# Getting the most from immersion brews



## jtldurnall (Mar 16, 2015)

This question relates mostly to my Eva Solo, but no doubt applies to other immersion methods as well.

Had the solo for a while now and am using it daily. I brew a big batch (700 ml) in the morning, drink a small cup, and then flask the rest. I enjoy it. It's a habit.

However recently I've been thinking about experimenting more with my daily brews. I hear people talking about super long steeps to get some sweet coffee Nirvana and I want in.

At the moment I'm using 45g > 700ml. 4 - 7 min brew depending on how my morning is going and a fine drip grind.

Does anyone have any suggestions about how I can draw more flavour out of this method? Any recipes to share?

Also, and this might be unrelated, the first cup always tastes ace, but the flasked stuff never quite pushes the same buttons. Any tips for keeping coffee fresh longer are very welcome!


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## MWJB (Feb 28, 2012)

OK, why do you flask the rest? Just leave it in the pot.

For a longer steep I'd drop the brew ratio to 55g/l, plus or minus a couple of g/l.

Add all the water in one hit, a quick stir NSEW as best you can, then lid on & wait. When you get to tasting it, discard the first 1/3 cup or so.


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## jtldurnall (Mar 16, 2015)

Ah sorry, I flask it as I take it to work. End up drinking it maybe 2 hours later.

What temp should I be going for?


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## MWJB (Feb 28, 2012)

Let the rolling boil stop, then straight in.


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## jtldurnall (Mar 16, 2015)

I'll give this a try in the morning. It's really that simple? Just increase the time? What about over extraction etc...


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## MWJB (Feb 28, 2012)

Over-extraction is very unlikely, the coffee will go cold before it over-extracts. You can screw up the taste other ways though: don't stir it again after the fill & initial wetting stir, not leaving it long enough, kicking up silt that gets into the cup, bad water (unlikely in most conditions).

If you get a very soluble coffee that goes a tad far, up the dose just little.

For 700ml I'd leave it 40min as a start point. I'd rather decant into a glass vessel then microwave in the cup, than use a flask (if that's an option).


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## jtldurnall (Mar 16, 2015)

Thanks a lot, really appreciate all the advice. I'll give it a shot. I'm quite looking forward to getting up now.


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## jtldurnall (Mar 16, 2015)

So had a go at this. Did it just as you said and let it sit for about 45 mins after a NSEW stir. Used some of this month's LSOL, it came out delicious. Got that malty butterscotch, was super sweet, even the missus enjoyed it.


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## Rhys (Dec 21, 2014)

French Press? Might give this a go myself..


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## jtldurnall (Mar 16, 2015)

It was with an Eva solo, but I'd imagine the same would apply?


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## PPapa (Oct 24, 2015)

I never stirred with AP/Sowden. Will try that next time, thanks @MWJB.

I guess getting the grind right is more important anyway as I had some brews that there hyper-super-over-extracted.


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## MWJB (Feb 28, 2012)

PPapa said:


> I never stirred with AP/Sowden. Will try that next time, thanks @MWJB.
> 
> I guess getting the grind right is more important anyway as I had some brews that there hyper-super-over-extracted.


Over-extracted? Very unlikely in a Sowden, let alone "hyper-super". What ratio & grind are you using?

I don't stir with the Sowden, I just dunk & thoroughly wet the coffee, at the suface, after adding the water. Sowden grind is limited by the filter mesh, if the non dissolved solids start causing bittering/pruney/paracetamol type flavours, go coarser. It's the coarsest grind I use in any method, but still around drip settings.


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## PPapa (Oct 24, 2015)

MWJB said:


> Over-extracted? Very unlikely in a Sowden, let alone "hyper-super". What ratio & grind are you using?
> 
> I don't stir with the Sowden, I just dunk & thoroughly wet the coffee, at the suface, after adding the water. Sowden grind is limited by the filter mesh, if the non dissolved solids start causing bittering/pruney/paracetamol type flavours, go coarser. It's the coarsest grind I use in any method, but still around drip settings.


It was 26g:450g and fairly fine, 1.4 (or 1.6, can't recall now) on Feldgrind. 96C, 45 min steep.

By hyper super I didn't mean literally (my bad if it seemed that I got espresso-like coffee in Snowden!). Sometimes you get over extracted brew that is just slightly bitter but still drinkable. The one I had was way too over extracted, not something I would ever enjoy drinking. On the other hand, it wasn't completely terrible. Just very strong and bitter.


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## MWJB (Feb 28, 2012)

I doubt very much it was over-extracted, but I don't doubt it was bitter. Bitterness is not a certain indicator of over-extraction.

Espresso is stronger, but not necessarily more/over-extracted (typically on a par most likely, both erring on under).

Drop your brew ratio to 52-53g/l. After pouring off the first 1/3 cup & discarding, have a few tastes before pouring the rest.

1.4 on a Feldgrind sounds very fine for a Sowden brew. Do you see much in the way of silt in the cup?


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## Cirya (Jan 2, 2016)

I have lately got my best immersion brews in a french press by using a ratio of around 55g of coffee, ground to fine drip, per liter of nearly boiling water (99c kettle temp). Coffee in first, then just a dash of water, about double the weight of coffee. Then a rather heavy stir to make a thoroughly saturated foamy slur sitting there at the bottom. I think you can't ruin this by stirring too much because there is so little water it probably just cant over-extract anything. Just be quick not to lose too much heat. Then just dump in the rest of the water to agitate the slur and cover with something to retain heat. No need to touch it after this before separating.

I have not found huge difference between steep times from 10 minutes to an hour. There won't be much of a crust and pretty much everything sinks in the first couple minutes, probably because of the forced saturation in the beginning. Then after the steep, separate the grounds and liquid the way you like. I push down the plunger tweaked with a thin paper filter on top of the mesh to get rid of the fines and most oils. The result is probably quite CCD-like, though there is naturally no drawdown adding to the extraction. Pouring through the mesh and discarding the first bit without plunging probably works well too, but then longer steep may give better clarity by giving the fines more time to sink.

Now, I don't have any idea about the extraction yield but this has tasted very balanced regardless of coffee used. Lately I've used mostly Kenyans which have turned out quite sweet and juicy (at the moment Kenya Kieni by The Coffee Collective, packed with blackcurrant and rhubarb, yum). If someone with a refractometer had interest to try this method and measure it, I'd be very happy to hear the results.


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## PPapa (Oct 24, 2015)

Just a random thought...

Does anyone else blend their beans for long steeping? I don't do it regularly, but whenever I have some leftovers, I just blend them together. I just had 13g+13g (450g @ 96C water, 60' steep) of Kenya Thiriku AA from Avenue and Rwanda Gashonga from Jolly Brew (both washed). Damn, that was good. If brewed separately, Kenyan is a little bit too clean/bright/acidic while Rwandan is fairly well balanced, but does not have some distinctive notes. If mixed together, it felt like a nice balance between two (duh!). I am not a spro guy, but I thought that's the similar reason of blending beans for espresso.


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