Hand brew perfect coffee
Among real coffee enthusiasts, hand brewing is the hottest trend around! The equipment is not at all expensive. It’s not difficult either. Here Scandic Nidelven’s barista, Idar André Ellingsen gives a crash course on how to do it.
Photo: Christian Løken, Balder Film
The former Norwegian champion coffee-maker likes to serve a cup of hand-brewed coffee to the hotel guests. If he has time, he likes to give them a short course too.
Because hand brewing is not as difficult as it may sound.
In addition to brewing gear with the right filter, you need the following: Freshly roasted coffee, warm water in a container with a spout, kitchen scales and clock (timer). The last two items are admittedly not totally necessary, but they make it easier to get a perfect result.
A water pot with spout allows Idar André Ellingsen to have complete control over the water flow whilst hand brewing.
If you also have a coffee grinder, so that you get newly ground coffee, the taste will be even better.
Hand brewing coffee, step by step
The hand brewer that Idar uses is called V60. Basically, it consists of a filter holder in which you place a coffee filter. There are also other types of hand brewers which generally follow the same method.
Follow these steps:
1. Weigh the correct amount of coffee beans; the correct amount is 60-70 grams per litre of water. Put them in the coffee grinder which is set at grind level for filtering, and grind them.
2. Boil the water.
3. Put a filter in the filter holder and place it on top of the flask. Then pour hot water all over the filter. This removes the paper taste from the filter. Additionally, it heats up the flask that the coffee percolates into, so as to not take any heat away from the brew. Pour out the water.
As soon as all the water has percolated through the filter, the coffee is ready.
4. Now add the ground coffee in the filter. Make sure that the surface is smooth and even. Reset the scale before you start pouring the water. Start by pouring a small amount of water, approximately twice the weight of the coffee.
5. After 30 seconds, continue pouring the water. Distribute it slowly and preferably in a circular motion over the coffee in the filter. Never pour closer to the edge of the grounds than about one centimetre. When the scale indicates that you have enough water, stop.
6. Wait until all the water has filtered through. Turn the flask a little so that the brew is mixed, and then the coffee is ready. The entire brewing process should take approximately three minutes.
Enjoy your drink!