Coffee: drip brewing

Sporky

I got myself a drip brewer. It works, but the coffee seems rather bland - same beans as I use in the Moka. I still get appropriate levels of heart-gripping caffeine hit, but not a lot of flavour.

Am I missing a crucial trick, or is drip-brewing just for people who want their coffee to have that tea-ish quality of smelling a bit but not tasting of much?

fields5069

Is it the grind?

Sporky

Dunno. I kept it the same as for the moka; medium-coarse. It's a steel filter so can't be paper sucking out the taste like with a filter machine.

fields5069

I guess experiment with grind vs amount of coffee grounds in the finished brew. I only have experience of espresso, and I was forever choking my machine or getting a weak brew out of it. That was more to do with the tamp though I suppose.

colourofsound

What drip brewer is it? Like a Hario? I find you need a slightly finer grind on those. Also how much coffee (in scoops or grams) are you brewing?

Honestly, just get an Aeropress. That thing is just unreal. All my other coffee gadgets have been tossed in favour of it.

Sporky

It's one of these:

http://i0.wp.com/26qj4c2u8hgs2w052u3rrp8o.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/Osaka-Pour-Over-Drip-Brewer.jpg

I can certainly try a fine grind - thank you for the suggestion.

Snap

You know when you use a Moka, are you supposed to top up in the cup with hot water? COs I don't, but my Moka (4 cup)only makes enough coffee for one mug.

stickyfiddle

I've never had drip coffee that wasn't awful, however much I've paid. 

I reckon the Italians had it right when they settled on a standard espresso

Sporky

Snap said:

You know when you use a Moka, are you supposed to top up in the cup with hot water? COs I don't, but my Moka (4 cup)only makes enough coffee for one mug.

Depends what you want. I have a 6-cup Moka, which is enough to make about 270ml of very strong coffee, and I put just a teeny dash of milk in, no water.

Lady BMcH would want about half that and the rest water.

colourofsound

I've used this with some success before: https://www.craftcoffee.com/how-to-make-coffee/grind-coffee-guide

That's a Chemex style dripper if I'm not mistaken.

There's a method I employ with my Hario cone dripper that is successful; which you could also try.

• Heaped scoop of appropriately ground coffee into the filter
• Get your water and just pour in enough to cover the grounds, and then stir that bitch so that all the grounds are wet. You should get a thick crema on top of the grounds. This should take about 30s
  
• Wait for all the water to pass through.
• Slowly pour the rest of the water over in a circular motion. Another 30s
• Take your time! Time is key. 

See how you get on. Making coffee is a real chemistry; but incredibly satisfying. The guys in my office have a coffee machine that makes utter shit and I just can't drink it now I've learnt how to make it properly!

EDIT: Found this too: https://ineedcoffee.com/chemex-coffee-brewing-history-and-tutorial/

Richardj

We have a few of these type things, The obvious things apply like not using boiling water, I like to grind ours to slightly more course than espresso but not as course as normal filter ground coffee. It needs a decent amount of time to soak through the coffee. Our Bodum came with a gold plated filter, that actually does make a difference and the coffee is less oily.

AliGorie

drip brewing - is that what they market it as now, u mean like the plastic mesh thingy ya get in a ‘filter machine' and ‘lined’ with a unbleached paper filter, sat in a (heated) Pyrex measuring jug that I’ve been doing for 20 years ?.
I use a paper filter because it absorbs the ‘oil’ which is quite high in cholesterol because I’ve got heart issues.
I use bog standard Colombian or Java filter grind - 2 heaped scoops per mug gets me going in the morning.
Oh and I don’t use tap water, still mineral water. After a holiday in Italy I had an idea the water had something to do with the difference in how things tasted - please allow me have my fantasies.

EricTheWeary

I wouldn't put hot water in the moka. Mine ( I own three for some reason) are 3 cup ones but that's enough for a small cup for me or I'll add a small amount of hot, frothed milk and put it in a small latte glass. It isn't espresso, just strong coffee. The only trick is to remove it from the heat/ pour it out as soon as the coffee is made.
It works better on the camping stove than the kitchen stove as well, I think. I'm assuming because on the camping stove I can keep the heat more directly under the base of the moka, less heating of the sides.

Sporky said:

Snap said:

You know when you use a Moka, are you supposed to top up in the cup with hot water? COs I don't, but my Moka (4 cup)only makes enough coffee for one mug.

Depends what you want. I have a 6-cup Moka, which is enough to make about 270ml of very strong coffee, and I put just a teeny dash of milk in, no water.

Lady BMcH would want about half that and the rest water.

MattBanshee

I use a finer grind, strong Italian or French blend coffee in my drip filter. A good heaped tablespoon per mug. 

If you're using a manual drip cone, start by pouring a little bit of water to dampen the grounds first, then pouring the water on. Stops the grounds from floating up and sticking to the sides of the filter paper.

Sporky

Ta chaps. I do wonder if a drip brewed coffee is just a bit too weak for my tastes. Hmm. I will work on this for a while though - it took me a bit to get to grips with the moka after all.

roundthebend

I use a Moka at home and get different results each time. I think it's related to the tamp (how much I compress the grounds) and also how quickly I heat the water.

But I can't be arsed with the science. When I get a good one, I savour it. When I get a bad one, I struggle through and let my disappointment pass a few minutes later.

BigMonka

The guy I sit next to at work uses a dripper whilst at work but he's found that he needs to use filter paper too as otherwise the brew drains through too quickly which makes the weak insipid coffee you were describing.

Sporky

That does suggest that a finer grind is required to slow down the brewing. I'm out and about for the next couple of days so will have to trust in third parties to render my coffee unto me. Double espresso macchiatos it is.

Col_Decker

Sporky said:

... to have that tea-ish quality of smelling a bit but not tasting of much?

Whoaaa there Missy. Now what you sayin' 'bout tea?

Sporky

Col_Decker said:

Whoaaa there Missy. Now what you sayin' 'bout tea?

I believe I made an uncontentious suggestion that tea doesn't have a particularly strong flavour.

Though I will add that tea is less British than coffee, and thus tea drinkers are less worthy citizens.

Col_Decker

Huh? What? Wait a minute while I google stuff and come back with a devastating and witty reply. Be about 4 years