Pu’er Coffee

 We all know that coffee drippers usually come in two sizes—large and small. Some people assume that if a large dripper can handle a big dose of coffee, it should naturally work just fine for a smaller dose as well. So why not just buy one large dripper and call it a day? In reality, that way of thinking isn’t ideal. Today, let’s talk about why using a large dripper to brew a small dose of coffee is generally not recommended. Hopefully, this will be helpful—and if it is, feel free to share it with your fellow coffee friends. First, let’s clarify two concepts: how big is a “large” dripper, and how small is a “small” dose? Let’s use the V60 as an example. A V60 labeled 02 is considered a large dripper, designed for brewing coffee for 1–4 people. A “small” dose, in this context, refers to using around 15 grams of coffee , typically brewed at a 1:15 coffee-to-water ratio . When a large dripper is designed, it’s meant to accommodate a larger amount of coffee grounds —usually 20–30 ...

 As we all know, the grind size and water temperature are determined by the characteristics of the coffee beans. The goal is always the same: to brew the best possible version of that particular coffee. But sometimes, we forget to adjust the grinder and end up grinding a coffee that requires a fine setting with a much coarser grind. This creates a problem: the coarse particles significantly reduce extraction efficiency. If you brew the coffee as-is, there’s a high chance it will taste noticeably weaker and less flavorful. So naturally, people ask: “Can I put the already-ground coffee back into the grinder and grind it again using the correct setting?” Yes — you can! In fact, at world-class coffee competitions, some competitors use a two-stage grinding method to increase particle uniformity. But before you jump in, you should know that this method comes with two major drawbacks. If you can’t overcome these issues, I actually recommend using another method to “fix” the incorrectl...

 Sometimes you might just want a small cup of coffee—maybe for a special blend, or simply to enjoy a few sips without going all in. Every now and then, friends tell me they want to “brew a small cup using just a few grams of beans.” But if you’ve actually tried it, you’ll probably agree: brewing a good cup with a small dose of coffee is much harder than brewing with a regular amount. Just recently, a friend told me he tried making coffee with only 5 grams of beans, but no matter what he did, it just didn’t taste right. The flavor and body were completely different from what he’d get using a normal dose. So, why is it so hard to brew coffee with such a small amount of beans? The short answer: the smaller the dose, the more brewing challenges you’ll run into. Why Small-Dose Brewing Is Tricky In a previous post, I mentioned that each dripper design has its own “sweet spot” for optimal coffee dose. For example, the Hario V60 01 dripper works best with about 10–20 grams of coffee, ...