In the busy city life, a cup of fragrant coffee can always bring us a moment of peace and enjoyment. But have you ever been troubled by the dazzling array of coffee types and brewing methods?“Drip coffee” seems to be a very confusing term. For example, Starbucks’ “Coffee of the Day” is also called “drip coffee”, and some hand-poured coffee or drip coffee will also be written as “drip coffee”. So, what is drip coffee? Is drip coffee equal to hand-poured coffee?
First, let’s go back to the beginning and see how coffee is extracted.After humans discovered that coffee can be drunk and has the effect of refreshing the mind, coffee was “cooked” for quite a long time. The roasted coffee beans are ground into powder, thrown directly into the pot, boiled and poured out (maybe even without filtering) and can be drunk. Today you can still see freshly brewed coffee in Jebena (coffee pot) or Ibrik (copper coffee pot) on the streets of Ethiopia or Turkey. This is "brewing coffee."
In the 18th century, Europeans invented a way to soak coffee, wrapping the coffee powder in cloth and sinking it into hot water until the concentration and taste were suitable. The French Press, which was invented later, also works on a similar principle. Now some old-school hotels that do not provide coffee machines will provide coffee powder bags and French presses to their guests. This is "brewing" coffee.
In the 19th century, Americans invented the percolator, where water flows from the lower pot through the coffee powder in the middle into the upper pot. However, unlike the moka pot, the coffee liquid will flow back to the lower pot, and so on. High temperature and repeated brewing make the coffee flavor very bad. This is still "brewing" coffee.
"Brewing" coffee can never avoid over-extraction due to high water temperature and repeated heating. Although "brewing" coffee is obviously better, coffee grounds will also be mixed into the cup, affecting the taste. In 1908, because she didn't want to endure bad coffee anymore, Melitta Benz of Germany After experimenting, Ms. Bentz invented a new way to extract coffee using absorbent paper from her son's exercise book. Put the absorbent paper on a perforated metal tray, put a cup underneath, put the coffee powder on the paper, and then pour hot water on the coffee powder to get a cup of clean coffee. This is "Drip Coffee/Filter Coffee".
Obviously, the "drip coffee" invented by Melita is to pour hot water with a pot by hand, which is the real "hand-brewed coffee". Later, Melita's company continued to improve the filter paper, and it is still selling hand-brewed coffee filter paper and other coffee utensils today.
Although the automatic drip coffee maker (Drip Cofee Maker) is often called an American coffee maker, it was not invented by Americans. The patent for the world's first automatic drip coffee maker was obtained by German Gottlob Wiedemann. Widmann in 1954. After improvements in the 1970s, drip coffee machines were widely promoted in the United States by brands such as Mr. Coffee and became a great success, replacing the percolator pots commonly used in American households before and becoming an essential and iconic appliance in American kitchens. Compared with the previous percolator pots in the United States, drip coffee machines are convenient and quick to make coffee. The filter paper is thrown away after use, and the coffee tastes pure and the taste is greatly improved. Gradually, drip coffee has been used to refer specifically to the coffee made by drip coffee machines, to distinguish it from the popular Italian espresso in Europe. Coffee is relatively.
The tools for hand-brewed coffee have also been constantly innovated, such as the Chemex coffee pot, which was born in 1941 and was also very popular. However, compared with drip coffee, hand-brewed coffee has always been a niche. Until 2000, with the rise of the "specialty coffee wave", hand-brewed coffee became popular again with its free control and high playability as a way to show the flavor of specialty coffee.
It is not difficult to find that drip coffee was first extracted by hand-brewed, but with the popularity of drip coffee machines, it is often used to refer specifically to coffee made with this coffee machine. In fact, theoretically speaking, the coffee making method that relies on the gravity of water to make water flow through the coffee powder layer on the filter paper (filter net) for extraction, whether it is drip coffee, hand-brewed coffee, or even ice-brewed coffee, can be regarded as different forms of "drip coffee"
In summary, there are obvious differences between drip coffee and hand-brewed coffee in terms of concept, brewing method, taste and flavor, suitable scene and equipment requirements. Choosing which method to brew coffee mainly depends on personal taste preferences, needs and budget factors.
1. Concept and definition:
Drip coffee: Drip coffee is a broader definition, which includes hand-brewed coffee And other methods of making coffee by machine, using gravity or pressure to pass hot water through coffee powder to extract coffee liquid.
Hand-brewed coffee: Hand-brewed coffee is a specific brewing method of drip coffee. It relies entirely on manual operation and affects the taste and flavor of coffee by controlling factors such as water temperature, water volume, and water flow rate.
2. Brewing methods:
Drip coffee:
Mainly rely on coffee machines (such as Hong Kong-style drip machines or American drip machines) to make it.
After the water is heated by electricity, it evenly wets the coffee powder and filters it into the sharing pot below to collect the coffee liquid.
2. Hand-brewed coffee:
You need to use a hand-brewed pot, filter cup, filter paper, Tools such as electronic scales.
Manually control water temperature (usually between 86-95 degrees), coffee powder grinding degree, coffee powder to water ratio (usually 1:14), and brewing time.
3. Taste and flavor:
Drip coffee: Because it is made by machine, the extraction parameters (such as water temperature, pressure, etc.) are relatively stable, so the taste is usually relatively stable, but it may lack layering and changes.
Hand-brewed coffee: The taste and flavor vary depending on the brewer's skills, the coffee beans used, and the equipment. Hand-brewed coffee can show more flavors of coffee beans and has a richer layering.
4. Suitable scenes:
Drip coffee: Due to its easy operation and large water output, it is suitable for use in offices, coffee shops and other places where coffee needs to be made quickly and in large quantities.
Hand-brewed coffee: More suitable for use in homes, coffee shops and other places where coffee quality and flavor changes are required. Hand-brewed coffee is also a ritualistic way of brewing coffee, which allows people to enjoy the fun of coffee during the brewing process.
5. Equipment requirements:
Drip coffee: Usually requires drip coffee machines, sharing pots and other equipment.
Hand-brewed coffee: A complete set of brewing tools such as hand-brewed pots, filter cups, filter paper, and electronic scales are required.
