Siphon vs Espresso

Dry_bean

hazchem wrote:

I'm not convinced that its siphon, or brewed coffee for that matter vs. Espresso. Can't the two exist side by side in the same context? Its seems to have become the norm in Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide & Brisbane to offer this. Could be the same in other cities too I just haven't been there for a while. Speaking for myself, I enjoy both espresso and brewed coffee equally. They are different beverages with different things to offer and I don't believe that one is intrinsically better than the other in any way. Sure, Australia is a very espresso-centric market. The other way to look at that is that perhaps with time and education, any quality cafe can add brewed coffee to their menu and another revenue stream as a result.

I wonder if someone in the industry who serves both espresso and siphon/drip coffee could give us some idea as to percentages ratio of siphon to espresso they serve, for no other reason than interest.

askthecoffeeguy

personally I'm an espresso man through and through - can I enjoy a good syphon coffee? Yes, and I occasionally do - but to me you cant beat the robust and complex flavours of a well made espresso, not to mention the corresponding caffeine hit!

Dry_bean

askthecoffeeguy wrote:

personally I'm an espresso man through and through - can I enjoy a good syphon coffee? Yes, and I occasionally do - but to me you cant beat the robust and complex flavours of a well made espresso, not to mention the corresponding caffeine hit!

Personally I'm an espresso man through and through - can I enjoy a good syphon coffee? NO, just not to my taste. 😉

DoubleRistretto

I'm an espresso man through and through, but have to say there's nothing like a siphon to be able to pick the really delicate flavours... dR

Dry_bean

DoubleRistretto wrote:

I'm an espresso man through and through, but have to say there's nothing like a siphon to be able to pick the really delicate flavours... dR

Perhaps I'm not a very delicate person. 😉

askthecoffeeguy

Dry bean. wrote:

Perhaps I'm not a very delicate person. 😉

Personally I like robust flavours without the robusta - a bit like a Barossa Shiraz!

DoubleRistretto

remember the first time I tried Siphon - it was in Sydney's Mecca - can't remember the bean, but I still remember the amazing apricot flavours that you just didn't pick up in espresso...

Dry_bean

DoubleRistretto wrote:

remember the first time I tried Siphon - it was in Sydney's Mecca - can't remember the bean, but I still remember the amazing apricot flavours that you just didn't pick up in espresso...

Must admit I prefer my coffee to taste like, well, coffee I guess, if I want apricots then I'll eat apricots, if I want coffee I'll ----- you get the picture. 😉

Dry_bean

DoubleRistretto wrote:

remember the first time I tried Siphon - it was in Sydney's Mecca - can't remember the bean, but I still remember the amazing apricot flavours that you just didn't pick up in espresso...

As an afterthought, when you experience these flavours in siphon coffee, do you set out to detect different flavours or do they leap out of the cup and announce themselves. 🙂

DoubleRistretto

they just leap out ... have you never had a siphon??

askthecoffeeguy

I'm a former wine writer and sommelier - I can smell an apricot at 50 paces...

Dry_bean

DoubleRistretto wrote:

they just leap out ... have you never had a siphon??

I own a Bodum Santos and over the years have tried to enjoy the insipid flavourless brew it produces on many occasions, all I can say is "blech" its simply not to my taste, as for apricots or the ethereal aroma of a virgins fart, in the words of a famous Aussie movie character (tell em their dreamin) not saying others cant detect these flavours/aroma's, the fact of the matter is I cant. The Santos is in its original box down in the shed and that's where its gonna stay, until the next garage sale that is. 😉

Dry_bean

askthecoffeeguy wrote:

I'm a former wine writer and sommelier - I can smell an apricot at 50 paces...

I used to pick the bloody things for a living during my younger days and can certainly smell apricots when they are in fact apricots, but in a bottle of wine or cup of coffee? nah. You say ex wine writer and sommelier, what happened? did someone catch ya stuffin apricots into the wine bottles. 😉 ;D

admin

Hi DB - interesting... I must admit I've had a similar experience to DR with respect to Siphon - ie that the flavours seem to 'jump out at you' - might check with ACG [who has done an article about siphon's] - am interested to know if you might get a different result with an older-style siphon [eg Bodum] vs some of these newer, Japanese ones the guys are using. cheers A

askthecoffeeguy

Hey al - I havent tried the older style syphons, and the Hario is my stable at home, but given that the materials and presumably he method are the same then the results in theory should still be similar What I will say is that careful consideration should be given when choosing which beans to roast for syphon, and that the roast profile should be adjusted accordingly to a lighter than espresso roast - to caramelise the coffee sugars but without introducing darker secondary roast flavours, and that the grind should also be quite coarse, "like sesame seeds" when rolled between your fingers At the end of the day its a personal preference thing and as I've said elsewhere I thought about then decided against syphon for my cafe due to a lack of bench space - that and the need to have a dedicated staff member to attend to this one application Besides which I think that we're still far from finished when it comes to exploring the depths of espresso coffee - and I'd rather do one thing well than many things badly...

admin

thanks Pat... by the way, congrats on all those accolades you keep getting for Foxy in the Melb. newspapers!

admin

am keen for a bit of an update on what people think on this one... A

Dry_bean

My update will be short and sweet. Since my first post to this thread about 15 months ago I have sold the Bodum Santos, interesting experiment, sadly not to my taste. :🙂

Koffee_Kosmo

I have a small Cona Syphon Brewer with a glass cory rod filter It was a gift from another coffee lover Chris Blair that runs the BeanLab in NZ He is a top bloke It gets used on limited occasions for cupping ect It is a different taste and texture and I wouldn't call it unpleasant It just takes a little time to get used to it KK

Lacehim

I've got a syphon. I'm going to roast a little lighter and try it with a coarser grind. The brews I've had so far have been ok, but using a darker roast. It's a fun thing to use and the coffee wasn't too bad. I have to admit I added a dash of milk a few times! ;D That's probably frowned upon!

« Previous Page Next Page »