Coffee Chronicler's Switch method is my daily driver anymore. It gives me a good quality without needing my brain cells to talk to each other too much in the morning.
That's been my method for a while too. I'd love to hear Lance's thoughts on what impact doing the percolation first then immersion would have, as Lance's method is the opposite. And given that the second half of brewing is more likely to extract bad flavor compounds, it sorta makes sense that Asser's method does immersion in the second half to round out the cup. Lance, any thoughts?
Here's what I got as an interpretation of Lance's Next Level Pulsar recipe. Apologies in advance for any mistakes. Lance Hedrick Recipe: 1 :16 Dose: ~XXg Water: ~XXXml Rinse paper Close valve, Pour Coffee & level bed w/ WDT Pour water ~3x coffee weight, WWDT Steep ~1 minute then drain Close valve then pour ~XXXml water (~8-9x dose) At 4 minute mark open valve & leave open Final pour w/ valve open to desired weight ~6 minute TBT Just got my Pulsar & i'm going to go try this now 😃
@@nutdazzler Pretty good, but I find I don't use the Pulsar much. It feels like a lot of fiddling with set up, use, & clean up. It makes a good cup of coffee, but I prefer the switch for ease of use & reliability.
@@trygv.b.155 Thanks for the feedback. I almost pulled the trigger but thinking of playing with the mugen (less bypass) in my switch and dabbling with drip when traveling in aeropress. I want less components and odd sized filters seems annoying for travel especially.
@LanceHedrick hey Lance, On 1 of your videos you were pulling Quakers and tapping the beans. Why did you do that? Do the beans sound different or were you just moving the beans to see them better? Thanks man much love from Japan
For the least bypass Hario Switch, you can replace the default glass Hario V02 with Hario's own Mugen dripper. The Mugen is made with plastic so it has good heat retention and does not have the reservoir issue when using with Kono dripper.
I second that. Just tried it today....one of the best brews I've had out of the pulsar. I was having fast drawdown issues with the Gagne recipe. Rao was suggesting just to keep grinding finer with minimal agitation but the body was getting more and more syrupy and just astringent and I was still not hitting their times using a ZP6. Great recipe I might try it using a 20gram dose now as I heard that is good for reducing astringency too which I had a very small amount of with this recipe but overall it was way more balanced, bright and aromatic today.
Lance, thanks for igniting this passion for coffee in me. You have played a large part with your informative and easy to understand content. I’m considering leaving my corporate 9-5 to help a friend open a coffee shop.
Following Lance Hedrick is like subscribing to Masterclass! Wow! He provides so much subtlety in his breakdown of topics. I have one "lightbulb moment" (knowledge hitting the mark) after another. For something that's so technical and detailed, it's actually quite thrilling to experience. I now understand why all these devices keep arriving, how they're optimized, and which one I might prefer given my taste and equipment. Rewatch the section starting at 4:30 where he introduces the problem of "extracting coffee with coffee" and teaches the need to "introduce clean solvent." Mind blown. So fun and informative. Thanks Lance.
I just tried this with my hario switch with an awesome Guatemalan medium light roast. Came out with a great balance of sweetness body and sharpness. Brought out a great grapefruit taste. Love my hario switch lol Ty so much
That Pulsar looks awesome. It's like the Switch crossed with Aeropress crossed with Drip Assist. If it's durable enough for travel and the filters aren't crazy expensive, might be endgame for pour over!
I've had my Switch for a while, but for the last week I've been making my coffee using your method and its quality is both good and consistent. Just wanted to say thank you.
Great video, lance. Glad to see more people talking about this. I've been doing the sprometheus switch recipe and loving it. I add a wet wdt after the bloom and then I reduce the water temp from 96 to 85 after the second pour (or first pour, depending on how you count) inspired by Tetsu. I use about an 8.5 on the Pietro with the pro brew burrs. Always gets a great cup.
I’m from the town/region that makes Kong Fu tea, and I love both tea and coffee (like light roasted a bit more). I make coffee at work and Kong Fu tea at home (it takes a lot of time). From my daily experience, coffee is a bit more complex mainly due to the grinding. Kong fu tea, on the other hand, needs to optimize the tea to pot volume ratio given the kind of tea, and there are so many very different types of tea. Other factors are similar - extraction time, water, water temp, preheating, etc.
3:53 Small correction: Immersion is not more efficient than percolation, it is less efficient, which is a logical consequence of the Noyes-Whitney equation which says, that the speed (=efficiency) of dissolving something is proportional to (cs - c) cs is the maximum possible concentration of the particle in the solvent and c is the concentration at a given moment. As immersion brewing has the solvent getting more saturated, c gets bigger, so (cs-c) gets smaller and so does the speed of dissolving. Percolation however does regularly add new solvent, thereby reduced c, which increases (cs-c) and the speed of dissolving. However, it is explained correctly from that point onwards.
Good to see equilibrium extraction of immersion brews getting some attention, and noting that finer grinding is so important for this reason. One point I’d note is that research has shown that this is temperature independent. So yes, it applies from boiling…all the way down to the coldest of cold brews: equilibrium all the way, baby! Letting it brew long enough to *reach* equilibrium is the key, so if you’re still struggling even after switching to a finer grind…then just let it brew longer! You will not over-extract, because equilibrium. 👍
I bet with an Aeropress, you could do a no bypass brew and using the plunger to create negative pressure (put it in then pull up slightly) to create an immersion/percolation cycle. So basically, never truly plunging but just putting it in the top to lift up then pull it completely out to release the coffee.
yes you definitely could. You need to grind coarser and less tho. Metal filter and fellow prismo could help mitigate some of the potential problems of this in the aeropress.
This was so obvious to me when I saw all the no bypass brewers popping up, I never understood, especially if you're just doing a no bypass pourover, why you wouldn't just do it in an aeropress.
I can see the value add of a valve or release system which is why I ended up getting a clever dripper, but for strictly no bypass if you already own one, the aeropress is perfect IMO
@@KelmoMusic I have the Tricolate, which I haven't used much but just to finish the last bits of coffee in the bag or canister. They're just wider than the Aeropress and the Tricolate also has a shower head you pour into
I loved this video. I’ve been playing around with my Aeropress for about 5 years and I’ve found myself favoring recipes slightly courser grinds. Recently I noticed a difference in flavor by 1 click courser on my Baratza Encore (could be placebo though). Thank you for all the food for thought Lance!!
Thanks, very detailed and scientific! I just leave the pot off my $19 drip Black & Decker for a couple minutes and it basically gives the same affect - Walmart style!
Excellent , thank you, always fancied a clever dripper & I have always loved the Aeropress with a high dose & course grounds so this all helps make sense.
Great video Lance! I'm having trouble wrapping my brain around the fact that grinders are more consistent at a courser grind setting. I was always under the impression that the finer the grind, the more even the particle distribution is, and more of the coffees surface area is exposed therefore making higher extractions possible. I would really like to understand this more, anyway you could make a video about this?
The way I understood it (take that with a pinch of coarsely ground salt…) is that say I gave you two coffee beans and a knife and said cut one into two even halves, and one into 8 even eighths - it will be much easier with the tool you have to get precision on the halves. Then if you were to steep both in water, you would extract MORE from the eighths but it would be less EVEN than the halves. So what I’m taking away from this is, this brewing method is a way to extract more from coarsely ground coffee which will already extract more evenly.
@@Nhamilton3991 Thanks! That does make a little more sense. I haven't done as much immersion brewing, I'm typically using the Orea V3 and I've gotten so used to grinding on the finer side due to its fast flow rate. I'm still questioning the courser is more uniform idea though. In my brain from a mechanical standpoint, you have 2 cutting surfaces with a gap where when the gap is tighter the particles would be smaller and in theory closer in overall size and shape vs the gap being larger where inconsistent size pieces could get through more easily, which is typically why you have more fines with courser grinds, at least from my experience. Even by eye you can see that finer grinds appear more consistent and uniform vs courser grinds from the same grinder, so that's where I'm still a little confused. I'm not arguing it or saying its wrong, I just want to better understand it. I do understand for the brewing method how courser would be more ideal since the water will have more contact time with the coffee, I'm just struggling to fully understand the mechanics of the particle distribution part.
I love how you try so hard not to create a "buy this new super gear!" perception. I love tricolate so I am really looking forward to getting pulsar. Watching this video, I felt a little bit disappointed when you didn't appear to be "super excited" for pulsar. And then I realized how much I needed to see a "new cool shit" hype. .This need has become something too materialistic and psychologically consuming for the last years. It is just a new dripper. It is a good design for sure but I brew good coffee with my v60 already. Independent of my buying choice, I need to appreciate what I have more.
Brilliant! Particularily the introduction and details about immersion vs percolation. However, what prevents a percolation from becoming immersion considering the water hangs out with the grinds anyhow while percolating… Is it infact the gravity and constant flow that dictates a percolation? Is it so that in pour over perculation the water above the bed stays water (ie not dissolved coffee)?
it's quite interesting with the immersion preference. The drinking straight out of a cupping brew is literally the classic polish brew method Kawa Sypana. also just wanted to let you know that Juicy Projects in Flensborg brew method for batch brew is literally cupping, I brews a big 1 liter cupping and pours it into a thermos, highly recommended spot for a awesome sippy!
also, thank you dear Lance for the info, all i want in life is an easy way to get a good cup without having to think too much or do too much math and use too much stuff. that's why i always did french press without the press, i just carefully poured it out thru a metal strainer, low waste and easy. i only wish there can be a way to get a clean cup without having to use paper filters all the time. i know theres cloth options but that feels a bit gross lol. if you have any good sustainable self-sufficient filtering ideas please let us know. maybe i will have to try fabric tho
Thanks lane! Personally I do percolation first then immersion second on the switch as I find I have more control over the result by tweaking the ratio of percolation and immersion that doesn't seem to work the other way. It seems a bit fruitier.
Just a theory: I think that a larger percolation first gets some amount of under extracted coffee in the decanter, which adds more sour fruity notes into the final brew. That also happens with 4:6 when you increase the amount of the first pour, and in Tetsu's devil recipe.
I have been rocking a clever dripper for over a year and not even thought about changing. Previously it was every few months I wanted to try something new.
I’ve been a huge fan of the Bonavita Immersion Dripper for over 15 years. Always been weird to me how few people ever review or even know about it. Clever Dripper and Hario have def worked some marketing magic.
Been basically doing something similar to this recently using some cheap lab gear and a buchner funnel and vaccum to speed up draw down (kind of like the ground control brewer), but by using batched immersion rather than a strict percolation phase and super heavy agitation for evenness during immersion and not worried about fines migration clogging because of the vaccum and not worried about channeling because of the high saturation of each immersion batch. One extra benefit of this is using higher grade quantitative lab filters that do a better job of getting awesome clarity and lower astringency. But I agree the biggest thing is that there is a lot to be said for mixing the consistency and evenness of immersion technique and the efficiency of adding fresh solvent.
@@LanceHedrick Certainly not NSF certified since this is pretty off label but I have just been using the stonylab slows from amazon with reported about a 10micron gaps but theres a whole ecosystem out there I have seen with even finer. Of course I don't think there is any RCT work w.r.t. any food health concerns but given that they are ultimately almost entirely cellulose I would not be worried myself.
Lance try v60recipe: 20g coffee but first add 10g coffee to 20ml water after 30s water to 100 during filtration add remaining 10g coffee then water to 210 and last pour to 310ml.. its sweet and no stingy test
Thank you for the video! Therfore, I wonder if you have to choose a method to brew a very nice coffee (like 90+ washed clean/floral geisha), assuming you have a very good grinder, good technique, good water recipe ect..., would you rather choose this percolative/immersion method or a classical filter brew and why? :)
I've actually done this accidentally on a Clever and had a pretty good brew, mainly bc my Mr Clever I bought was 2-4 cup size. I did James's Clever method for the first half, then poured water into the bed when it was draining down. On the Switch I've been using the Coffee Chronicler method and it works if the TBT happens within 3-3:30, but for me it rarely happens that way even if the coffee is pretty coarsely ground. Rewatching this video I guess I haven't been grinding that coarsely and I guess I should try for a bit more coarser to get that TBT I'm looking for. Hybrid brews are definitely a lot of fun and it's been fun to experiment cup to cup.
something that can be ambiguous with recipes is when weight or time is additive or not. 16g to 50g to 140g. Is that adding 34g and then 90g. Or is it adding 50 and 140g for a total of 206g. With the 250g at the end, at least some of the weights appear to be added, but did you zero before or after the coffee was added? 1 min bloom and then 4 min immersion, so 5 minutes total after immersion or 4 minutes total?
Honestly going course with the Aeropress and steeping for 5 mins was a big positive change because the clarity improved so much due to the lower fines. Definetly recommend giving that a try! ^^
The thing I love most about the switch is if I need more coffee for guests or because I have to pull an all nighter I can just switch (hah) to a French Press without changing *anything*, i just double the times from pour water -> 2 minute -> stir -> 2 minute -> serve to 4 minute per and i get the same cup of coffee. The Switch 03 is literally just a fast French Press with no grounds to me, at least with a cloth filter. I'll try this pulse thing when it comes out, looks affordable.
Question that comes to mind when I see these higher priced straight wall drippers is how they compare to just using my AeroPress without plunging. (although with the price increases under new mgmt the prices are a lot closer)
Small doses (up to like 12g) works really well on AP! Just make sure to use something to disperse the water. You'll quickly clog with a direct kettle pour
I've been doing that as well, going from inverted to just embracing and taking advantage of the fact that the water can drip through. The upcoming XL might help with the size limitation but it is pretty expensive.
6 minutes for a single cup? You’re a better man than I. For the $8-9 a pound green I purchase to roast, I believe the V60 with Brew assist into a Hario Stainless server is a good balance of cost to labor. YMMV. Nice video Lance.
I've been using the clever dripper with a double immersion approach and really liking the results from it. I think having the pre-infusion as immersion really makes a difference. Unfortunately for me, ending it with a percolation stage lightens up the body too much, and makes the brew taste over-extracted. Probably a grinder issue but oh well..
From the video, I'm just thinking, aeropress with flow control or prismo should be really good for the method: First it's no pass; Second, we can give an exact control of speed of water by controlling the speed on pushing the plunge.
When doing cold brew, I sometimes use French press and then pour it over v60 to filter the small particles so that it can sit for few hours in fridge. Works well imho. I'm also still playing with my zp6 special with v60 and I'm wondering if this is a setup that deserves finer grind. I'm playing with that variable and switching between your latest pourover method and the 5 pour method. I still haven't decided which produces a better taste for me.
I got a Mugen to try this method with a few months back and quickly got microcracks in the walls of the dripper. My only guess it was from the prolonged heat in the immersion process, but could have just been a one-off observation. I know they are common in many plastic drippers over time, but this was definitely a bit accelerated (along with the darker plastic more visible).
There's a bit of a fine detail in this recipe that I'm trying to better understand - you do an initial bloom of 48g followed by a pour up to 140g because there's a bit of space between the switch and the Kono, and this allows some of the initial bloom water to drain through, and not be part of the immersion? Is there much of a difference in doing this vs. doing 1 pour to 140g to start, and then letting it steep to 2:15min?
Great video, lance! Timely as well as I've been playing with your kono daily driver recipe and not brewing cups that I'm completely happy with. This could be because of any of the reasons you stated at the beginning of the video but I am curious, would you say the ode gen 2 (which I am using) is a quality enough grinder to brew those high agitation recipes? Again great video, gonna have to buy some filters for my Clever.
The work of Jonathan Gagné is awesome but I want this in: - glass or metal (I know I know it’s BPA whatever stuff but no, thanks, I want what I use to be pretty too, and plastic is just awful) - double walls Also, what about the decreased temperature of the shower effect? You just use higher temp to compensate?
We have good tap water here but I'm using a Brita. My favoured brewer is the metal kalita or the kinto v60 both small size. My grinder is a comandante and I have a gooseneck kettle. Also I'm using a wdt and a coffee scale with timer. My favoured brew ratio is 1:15. I think this is a good base for filter coffee. ☮️
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It's been a while since I've taken out my Hario Switch. My daily routine sees me using a V60 with a LilyDrip in the morning when I make a bigger batch to share and an Aeropress later in day for a smaller one-cup brew. That Pulsar looks really interesting and I would like to try it once they're released, though!
Hey Lance, don’t know if you’ll see this or have the time to comment but I am curious. Around the 20min mark you recommend using a grind size setting around 350 micron on Comandante for Clever brews (assuming that takes you closer to 600-650microns for the grounds themselves). From what I can find online it looks like the Comandante is about 30microns per click. I’ve been getting some pretty tasty Clever brews from 20 clicks (600micron setting). Should I really try going all the way down to 12clicks? That seems ultra fine. I guess the worst that can happen is that I have one bad cup of coffee.
@LanceHedrick It is a really important and interesting topic. I recommend you to try the switch base with the Hario Mugen... i think this is the closest to no bypass with v60 style... i use this as a daily brewer for almost 2 years now ;)
i founs thru my partner the vientamses phin filter and honestly is is so forgiving and easy to use for my summer iced coffee fix. as much has i love my v60, my french press and phin are my daily drivers just bc they are so easy and have the least number of variables
For anyone who is interested in using the Stagg X/XF dripper with the Switch base, I just got a Stagg XF after seeing this video and I'm disappointed to find that while it does sit on the Switch base and can work, it's very unstable as it cannot lock into the Switch base tightly. Any attempt to swirl the brewer during brewing will break the seal and cause a mess.
I found this and your previous video on percolative immersion while looking into what exactly the pros and cons of percolation vs immersion are, and they were both very informative. I do still have one question though. While I understand that the primary benefit of percolation is the addition of new water as fresh solvent, what would the advantage of percolative immersion be versus multiple immersions/steeps with fresh water each time (ex. the gongfu tea brewing method)? Is it mainly just a time/efficiency angle, in that successive immersions and extended steeps beyond the first aren't really netting that much more extraction, so you might as well save time with quick percolation phases?
Thanks! My brew turned out pretty good😊 could you recommend a good coffee/origin/variety that this brewer compliments? (Talking about the Pulsar dripper)
I often do a Hoffmann style french press with medium small grinds which gives quite a clear liquid already and then pour it through a paper filter. I really like the result. Am I the only one? Hard to beliefe 😅
Hey Lance! I used to work at Augie's (roasting and wholesale). Tim and Austin made me DM you one time haha! I'm not in coffee right now, but I've thoroughly enjoyed returning coffee to the hobby where I began and have learned immensely from your videos. My home brewing game is the best it's ever been so thanks for that! Quick question that's not about brewing coffee haha: what brand is that amber colored range server you show briefly in this video?
Hey Lance, thank you very much! This is definitely something I’m going to give a try. I had a question so you were talking about having the grinds a bit coarser, and I know it could depend on various roasts, but just for a standard suggestion for the Pietro hand grinder (you had involvement with) what number would you try this at? I may have missed it in the video but I thought I would ask. Thank you so much again.
I stuck my Hario Mugen on my Switch because, yes, less bypass, but more importantly, far less thermal mass with the plastic Mugen. Now i dont know what to do with very cool and stylish glass dripper that came with the Switch. I bet they would make awesome pendant lights for cafes. And way cheaper than stuff from your local lighting supply company.
I love immersion brewed coffee and after my Aeropress started crazing I put some thought into replacing it with another one. However, why should I continue consuming plastic? I purchased a 500ml glass beaker for an immersion vessel and then use a simple Melitta cone filter holder to filter the water coffee mix after a two minute steep. It works perfect and was cheaper than any fancy immersion brewing system and an easier cleanup than a French press.
Hey Lance. That Next Level looks interesting. I’ve been using a Tricolate for about a year now. I get really consistent results. The key (for me) is to use a WDT on the coffee bed before the pour. It’s a game changer. Love your work. Thanks for the vid. I must go now and brew some coffee !
The Next Level LVL-10 (model available now, doesn't have the valve) is very similar in concept (better design to lock in the filter though) to the Tricolate. Main diff is it's bigger. You can brew up to 50g of coffee. (I often push it to 56g so a 340g bag comes out even.)
This technique, with its emphasis on coarse grinds, is another example of why all of the the hate for the fellow ode (with its original burrs) was unjustified. I'd also add Hoffman's pulse pouring technique for single cups as another example. There was so much talk about how the original ode wasn't good for single cups because too coarse. But if you're into lower extraction yields *or* willing to adapt your technique for coarse grinds, the original ode does a great job!
Hi Lance, thank you for this video! Been using the switch base + kono method. I experimented with 5 equal mass pouring divisions, alternating between percolation and immersion. I've been getting the best cups and somewhat smoothen the edges out of the beans' extractions. One problem though, it's now my third kono in 2 years and they all have cracks developing as early as 2 months of use. I wonder if it does happen, or if it has something to do with climate or maintenance. Cheers.
I was just thinking about the Hario Switch a few days ago and this beauty even for just preheating the brewer... And there's a beautiful new video to digest and boost my thoughts shuffle about the whole immersion + percolation approach. Thanks! Useful as always!
As detailed on the EA forums, I've been cutting filters out Abaca paper to fit over the switch base, then carefully sliding the chamber of the Aeropress over the sides of the Switch base that has a filter placed over the top. You can do long steep AP without pressing (hypothetically reducing astringency), but I basically use it like a Pulsar. Aeropress cap as the dispersion screen. High-EY no-bypass fairly rules, for a pretty good amount of coffees at least. Waiting to break into these Hartmann Geisha tins, but I have a lot of coffees dialed in at 4.5 to 5 on K Series, but I guess I'll play w/ river rocks. CHEERS LANCE GODDAMN
@@mrdisco8616Are we talking about using the AP cap as a dispersion unit? I actually just invert the cap and set it right on top of the chamber. Pour in the center with a gooseneck and there's no spillage. My new prep involves grinding coarse and using three pours with agitation after each.
Hey Lance, you brought up enjoying the brews from cupping and described why. Perhaps I missed this in the video but what is your comparison of that experience versus these hybrid approaches or of immersion with a quality grinder?
@Lance - I'm looking for recommendations on some very fruity/bright/funky light roasts (or VERY light roasts) that you have been enjoying lately? Any good recommendations??
Thank you for this very instructive video, as well as the other videos. Something I don't get - I know the explanation about the less efficiency of brewing with immersion, but I don't fully understand it. After all, in the percolation there is unsaturated water that passes through the coffee at any moment, but its amount is very small. During immersion, although the water is saturated with coffee, its quantity is much greater. Doesn't it offset?
Most of my brewing is AP and Moka. The one thing that’s kept me away from pour over is the cost of a decent kettle. You didn’t show, but it looks like the Pulsar has some sort of shower screen, which makes it attractive to me. Be interesting to see when it comes out. Two questions: what is the carafe (me likey) and what is the long handled WDT tool?
@@markosverdhi my store sells that exact model. They’re 50CAD and I get 10% off. I’ve thought about buying it, since I’m using an induction hob with my current kettle anyway. But I’d really like a variable temperature kettle, if I’m going to get into pour over. I’d hate to buy the Bodum, then want to upgrade at some point and then have to consign the Bodum to landfill. I prefer “buy once, cry once” as its less wasteful in the long run.
Lance thank you for another amazing video. One thing confused me though - Tetsu’s devil recipe called for 23 clicks on the C40. That’s a pretty fine grind, no? 🧐
I have used Tetsu's devil recipe for months. And I am using 22-23 clicks on my C40, so pretty fine grind size like yours. I think the reason is that in the immersion stage we only use around 70°c water which has less extraction efficiency. So went finer makes sense. My beans are quite light. So I actually use 98°c water for the percolation stage, but it works well.
Very interested in both of these as I have a Pulsar next level on order. Will the Kono - Meimon MD-41 Plastic Dripper Clear - 4 cup fit on top of the switch base do you know? Thanks for another great video
I was skeptical, but this really did make a noticeable positive difference. I just used my usual Switch immersion method (no bloom, no Kona on top or anything) but stopped pouring at 180g instead of 300. Let it steep for 2:15, opened the switch, and did the rest like a pour over. I got the sweetest and juiciest cup I've had in a long time with no extra astringency. The extraction must be higher. I'm brewing Cusco from Passenger, a light but balanced roast.
hey Lance, what server that you use? I see it has small conical bottom. Does it affect the aeration level? And what is wdt tools that you used? never see that before
I have a couple of questions: for a mixed method like this how would you measure tds? also how do I understand what I need to change when I try this recipe (steep time, grind size, etc)?
