Brewing with a Dripper
In September the light changes, and so does the work. What surprised me most was how little equipment it needed.
The setup
There is a version of this that is much more complicated. This is not that version. It is effortless to overthink brewing pour-over. It is harder to just start. I keep coming back to single origins, mostly because it rewards patience. The bloom is not ceremony; it lets the gas escape. A friend once described cold brew as calm work, and the phrase stuck.
Grind size changes more than any other variable. Most problems with tasting jottings turn out to be problems with time. Good light roasts is mostly a series of modest, unglamorous decisions. This started as a quick note and bit by bit turned into something longer.
The trick, if there is one, is to leave sufficient room for mistakes. I like pour-over that shows the marks of how it was made. A cheap grinder holds you back more than a cheap kettle.
- Revisit cold brew after a week
- Stop before you are tired
- Stop before you are tired
- Budget twice the time you expect
- Leave room for syrupy mistakes
Before and after
I altered my mind about the morning cup twice while writing this. Most mornings I just want a good, simple cup. Light roasts reward patience and slightly hotter water. Between grinding by hand and dialling in, the second one taught me more. Weigh the coffee and the water; guessing is half the problem.
It took me seven attempts to see the pattern.