup logo near the "hario" mark. (this works both for TCA-2 and TCA-3).

2. Insert upper chamber at an angle into the lower globe. DO NOT seal the top.
Make sure there is a gap for steam to escape.

3. Start your burner and place it in the center of the globe. Set it at max to speed up the heating.

4. Grind the bean into a container/cup. Scoop from the top, 32g of coffee into another cup. I recommend using the cupping cups. They are of nice size. Try to finish this step as close to "drop" as possible, but you can grind/weight before step 1 to avoid messing up.

5. Watch the water in the lower globe start to boil. At the sign of boiling (rapid bubble formation), straighten the top and lightly seat it. Do not "push/seal" the top hard. A very gentle downward pressure is enough. Make sure the top is center and straight.

6. Place the thermometer probe on top, near the bottom of the chamber, away from the center.

Adjust the burner to as low as you can without water falling from the top globe.

7. Watch the temp on top stabilize. There should only be very tiny bubbles and no turbulence. If you have leakage from the side, shift the filter with the stirring paddle until it's sealed. If you cannot get rid of that, start over and re-adjust the filter.

9. If your stabilized temperature is less than 91C, replace the top and increase the heat until it increase to 91C. If the temperature is more than 91C, stir the water on the top w/ your paddle rigorously until it decrease to 91C. (note: 91C is your target brewing temperature. Adjust per degree or roast... see further notes at the end).

10. Get your stirring paddle, coffee, and timer ready to go.

Drop:

1. When water temp stabilizes to 91C, take out the thermometer probe.

2. Hold the coffee on your left hand and stirring paddle on your right.

3. Dump the coffee into the top chamber and immediately start the timer with your pinky finger.

Start your stirring immediately.


1st stir:

Below is my personal technique. You can do whatever you want. Just make sure you do not create any vortex, saturate the coffee completely, and finish your move in 5 sec. The faster the better.

Longer/vortex stir will result in bitterness in the cup...

1. Holding the paddle like a pen with the flat section parallel to the "x-axis" (left-n-right).

Starting on the left most of the "circle", stick the paddle into the coffee.
Move the paddle in a "N" motion (up, down, up) toward the right. You should be able to do 4 "stokes" in about a second.

2. Repeat the motion along the "y-axis" if you felt more agitation is needed.

3.Start from the very top (+Y), "scrape" the side of the top clock-wise 180 degrees.

Repeat the motion counter clock-wise.

If you did the stirring correctly, you should have something like this:



If you do not see the pale "crema" on top, that means your grinds are not fully saturated. Don't be afraid to REALLY stir up the grinds (as long as you don't create a vortex/whirlpool).

Stirring is the hardest part of the whole thing. Takes some practice to get use to. Whatever you do, make sure everything is well mixed, no vortex is created, and do it in 5 seconds.

An Aeropress paddle works REALLY well for stirring ;-)

*Tip about stirring: a lazy rhythmic motion actually works better than fast and violent motion.

Basically you are creating "waves" that crash into each other, mixing the top and bottom layer of the coffee.

2nd Stir:

When the timer hits 30 seconds, do a second stir. Sometimes when the coffee are fresh, it will be really sticky and you will felt like you aren't stirring at all. Make sure you DO stir it well like your first stir. You should see mostly black layers of coffee when you are done.


3rd Stir:

1. At 55 sec mark, turn off the heat and remove the burner from the lower chamber. Stir immediately. When done properly, you should only have a top layer of light-colored coffee of no more than 1/4" (~6 mm) thick. (Note: After your stir, pay attention to how much coffee remained on the top. The thicker the layer is, the less of extraction it got. Work on your stirring if it's the case.)


Draw down:

1. Immediately after 3nd stir, wrap the cold, damp towel on the upper left side of the lower globe near the "neck" (right side is where the handle is). Make sure the wet towel does not touch the lower portion of the bottom globe where the flamed touched.

2. The draw-down should be around 30~50 seconds. Darker roast and higher dose will increase the draw-down time. Longer drawn-down results in continued/over-extraction and will cause bitters in the cup.


Clean up:

1. When the draw-down is complete, wrap the towel with your left hand around the neck of the vacpot (the metal ring); holding the top with your right near the top rim, gently rock the top back and forth until it comes loose. Careful it's a bit hot.

2. Holding the top with your left hand, gently tap the rim downwards with your right to loosen the grinds. Dump the spent coffee and rinse with water.

3. Release the hook and take out the filter. Wash both top and the filter as clean as you can.

4. Place the filter in a small cup of hot water. The water will turn brown immediately. Shake the filter to rinse it for about 10 sec, then rinse with cold water until it run clear. Submerse the filter with clean cold water and store it (outside if you use frequent, in the fridge for longer term storage).

5. Pour the coffee out and rinse the lower globe both inside and out. After some usage, a brown stop might appear near the very bottom. This is most likely dried coffee.
Soaking it in cafiza once in a while takes that right off.

6. Wash your paddle and clean your towel.


Parameters for various methods:

Grind setting:

1. Super Jolly = 24~26 small notches coarser than espresso grind

2. Rocky = 27~30 from true "0" (burrs touching) fineness should be similar to table salt.


Directions for TCA-2/3:

Dark Roast (> Full City):
Temp = 89~90.5C
Dose = 20~30g (28 recommended, decrease if you have a lot of trouble stirring)

Light Roast (< Full City):
Temp = 90.5~92C
Dose = 24~32g (32 recommended)

1st stir = right after drop
2nd stir = @ 30sec
3rd stir = @ 55sec

note 1: temp is measured at the bottom, away from the center of the syphon top.
note 2: keep the stir under 5 seconds. Stir to fully saturate the grinds but not creating a vortex. A zig-zag/cross pattern works well.
note 3: kill the flame right before the 3rd/final stir. The top won't drop down
on you for another couple seconds.


Method II (aroma enhancement):

Roast: City+
Dose: 32g
Temp: 91C

- Same as method 1 but SKIP the 2nd stir @ 30sec.
- Keep the stir under 3 sec if possible

Method II will have thinner extraction compared to method I but preserves aroma.
Works wonders for a certain roast style/bean but under extracts most coffee. Use w/ caution.

Definition for full city is right before 2nd crack to 10 sec into 2nd. City+ is 30~60 sec after 1st ends.

And that is it. I think that is about as detail as I can give without step-by-step photos. Feel free to email with any more questions.


Tips:

- A Zojirushi hot water pot is a great companion to the Syphon (and any manual coffee methods).
- The timer a thermometer probe similar to what was used in the video is great with vacpot (and any manual coffee methods).

To the next 'golden' brew

87980001, originally uploaded by SIWA COFFEE.

Right now, there is a lot of navel gazing going on in the blogs about what brew methods are best, what to do now that the clamour for Clover turned into the planet buster on the death star....

A lot of people are talking about moving to the manual methods or anything new that's less automated. Siphon, pourover bars, and getting back to basics are becoming the buzz words. I think it's just a movement in trying to find a new niche, the new amazing brewer that will give them the angle. Specializing and definite product differentiation from the big boys. I am proud there are some serious cats out there brewing vac with all the tedium and technical precision of a guitarist mid solo but they are the few among a mob of new found fans of the manual method.

The times are changing and nothing is settled right now. There are no firm standards and we have no clear direction where things will be in the next year. It was not too long ago that I believe we were in the dark ages of coffee on the verge of change. Sure the forums were buzzing and 3wavers were aplenty working for 'the goal', but it was a time with a lot of passion and very little substance. Vac sealing was something only eccentrics did and few would publicly admit how much coffees deteriorate much less think about freezing a coffee.

The focus was on the equipment mods, ritual movements in preparation, and all about these name brand 'black box' blends. The forums were left to the machinations of latte artists proclaiming the value of triple rosettas and pacman blowing flames in your cup AND gratuitous photo series of 'naked' portafilter triple thick one ounce muddy baked 'chocolate' shots. Sure, there was an interesting segment focused on how to hack some cheapy piece of equipment into some better cheapy piece of equipment.... but eventually, you PID your PID and it becomes redundant so you end up buying the best equipment after spending lots of cash on a series of small modded upgrades.

Somewhere along the way, a lot of focus on the actual coffees was lost. Sure, I realize everyone is 'about letting the coffee speak for itself' and other catchy phrases but a little less time on forums talking about the concept and more time living it would help us all.

It's all the more complicated these days by marketing that is geared at direct trade and relationships where the farmer as a brand is glorified on one hand and on the other often then repackaged in mill marks where the farmer disappears again. Transparency is a funny thing we all talk about but don't really ever see or have the access to understand.

Then there are coffees where the placement in contests or prices paid set notoriety and it can simply be a contest to pay the highest price for the right to pay the highest price AND then you have press and buzz based on expensive brewing equipment and 20K utterly superfluous heating elements clouding the picture of what is really good coffee and what is just an expensive lamp making cheap coffee at a high price.

So, if you can clear through the fair trade, organic trade, direct trade, bidding wars, ego trips, pricey brewers, complicated techniques, barista flair, and well, everything but cup taste to well... simply cup taste, that's an amazing moment of clarity.

Things haven't really changed that much but I am thoroughly excited by splintering segments of the industry headed in new directions. The point is, there are great things going on in coffee BUT you have to dig deep and often the people doing the most amazing bits don't spend time cruising coffeed or CG, they are out there doing it. Marketing rarely cuts through to the tiny elements that can help make or break a good coffee.

IMG_3245, originally uploaded by edwinfvh.

The Syphon Bar

vac pot, originally uploaded by tonx.

Seems everyone is doing vac pot these days or at least giving it lip service. Getting a first read on a signed edition of a fantastic and thoughtfully written new coffee book (to be shortly reviewed) brought one thought though.

We don't know vac pot in North America. In fact, we largely have forgotten or overlooked most of the manual brew methods with the exception of the largely inferior french press method. Someone offered this thought to us recently and I dare say it has some truth, 'If you don't know your manual methods, what understanding do your really have of your automated ones?'

Scary thought that knowing a better hand pour method translates to a better drip brew.

Our own jump into vac pot (syphon) and our exploration of hand pour methods came thanks to a Taiwanese contact who helped us along with inputs and pointers on how to brew his coffees.

It led to a thought, 'let's do vac pot in the shop.'

Oh yeah, many other people have had the same thought. That thought began to morph and fade as we realized it wasn't quite as simple as throwing a bar together and offering it up. How do you keep it constant and consistent? how do you charge people given the amount of coffee and prep needed? How do you keep your staff well trained enough to prepare it correctly for each and every different coffee?

The roast. You would have to roast for vac pot and make sure the brew parameters were largely fixed so your barista would only make slight adjustments. Fix your brew parameters and alter your roast profile to fit. Strange concept but darned if we hadn't heard the same thought before from our Taiwanese friend.

So here's a bit of advice before anyone goes out and buys a case of vac pots and a halogen setup, learn more about it. The Japanese are having true culinary competitions while we still noodle around with it not quite understanding the physics. It may be the hip thing to do vac pot but a little research and thought may be in order before burning yourself and your customers with a bad brew.

Vac pot has a lot of potential to bring out amazing origin flavors but it's much more technical than many of us realize. The old light it up and steam the coffee to death method just won't cut it compared to a precisely technical approach, so get to learning about your manual methods and your more automated ones will improve also.