# "Perger-tap" proofing a V60?



## jonbutler88 (Dec 31, 2015)

Matt Perger's V60 technique involves a little tap and a wiggle of the brewer on the server just before the final draw down. In the videos I've seen demonstrating this, he's always using a glass 02 size V60 and the corresponding glass Hario carafe. I use the ceramic 02 size V60, which I presume is a little heavier than the glass version, and I'm a little worried that trying this technique will damage the carafe. A possible solution to this is finding a rubber washer or gasket that could fit around the bottom of the brewer and protect the carafe when tapping during a brew. After an hour or so of measuring and searching, it would seem that there are no standard size of washer or gasket that would do the job, and one would likely have to be custom made.

Before I start looking into getting a quote (and possibly organising a group buy if anyone else is interested in trying one), has anyone else found a simpler solution? Or already experimented with tapping and found it to be not worth the trouble?


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## PPapa (Oct 24, 2015)

What's the actual point of doing this? I used to do it, then stopped for a while, now do it sometimes. Honestly, couldn't tell the difference, but haven't been logging the brew times that precisely lately as my brew methods are quite well defined now.


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## risky (May 11, 2015)

@PPapa The point is to ensure a level bed and therefore a more even extraction I believe. from my testing there is a noticeable difference if I don't do it.

@jonbutler88 I'm pretty sure Perger is using a plastic dripper but you don't need to tap hard. Not sure what the wiggle is you refer to.

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## frandavi99 (Jun 8, 2014)

I try to do it when I remember and do notice a difference in the how level the bed of coffee is at the end. I guess in theory a level bed of coffee gives more even extraction? Can't say as I've noticed any difference in taste.

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## jtldurnall (Mar 16, 2015)

I do it in my v60 routine, I find it helps settle the bed and get coffee off the sides of the filter. I then do a final pour of the last 40ml to wash around the sides. Aim is to extract all off the coffee and not leave any high and dry. I do it in a plastic v60 though, so no idea how this would affect a ceramic one.

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## jonbutler88 (Dec 31, 2015)

He's using a glass V60 in all the examples I can find, you can tell because the base is flared and a different color, which AFAIK is only in the glass variant. Here is the link to the video mentioning the "wiggle", although it would seem he doesn't always do that part:






I'm not sure it would make a world of difference in the cup, that could be because it doesn't matter so much that the bed is flat (or that the tap doesn't make the bed any flatter), or it could be that we're being too gentle in tapping so the bed doesn't settle as much as it could. I guess to really do it properly you'd need a refractometer and a load of proper tests, I was just looking at more low-tech ways I might be able to further improve my brews.


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## MWJB (Feb 28, 2012)

Is your bed ending up reasonably flat?

I've never used a refractometer to tap a V60 ;-) You don't have to tap hard.

What recipe are you following?


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## 4085 (Nov 23, 2012)

Why do we follow our leaders so? Does anyone here admit to doing the genuflect that the well know coffee expert Schulman did with the Strega. Can anyone else come up with any other stupid routines that did not catch on?

The point is it is probably impossible to say this is anything but good, but can you really tell in the cup


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## MWJB (Feb 28, 2012)

Matt Perger's your leader? You're too easily lead. To me he's a barista who has made more coffees than I probably will in my lifetime & won a world Championship doing so. Why wouldn't you consider his advice?

I don't believe Jim Schulman made any claims about his Strega squat affecting the taste of the coffee, just an ergonomical preference. I don't see that how you pull the lever affects the brewing of the shot, as long as the puck isn't disrupted.

You can tell in the cup when an extraction is low/uneven (sour, sherberty) against one that is good (sweet & juicy). Are your V60's sweet & juicy David?


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## MWJB (Feb 28, 2012)

jonbutler88 said:


> A possible solution to this is finding a rubber washer or gasket that could fit around the bottom of the brewer and protect the carafe when tapping during a brew. After an hour or so of measuring and searching, it would seem that there are no standard size of washer or gasket that would do the job, and one would likely have to be custom made.
> 
> Before I start looking into getting a quote (and possibly organising a group buy if anyone else is interested in trying one), has anyone else found a simpler solution? Or already experimented with tapping and found it to be not worth the trouble?


What about a brew stand, so that the V60 isn't resting directly on the carafe?


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## jonbutler88 (Dec 31, 2015)

My beds are usually mostly flat or very slightly slanted, but sometimes have a little lip going up the sides. I almost always use 18g coffee to 300g water (or scale that based on 6g:100ml rule), and a mix of volvic and WE water heated to 97c. I bloom roughly double the coffee weight for 30 seconds, then pour up to half the total water weight to set the level of the water I want to maintain. I then do small pulse pours to keep this level until I reach the final water weight (plus a few grams for evapouration). This normally results in some pretty tasty coffee.

I tried one this morning with a tap and the bed was much flatter, so it certainly seems to tick that box. However, I also experimented with stirring while blooming and adding all of the water in one pour after the bloom (I know, changing more than 1 parameter at once...), and as a result while the bed was flat, the coffee tasted a little underextracted as the brew was done in 2:15 total. I'll try tightening up the grind to increase the extraction and see how that affects the draw down time.

I'll look into brew stands, in general I'd like to keep things as uncluttered as possible though.


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## MWJB (Feb 28, 2012)

Switching from pulse pouring to a single pour means that you will generally have a greater weight of water above the bed with the fuller brewer. This will drain faster & speed up the brew, so yes, grinding finer (to increase resistance to the heavier brew water weight) for this method would be wise. Aim for similar total brew times with both methods (for a particular coffee).

I wouldn't bother adding a few grams for evaporation (unless you are very consistent, in any case you are changing the brew ratio by doing this), drip ratios take account of this & evaporation isn't significant.


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## jonbutler88 (Dec 31, 2015)

Are there any pros or cons to pulse pouring vs pouring all at once in your opinion? I guess it might help the water in the brewer keep its temperature better? Although I imagine a coarser grind with pulse pours will extract differently to a finer grind with a pour all at once.


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## 4085 (Nov 23, 2012)

MWJB said:


> Are your V60's sweet & juicy David?


Thats for me to know and you to guess.....cheeky!


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## jonbutler88 (Dec 31, 2015)

To partially answer my own question, consulting Everything but Espresso seems to suggest pulse pouring is better so long as the water that is added in subsequent pours is kept at the original water temperature and not allowed to cool in the kettle. He also suggests stirring the bloom, but seems to be much less aggressive with the stir than Perger's method. Perhaps tapping is only present in Perger's method to compensate for his overly aggressive stir?

Anyway, enough speculating. I'll try some experimental brews over the next few days and see if I can taste any differences.


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## MWJB (Feb 28, 2012)

Well, some like to brew with as coarse a grind as they can & have commented on higher sweetness (for a given extraction). I have had good brews with either approach, but have never bothered to do an involved test of one vs the other, it would be pretty labour intensive. You can hit the same extraction either way...that doesn't discount differences in evenness, but identifying these differences again, would be very labour intensive.

I try and keep grind setting pretty constant, starting out for a bloom & 4 pulses (13.2g to 220g), this allows me to switch to a single filling pour if I run into a much more soluble coffee.


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## MWJB (Feb 28, 2012)

jonbutler88 said:


> To partially answer my own question, consulting Everything but Espresso seems to suggest pulse pouring is better so long as the water that is added in subsequent pours is kept at the original water temperature and not allowed to cool in the kettle. He also suggests stirring the bloom, but seems to be much less aggressive with the stir than Perger's method. Perhaps tapping is only present in Perger's method to compensate for his overly aggressive stir?
> 
> Anyway, enough speculating. I'll try some experimental brews over the next few days and see if I can taste any differences.


I'm not sure that there's a great deal of difference in Rao & Perger's approaches (Perger has credited Rao on occasions). In more recent times Scott Rao has also suggested a single continuous pour.


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## jeebsy (May 5, 2013)

MWJB said:


> In more recent times Scott Rao has also suggested a single continuous pour.


He learned that from @garydyke1


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