The Best Fluffy Pancakes recipe you will fall in love with. Full of tips and tricks to help you make the best pancakes.
Today I want to ask a question.
It may sound odd at first.
Is immersion brewing better than percolation brewing?
That means this:
Is a French press better than a pour over?
I ask this because I have been thinking about immersion a lot.
In some cases, I had brews that were under-extracted.
But they still tasted good.
This made me want to test more.
So I planned a simple experiment.
I will brew both ways, side by side.
I will test grind size.
I will measure extraction.
I will also taste.
Then I will compare.
The Setup
I use an EK43 grinder.
This is a common grinder.
I choose five grind sizes.
From very coarse to very fine.
For each grind size I will brew two cups:
- One French press (immersion)
- One V60 pour over (percolation)
That makes 10 cups total.
I use 20 grams of coffee each time.
This is enough to brew a fair cup.
Brewing less might not feel real.
Brewing more is not needed.
I use my normal French press method.
I let it steep for 4 minutes.
Then I break the crust, scoop off the top.
After that I pour.
I do not worry about sediment this time.
My focus is on extraction.
For the pour over I use my usual V60 method.
Each brew is done with care.
When done, I will check two things:
- The taste
- The extraction numbers with a refractometer
Brewing the Test
It took time to brew all 10 cups.
At the coarse end the pour over ran fast.
At the fine end the pour over looked strange.
At grind setting 1 the bed looked odd, maybe channeling.
The French press cups looked normal.
At first I planned to measure extraction.
But I chose to taste first.
That way I had less bias.
I lined the cups.
In front were immersion brews.
In back were percolation brews.
Now the tasting began.
Tasting – Coarse Grind
First I tried the coarse grind cups.
Both were weak.
They tasted empty.
Hollow.
But there was a difference.
The pour over had a sharp tang.
A sour edge.
The French press was smoother.
So at this level immersion was better.
Tasting – Medium-Coarse
Then I moved up one step finer.
Both cups were stronger.
More body.
More taste.
The French press was a little sweeter.
It felt round.
The pour over was fine, but not as sweet.
So immersion had a small edge.
Tasting – Middle Grind
Now the middle grind.
This is where I normally brew both.
Both cups were very good.
The pour over had clarity.
Clean taste, light body.
The French press had more texture.
Rich body, smooth feel.
Both were nice.
I could not pick one as better.
It was a draw.
Tasting – Fine Grind
Now I went finer.
Here the roast taste came out more.
Both cups had a dark note.
But one thing was clear.
The pour over was bitter.
It had bite.
It felt harsh.
The French press was not like that.
It was smoother.
Not too bitter.
So immersion won this round.
Tasting – Very Fine Grind
Last was the finest grind.
The French press cup was muddy.
Hard to pick clear notes.
But it was drinkable.
Not bad.
The pour over was very bad.
It was harsh.
It was bitter.
It was not nice to drink.
I could not finish it.
Here immersion was the clear winner.
