In the world of espresso there is something called the Salami shot where you get to taste the different levels of extraction in an espresso shot. The way this works is that you pull an espresso shot and then in 5 second intervals you put another cup below to catch the flow of espresso. This divides the shot into these segments, hence the salami name. What it allows you to do is to then taste the different parts of the espresso shot. The early of the shot part vs the later part.
I have created a technique that is somewhat similar but with a pour-over that allows you to find the best brewing ratio that tastes good with any new bag of beans by just brewing ONE cup of coffee. This is how you do it!
Preparation
This is what you need to do this pour-over brewing ratio finding technique.
- Multiple cups (1 per brewing ratio)
- Everything you need to brew a pour-over.
First, write out the brewing ratio range you want to check out. I recommend something like 1:14 to 1:18.
You need an extra cup for each brewing ratio that you want to explore. If we are brewing with lets say 16g of coffee, calculate the lowest brewing ratio that you will be brewing with. In this case, it is the 1:14 brewing ratio. Calculating the water amount, it would mean that you would be using 224g of water to brew with 16g of coffee at a 1:14 brewing ratio. If you don’t know how brewing ratios work, check out this post.
Keep that 16g number in mind because that will be the extra increment that you will be pouring with.
The Technique
- Brew your cup of coffee like normally for the 1:14 brewing ratio.
- Then let all the liquid drain from the pour-over.
- Once it has fully drained, put another cup under the pour-over and pour the increment of 16g. This 16g will be what you would have poured if you had brewed a cup that was with a 1:15 brewing ratio.
- Once it’s fully drained, remove that cup and rinse and repeat the process of putting a new cup under and pouring 16g of water.
Once you have all the cups with the slivers of 16g coffee. Sip on the first cup. That is what a 1:14 brewing ratio tastes like. Then add the first segment that you poured. Stir it up and taste it. That is how a 1:15 brewing ratio tastes like and so on. Keep going until you have tasted all the segments that you poured.
You should have not tasted the range of brewing ratios that you wanted to explore and have a good idea of which one tasted the best.
Keep in mind that it is not a perfect method but it does quickly bring you to a ballpark brewing ratio range for a balanced cup with a bag of new beans. Two flaws I can think of are the delay between brewing (leading to a cooler water temp) and the coffee being sipped throughout the experiment leading to less initial coffee.
This technique only works with pour-overs so make sure to use it with yours to quickly find a good brewing ratio with any bag of beans that you get your hands on!