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- Guides • Posted by Two Chimps • 19th April 2017
Coffee brewing with a Filter
How to make Filter Coffee
So, soon-to-be filter aficionado, let’s find out more about this tasty way of making coffee. Firstly, what is filter brewing?
Filter coffee is a gravity-based method. Pressure is the other main way of making coffee – devices like espresso machines are pressure devices. They use high pressures to speed up extraction and give a bolder brew.
Filtering doesn’t use pressure. Instead, the force of gravity pulls the water through your coffee and filter and down into a container below. Takes a little longer than pressure coffee, but MOST DEFINITELY worth it. Filter coffee is head-turningly delicious!
Filter Coffee Ratio
How much coffee do you put in filter coffee?
Coffee-to-water ratios describe the amount of coffee you need to the amount of water. Each brew method has its own ratio. Cafetieres, for example, sport a coffee-to-water ratio of 1:20, while 1:1 is the ratio of a super-punchy ristretto (hello caffeine!).
For filter coffee methods, we recommend a starting ratio of 1:16. Or, in other words, 16ml of water for every gram of coffee. 320ml is a good amount of water for V60 coffee. This means you need 20g of fresh coffee (because 320/16 = 20!). Simple!
But this ain’t set in stone. If this filter coffee ratio is too strong or too weak for you, simply adapt the ratio to include more or less coffee. As long as you enjoy it, make it however you wish!
How to Make Filter Coffee
You will need:
- A kettle (swan neck is preferred, but a regular kettle will be just fine)
- A V60 or Chemex
- Filters for your chosen device
- Snazzy mug
- 20g of freshly ground coffee (3 heaped tablespoons)
- 320ml of water (filtered if possible. From the tap if not.)
Ready? Set? Go!
Put the kettle on to boil.
If needed, grind your beans like rough/granulated sugar.
When the kettle has boiled, remove from the heat and allow to cool for 30 seconds. This prevents it scalding your coffee.
Pour a little water into the filter paper and discard the water that comes through. This is to remove any possibility of a paper taste in your filter coffee.
Add 20g of ground coffee to the filter and pour a little of your hot water to wet the grounds. Around 50ml will do.
Wait for 30s to allow the coffee to ‘bloom’.
Pour the remaining water over a 2/2.30 min period, circling the flow from the inside out. This helps to make sure all the grounds get wet.
Your coffee should stop dripping through at around 3-3.30mins.
Do a happy dance and enjoy your filter coffee. You made that, you did!
Quick Note if You’re Making Coffee in a Chemex
If you are using a Chemex, the coffee may take a little longer to drip through than the times suggested above. This is because Chemex filter papers are 20% thicker than V60 filters. This slows down the water flow and gives you a slightly longer extraction.
The best coffee to use in a filter?
What to read next?
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