Homemade drip tower, part II

Extraction process of the cold brew

The extraction time for this cold brew was around 10 hours, which I think were a little to long considering the low amount of water. The taste was a little too concentrated for my taste, but if mixing with hot/cold water nor milk it could be perfect, but I like it straight.

Nevertheless I kept a stabile drip through the entire process, thanks to the use of glad wrap (about one drip per second). This was contributing a constant moist coffee grounds, which worked perfect with the Aeropress filter set to distributed the water when entering the extraction chamber.

Extraction process and the entire used drip tower

In comparison to my previous attempts on cold brewing, the french press was indeed the best method in pursuit of achieving the right consistency and development of flavors. Also this current set-up with the use of Aeropress, french press and Syphon is quite time-consuming when assembling, therefore the french press is a lot easier to use and a more forgiving.

The french press method is more forgiving, cause of the unimportance of correct grind size and amount of water, were in comparison to the homemade drip tower all has to be in order.

Brewed coffee elixir, close up

The coffee elixir extracted from the homemade drip tower was more sirupy than brewed in the french press, which is indicating that the extraction time was more concentrated because of the one drip per second ratio. This leaved a clear mark on the taste of the brew, which was a bit more strong than previous attempts, therefore most suitable for mixing. The flavors were mostly overwhelmed with a strong coffee flavor, I suspect the used Syphon cotton filter for leaving traces of coffee flavors.

In my opinion I would rather brew in a french press, because I think its more easy going, as for first timers and more suitable in taste for the general audience. BUT if you prefer strongly made espresso and so on, maybe this drip tower would appeal to you. I have tried a tasting from the Hario drip tower, which was similar to the french press brew of my own, but maybe I will find a way to optimize this homemade drip tower.

// Hendrup