Filter and drip style coffee is having a mini-renaissance and is coming back in a big way. In cafe-land, places such as Proud Mary in Collingwood offer Syphon/Vacuum pot coffee, Sensory Lab in the CBD works with the Hario V60 cone and syphon, Cafenatics in Docklands uses 2x Bunn Trifectas and Market Lane Coffee in Prahran uses a Clover and traditional pour-over bar. Driftwood and Dandelion, the brainchild of roaster Peter Wollf and partner Penny Lowe in Brisbane (opening on 10/10/10) will be serving coffee through syphon and the Bunn Trifecta paired up with an Uber Boiler.
Personally, I drink filter coffee exclusively at home - I sold my espresso machine about a year ago in preference to brewers like the Abid Clever Coffee Drip, traditional pour-over cone, Hario V60, syphon and Nel-drip. The attraction of filter brewing for me is two-fold. Firstly, I love the simplicity of brewing methods such as the Clever Coffee Drip - it's extremely hard to stuff up and is very consistent. The other reason is the clarity of flavour - I'm really able to identify and distinguish between different coffees.
Left to Right: Hario Buono 1.2 L, D1 700 mL, Takahiro 900 mL, Avanti 750 mL oil can
To make good filter coffee requires knowledge and practice just like espresso. One of the main factors that really effect how much coffee is extracted (other than the obvious ones such as the amount of water, dose of coffee and grind setting) is how much agitation there is during the brewing the process. In the case of pour-over coffee methods such as Nel-drip, Hario V60 or the traditional V-shaped pour-over cone the agitation comes from the turbulence when pouring the water over the coffee. The aim is to control the stream of the water to provide a controlled turbulence. For this reason I have never been a fan of the Hario Buono pouring kettle. Here are the reasons why I don't like the Buono kettle:
- Large 1.2 L capacity leaches too much heat from the water
- You have to hold on to the lid
- To achieve a usable flow rate of water, you will need to tilt the kettle
- Feels cheap and tacky, even compared to my $20 oil can! (see below)
I hate (maybe hate is too strong a word?) the Buono so much that I actually prefer to use an oil pouring can which I picked up for $20 at a home-wares store. However, the Buono does have a few things going for it:
- $80 price tag makes it seem like a steal compared to the Takahiro or Kalita kettles
- Easy to source - lots of places in Australia now stock this kettle
- Comfortable handle
- The guys at Barismo are selling flow restrictors for this kettle so they will pour at a much better flow rate
- Brushed stainless finish allows for much easier appearance maintenance in a commercial environment
I'm really looking forward to having these kettles arrive from Hong Kong and Japan - so expect a review of these kettles in the next month! Until then, happy coffee making!