Everyone has their own particular method when home brewing, whether you’re a V60 perfectionist, an Aeropress user or maybe you just like a good old-fashioned cafetiere. We thought we’d grab one of our favourite coffees from the Climpsons range and put it to the test, so you can experiment with our methods at home or perhaps you’re looking to make the choice between the 3 methods.
What can you learn from this?
As coffee aficionados with a passion for brewing and sourcing the best quality specialty coffee, we want to provide you with an insight into how you can get the most out of your Climpsons coffee when brewing at home. It’s an absolute delight to be able to try coffee that’s brewed differently. These are some of our suggested brew methods and guides to help you get started or try something different from your usual practice. But there’s nothing stopping you from being experimental and trying different things, that’s where the excitement and sense of discovery lies. What I am always intrigued by is how one coffee can taste so different from cup to cup and the beauty of trying one coffee in three ways is you can really see similarities, differences, and of course preferences.
The Coffee…
The Estate - This coffee has been a staple of the Climpsons range for some time and always makes for a brilliant brew. This is an Ethiopian coffee of the heirloom variety and is roasted primarily for espresso, but can be enjoyed over all brew methods. We find The Estate to be one of the most versatile coffees in our range. It’s perfectly suited to espresso, with its full body and complex sweetness, but also has an added dimension of soft peach like acidity, which pairs perfectly with milk for something a bit different.
The Methods
Aeropress
Why the Aeropress?
The key function of the Aeropress is to get a great balance of body and clarity. The difference between this and pour overs is that it brings out more body, where pour overs can be quite clean, so if you prefer a stronger taste and more full bodied mouthfeel, then this could be the one for you. Aeropress can suit particular origins more than others, for example, a Central American coffee with more rounded stewed fruit or toffee apple sweetness would pair perfectly with a brew method that accentuates these flavours for a comforting mug of coffee. Whereas a light bodied African coffee with more citric acidity would be better for the lightness and clarity produced by a V60.
What you'll need
Aeropress, Aeropress filter papers, Scales, Timer, Coffee, Grinding method, Kettle.
The Brew method?
We have chosen to use the Climpsons suggestive brew methods that you can also see here if you’d like to see the more in-depth version.
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When home brewing, like me, I favour the use of a hand grinder. For the Aeropress, we are looking for a grind size that is slightly less than what you would use for a pour over. Now, if you get your coffees pre-ground, there’s absolutely no shame in that, you’re looking for a grind size of 5.5 (EK). If you do use a home grinder we’re looking for a medium grind.
You’ll need around 200g water (filtered water, or bottled water is good) If you’d like more info on this then check our water and coffee blog here….
You’ll want to wet the Aeropress filter. Now, the dose I have chosen is 15g - I found this to work perfectly and usually apply this to my Aeropress method.
Then add 200g of water and stir 3 times, stir 3 more times at 0:50, then add the capp and get plunging.
The plunge should end in 2 minutes and you’re ready to pour.
What did I get from the brew?
With this particular coffee, we are looking to really define those chocolatey flavours by promoting body and sweetness and to preserve the soft peachy acidity that we know this coffee possesses.
The end result really accentuated the chocolatey flavours with a hint of orange, peach and toffee. I chose to top it off with some oat milk to enhance the creaminess, sweetness and body. If you’re someone who enjoys espresso with milk but also enjoys the complexity of filter coffee, then this is the one for you.
V60
Why the V60?
The V60 is a great alternative to the Aeropress, if you’ve got a little more time on your hands, we’re talking minutes and you prefer a cleaner cup with more defining flavours then you’ll definitely prefer this option. The V60 will create a lighter body allowing delicate flavours to come through.
What you’ll need
V60, V60 filter papers, Scales, Timer, Coffee, Kettle, Grinding method.
The Brew Method
Once again I’ve run with the Climpsons brew methods, which you can see here…
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Whatever your chosen grinder method we are looking for a medium coarse grind here, 8.5 on an EK. You’ll need 200ml of filtered water at 95 degrees or 2 minutes off the boil on a home kettle. I’ve gone with 13g of coffee as this amount worked perfectly.
Start by placing the filter paper and soaking with hot water, this also gives a chance to warm the glass. Then we’re looking for 50ml every 30 seconds. I found with this a nice consistent circular pour, quite quickly is a great way to release those flavours.
Once your 4 pours are complete you’re looking for a finish time between 2:10 and 2:40 seconds. Once complete, swirl and have a good sniff to get a smell of those flavours, then your coffee is ready to drink.
What did I get from the brew?
This brew method allowed me to achieve a clarity of flavour that wasn’t possible with the Aeropress. Instead of promoting the body of the chocolate flavours, this method really brings out the orange and peach acidity. V60s typically produce lighter, more refreshing coffee and this brew was no different. Of course the coffee and chocolate sweetness was still in the background but the acidity was the star of the show.
It’s amazing how your brew method can make such a difference in terms of flavours. As we were expecting a much cleaner and vibrant taste, we got exactly that, the orangery notes were much more noticeable and the toffee came in afterwards.
Cafetiere
Why the Cafetiere?
There's no shame in being a cafetiere lover - many of us Climpsons use this method at home The reason… It's convenient, fast and still produces a pretty good brew. I’ve found that the cafetiere allows the coffee to brew without being exposed to pressure or the boiling process, which can give you a richer mouth taste, better mouthfeel and all round a good brew. Also it is basically a pour and go option, which lets be honest, is sometimes more than welcome.
What you’ll need
Cafetiere, Scales, Coffee, Kettle, Grinding method.
The Brew Method?
The Climpsons brew method comes to my aid again with this one. You can see the recipe here:
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What did I get from the brew?
For a fast cup in the morning this was great, I was able to attain some great flavours in the coffee and achieve a well balanced brew. For me, the key details are to make sure you follow the small details which enhance that flavour, for example you're looking for some good agitation by stirring the coffee and also having a nice balance of crema sitting on top. You don’t want it looking clear.
To conclude
Experimenting with different brew methods on one coffee is the fun part, but to point you in the right direction we hope this summary will give you some food for thought and a little more insight when deciding what coffee method make.The V60 is a great method to taste those defined flavours, if you’re into a cleaner cup and delicate flavours then you should go for that. The Aeropress would be my flip side to that, if you want the opposite, full bodied, good with milk, a more intense mouthfeel then this ones for you. The Cafetiere for me is a great place to start, perhaps you’re just getting into coffee or you're a laid back brewer, then I’d suggest this for an all round taste, almost like the in between of the V60 and Aeropress.
Next time we’ll look into 3 coffees from our range brewed with one method. This will show how we can make coffee differently and how we’re able to show different flavours and consistency through adjusting our brew method… so stay tuned for part 2.
