Posted Fri Jun 1, 2012, 9:37am Subject: Re: Cuveda dripper?
So far, so good. It requires a finer grind than my Bonmac or Chemex (I usually use Chemex filters in a V60, actually). The cups come out clean, sweet, well-rounded - the oils are making it through, no noticeable sediment, but it has a taste very "pour-over" like.
I want to compare it to a cup brewed with the same (simple, conical) cloth filter in my V60 to try and determine if the mound in the middle is of any benefit. I do think it lets you keep the water volume lower and the saturation more even, so I would PREDICT a more evenly extracted cup.
Posted Wed Jun 13, 2012, 12:18pm Subject: Re: Cuveda dripper?
The reason for the bump is to keep the coffee bed from coming to point. The problem with cone shape is a very deep bed in the middle, coupled with a very shallow bed at the edges, create the possibility, or likelihood, of uneven extraction. There are various techniques people use to overcome this, from stirring the bloom (to reveal dry grounds at the deepest part of the point), to controlling the pour stream to agitate in particular places for particular amounts of time.
The Kalita has a flat bottom to solve this problem. This device had the inverted bump to solve it. The more even the coffee bed, the more even the extraction.
Flavor differences will be very subtle and it will be difficult to tell where differences are actually coming from. The same brewing device, grinder, filter medium, and water, will also produce subtle difference because of time, temperature, agitation, pouring technique. So unless you have developed an extremely rigid and consistent routine, you probably wont be able to isolate the reason for variations in flavor.
Posted Thu Jun 14, 2012, 7:28am Subject: Re: Cuveda dripper?
Picker, I don't disagree. I tend to think of pour-over coffee as a more or less approximate brewing method. You really, really have to get liturgical about your routine before precise consistency is actually attainable.
So I don't bother.
I tend to operate within a framework of things which are easy enough to keep very consistent (i.e. grind size, water temp, equipment), and make a "best effort" to be consistent about other things (pour technique - which includes posture, kettle angle, speed of rotation, size of pour target, etc). I find that, over time, I've become quite consistent, and rarely have to focus very hard on these things. I can stumble out of bed and be sipping a cup of coffee 10 minutes later that I hardly remember making, but the taste parameters are well within "spec". Granted, I don't have a refractometer, but I can taste when my grinder is a notch finer or coarser, or when I pour too quickly or slowly (not exactly a double-blind test, because I usually detect these things before I ever take the first sip, but still). Equipment can help consistency, but as long as you're not using something poorly designed, your technique can compensate more than adequately.
Also, one thing I'll add is that coffee doesn't only exit the bed at the bottom, unless you're using a Chemex (and even then, I often see it escaping the side and running down between the filter and the glass). Most drippers (and indeed the Cuveda) have ridges that allow coffee to exit the side of the filter and run down to the openings. While this does not perfectly prevent uneven extraction, it does help. There's a reason Bunn uses the same design they have for decades, and why everyone from Fetco to Kalita has copied it.
Mine arrived a couple of weeks ago..haven't really had the chance to play much with it, but i have to agree with JPDyson, so far so good...most of my brews have been using paper filters, i did try the included cloth filter but i thought the flavor was off, neither over nor underextracted, just off, i've seen people recommend not drinking the first brew when using cloth filters, i did, so maybe that's the case.
The little thing drips frustratingly fast though, maybe i've been too used to brewing with a V60, but i've tried different grind sizes, some even bordering on espresso and can't get it to brew for longer than 1:45 (plus 0:30 for bloom = 2:15) using about 15grams for a 250ml brew, taste-wise they've been perfect though, as good as my best v60s, so no complaints there, but i would like to achieve longer brew times just to compare, my pouring is pretty slow too so no idea if it's possible at all.
Mine arrived a couple of weeks ago..haven't really had the chance to play much with it, but i have to agree with JPDyson, so far so good...most of my brews have been using paper filters, i did try the included cloth filter but i thought the flavor was off, neither over nor underextracted, just off, i've seen people recommend not drinking the first brew when using cloth filters, i did, so maybe that's the case.
The little thing drips frustratingly fast though, maybe i've been too used to brewing with a V60, but i've tried different grind sizes, some even bordering on espresso and can't get it to brew for longer than 1:45 (plus 0:30 for bloom = 2:15) using about 15grams for a 250ml brew, taste-wise they've been perfect though, as good as my best v60s, so no complaints there, but i would like to achieve longer brew times just to compare, my pouring is pretty slow too so no idea if it's possible at all.
Well, I have to admit my Hario pours (18 grams of coffee, 10oz liquid yield) are around 2 minutes INCLUDING a 30 second bloom, and I'm quite happy with the results. Any longer, and I've got less than hot coffee.
oktyone Senior Member Joined: 26 Apr 2012 Posts: 26 Expertise: I love coffee
Posted Sun Jul 22, 2012, 9:05pm Subject: Re: Cuveda dripper?
As long as you like your results it's fine, i feel the same with this dripper, results are amazing so far, but it's frustrating not being able to experiment and taste brews with longer extraction times, just to compare.
The Hario V-60 is very versatile in this regard, i've been able to achieve brews almost as long as 4min (including bloom time), and some as short as 1:30 depending on pouring speed and grind size, with continuous pouring as i don't like pulse pouring. I find that the most complex and unique flavors of great coffees seem to really develop well during the 2:30-4:00 minutes of the extraction, but this little dripper has proven me wrong, i just wish i could compare different extractions with this same dripper though, finer grinds don't seem to help much in slowing it, but since the extraction is short, a fine grind is necessary to properly extract it. I timed the youtube video, and it seems to correspond well with my results.
Anyone else has experiments worth sharing with this dripper?
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