Snap 1: time to combine the upper bowl with the lower one when bubbles become medium size.

I had plans for what I was going to write here: brewing methods 123, elaboration of the pros-and-cons of them, and ultimately, helping you find the solution to your daily decent cup.

There are methods that I think would be a good starting point because of their friendliness: low-cost initial investment and full control over the variables factoring in a cup of excellence.

It would be interesting to talk about them especially since they seem exotic to many people here. At the same time, it’s kind of challenging to explain everything since coffee lovers have never seen them in person.

Fortunately, before got my hands dirty, a showroom of these coffee brewing methods is arriving to let you take a peek at them and save some work for me. Blue Bottle Coffee is scheduled to open today in Williamsburg, New York City. They stockpile a hoard of 19-century-style coffee brewing gadgets: “pour over” and “iced coffee dripper” according to the preview of The New York Times.

Blue Bottle Coffee was founded by James Freeman. Since 2005, it has grown into a small fleet of four coffee shops and two restaurants in and around the Bay Area.

Snap 2: vapor pushing the water to upper bowl

The most renowned buzz was their one-cup-a-time siphon bar and the only halogen-powered burner in the country (because its priced 20,000USD). Both siphon and pour-over demand barista to be masterful in every labored and manual details, no button, no knob, to deliver a delicate cup of coffee. There are so much much that it is daunting to many coffee novice, even some espresso veterans. It’s a hassle to make a cup of coffee like that but it’s definitely a spectacle worth seeing.

The equipment at Blue Bottle Coffee is all from Japan. Some is made by Hario, the biggest coffee equipment supplier in Japan, and maybe others to be found out later in store. Those coffee brewing methods are omnipresent in Japan and some East Asia countries, like Korea and Taiwan.

Snap 3: stirring the bamboo rod to mix the grounds and water evenly

In the midst of the heat of Coffee New Wave, it is really intriguing to see the introduction of the Japanese coffee tradition to New York. These Japanese traditions have been said to extract with more delicacy and floral flavors. Considering the limited access to Clover and the puberty of Trifecta, a wide variations of brewing coffee methods are sought after to extract the most from those newly trendy dark-cinnamon skin beans. Coffee devotees are keen on resorting to an invention of new devices or the solutions from some corner of the world. Specialty coffee is blazing down a new path leading to the coffee heaven (acidity, floral flavors, berry notes… etc.), leaving espresso — la grande tradizione Italiana — seeming outdated and lackluster. Could this Japanese tradition lead us to this coffee nirvana?

I learned siphon since day one I started brewing coffee myself. I am a passionate coffee devotee because of a great barista’s guide leading me to the aroma, the flavors and philosophy of coffee. For almost ten years, I am still learning everything coffee through workshops and discussion. And, most important, I kept on brewing coffee myself. Siphon and pour-over are the methods I use everyday and a lot more about them I have to learn.

It takes masterful craft to brew a decent cup on siphon and pour-over. In some way, I would say they are among the most rigorous brewing methods that reveal missteps in roast. The full-city roast beans actually could be thoroughly examined and appreciated on siphon. As I said earlier, the roast and the brewing method are correlated, then comes the expectation and appreciation to bring the whole coffee experience altogether.

So, besides pour-over and iced coffee dripper, will there be siphon? And how is Blue Bottle Coffee doing? Guess only tongues will tell. I will hit Berry Street to experience this new wave from West Coast, or, the other side of the Pacific. Follow up, fellows!

Bongs, bongs, bongs… and mini scale

Today, I am strolling on St. Mark’s Place looking for this “thing” to elevate my coffee profession. St. Mark’s Place is a busy street lined up with Japanese beer houses, restaurants, souvenir shops and tattoo shops, but not a coffee shop. (Puerto Rico Importing is beyond 2nd Ave which I don’t pass often, so that doesn’t count:) I come here for yakitori and Japanese beer all the time. But today, I passed by all the restaurants and headed to the tattoo shops… Yeah, if you want to name people Japanese, Goth or Punk by where they go, today I am a punk. But labeling me won’t deter my determination to hunt down the “thing”: a mini scale.

I have seen a lot of baristas use a mini scale to weigh coffee grounds for brewing. No doubt, that’s a promising scene no matter how the cup ends like later. I was all experientialist — I don’t really bother how much the weight is in my brew as long as it pleases me as usual. Now, people start asking me: how much coffee ground to the water is the RIGHT proportion? With the reputation as a “coffee snob”, apparently, “two coffee scoops” is not convincing to people at all. Hence, to live up to my reputation, I gotta gain some doctrinarian bent by starting to weigh my coffee grounds. “36.1 gram,” on the mini scale reading, “to 360ml water.” How conclusive is that!

0.1 gram reading mini scale

I was here because of a tip from a barista today. “All the stores on St. Mark’s Place have it.” “Yeah,” I said to myself, “why didn’t I make the connection between the need of precise measurements and water smoking pipes; bongs?” Oh, and “tattoos and glass souvenirs” too. All found on St. Mark’s Place! Of course, I will find mini scales reading under 500 grams in 0.1 gram intervals here.

The first shop I stopped by sold all kinds of fancy mini scales. When I asked for prices, the lady turned to the back of the store, “Mad Dog, how much is this one?” Mad Dog’s reply: “85 dollars. It’s marked down from 95.” I have no clue if all mini scales are priced like this, but I want to ask around to make sure I’m not paying too much money for my “coffee reputation.”

“Is it worth the money?” I asked.

“Oh yeah.”

Historically, blend originated from the need to create various “flavors.” Blending beans was developed in early coffee drinking history to work around the limited roasting knowledge and facility in pre-industrialization. Blend is also important in compensating each year’s crop variability to keep the flavor consistent.

In a meaningful way, the roaster creates a special flavor with his signature blend which can represent his style and philosophy about coffee. The recipe for each blend is a roaster’s top secret.

The Coffee Blend became popular since espresso prevailed in the specialty coffee world of the late twentieth century. The reason? In espresso, the instant 9-bar pressure which forces hot water through the fine coffee ground extracts defect flavors. A dark roast eliminates the characteristics of beans and guarantees the bitter-sweetness and syrupy solid body, thus masking the defected flavors. But at the same time, the acidity and delicacy of the coffee beans are blunted when creating a dark roast. To make up, the coffee roaster sources flavors and balance from blending beans.

Coffee beans taste different based on where they grow; the species of coffee tree, the types of soil, the climate and altitude of the plantation all make a difference. Though harvesting skills, processing, and roast — all human factors — effect the taste, it always comes down to natural factors when we try to evaluate the individual characteristics of coffee beans. Hence, the country name, plus the region within it, are quite enough to explain how the coffee should taste.

In general, coffees can be grouped into three principal regions: Africa, Indonesia and Central/South America. The guideline on how coffees from each region compare: Central/South America has a more delicate and lively acidity; Africa has a wilder taste; Indonesia has a roundness and heavier body.

Single origin beans are seasonal crops. It depends on precipitation and temperature, when the coffee trees are harvested, and the political condition. Some beans may disappear from the market for months or even years.

Compared to darker roasts used for blends, single origin coffee beans don’t have to use a dark roast to blunt its characteristics to play well with other beans. Instead, a lighter roast can reveal its acidity, delicacy and real body.

The pack I stashed under my keyboard.

Starbucks unveiled VIA in Feburary. Said it’s been “development for 20 years.” Well, they must be very serious about it. There’re some positive reviews around. I’ve been curious about it even I don’t have any expectation for instant coffee at all. And, as of September 30th, it’s on sale nationwide in Starbucks stores.

I actually got my sample over the weekend but kept it till today. I think the office environment is a better place to replicate “the great coffee in an instant” experience. On the weekend, I’d rather fiddle with my Hario dripping or siphon brewing system.

Hipster took a bite of VIA…

As you can see, I shared my only pack with “Hipster” whom I’ve had for a “pet” for months. Hipster is from China, being fed on bamboo all the time since I pinned him up there… I treated him this specialty as a breakfast-after snack. From his glittering eyes as you can see in the picture, VIA seems very promising…

“Tear the package and pour the coffee in the mug. Add hot water. Enjoy.” Its no-brainer instant coffee SOP. So, how is it?

This pack labeled “Colombia, Medium.” Well, it’s all bitter in first sipping. It may be ascribed to the sweet taste left on my taste bud after the multi-grain breakfast loaf. After a few more sips, the bitterness was getting mild. Then, acidity came out, sweetness, medium body and even a nutty hint. VIA’s somewhat clean aftertaste is even surprising.

This is an amazing cup of instant coffee: this is something I’d go for if I must have instant coffee. I wonder: why would they care spending money on all the stores and over-roasting beans if they can make such a great instant coffee?