The expert's word is synonymous with quality in any professional field, so we asked Luigi Lupi, founder of Latte Art, SCAE instructor, ambassador for Musetti Caffè as well as one of the world's leading coffee experts, a few questions about different types of coffee filtration.
What is meant when we talk about brewing in the context of coffee?
Literally 'to brew' means 'to ferment' and is a term referring to brewing but as far as coffee is concerned brewing is that generic term by which all those alternative beverages to espresso are referred to, although espresso itself would be considered brewed coffee, i.e., filtered coffee.
What are the differences between aero press and french press?
In both there is infusion between water and coffee and pressure only that in the aero press the pressure is done by crushing the water, so it happens from the top down, while in the french press it happens the other way around.
Whereas between American coffee and filter coffee?
Filter coffee is made with a professional machine specifically for filter coffee and a coffee blend that is not the espresso blend but rather single-origin orspecialty coffees, in short blends that are roasted much lighter and ground much coarser so that the filtered beverage is lighter, more aromatic and sweeter. American coffee, on the other hand, is a way of drinking a much much longer espresso coffee as precisely the Americans or Northern Europeans do. It is neither more nor less than espresso diluted with hot water, so the blend is the espresso blend. The americano will always turn out more bitter because of the extremely fine coffee particles that should not be in a good filter coffee.
Why use a Japanese siphon to make brews?
The result of using it can be summarized in 2 steps: infusion and percolation, because the hot water stays in contact with the ground coffee as long as desired. There are parameters, of course, but with this system you can decide whether to make the coffee stronger or weaker. By leaving a heat source on at the base of the siphon, the water comes to a boil by passing through the top bubble and in this same bubble is placed the coffee, which remains in contact with the water for the desired time, until you decide to turn off the heat source. Whether you want it stronger or weaker depends very much on fashion and culture.
What about the Chemex?
It is a very very old coffee maker that was invented by the German Peter Schlumbohm and is so famous that it was chosen among the objects in the permanent collection of the MoMA in New York: it is extremely beautiful to look at and simple to use. The coffee has to be filtered through a paper filter and the blend to be used, as well as for aero press, french press and filter coffee, is much coarser than that used for espresso (the grind ranges from 600 to 800 micromillimeters in coarseness compared to an espresso for which it ranges from 200 to 400 micromillimeters). These are drinks that are much lighter and much less bitter but the important thing is that lighter roasted coffees are used.
Very similar to the Chemex is then the V60, which, however, consists of 2 separate pieces: an ampoule underneath that receives the coffee filtered right from the V60, which is a glass or metal or plastic part.
Can we mention other systems?
Certainly among the many that are becoming increasingly popular Turkish-style coffee is very fashionable, so much so that world championships are made for this specialty. It is important to remember that it is the only coffee that is not filtered because the grind is so fine, almost impalpable, that filtration is impossible.
