Anyone have a reliable siphon method?

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Anyone have a reliable siphon method?

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Anyone have a reliable siphon method?

Anyone have a reliable siphon method?

minimum dose size?

I use the Hario switch to brew my coffee and am trying to reduce my caffeine consumption. Hence I would like to brew smaller cups of coffee. I am currently using 10g of coffee with 160g of water. (1:16 Ratio) I am wondering if there is a minimum amount of coffee...

Anyone have a reliable siphon method?

I've used a siphon for coffee for the last fifteen years or so, which until recently was either a 1/2 pint or 1 pint (depending if solo or making for two) Cona device, using an alcohol lamp and glass rod filter. More recently I've picked up a Hario TCA-2 which I'm using with cloth filters and the alcohol lamp.

Alongside siphon brewing, I love pour-over, for which I use just a two-cup or four-cup Melitta cone with Melitta papers.

I used a Spong cast iron grinder for years, then a Knock Aerspeed, but have most recently settled on a 1Zpresso JX.

I've always been keen on doing coffee as well as I can within reason, but only recently, mainly from browsing this forum and watching Hoffmann's and others' videos on YouTube, have I started to really try and refine my technique and palette.

I feel I'm really getting somewhere with the pour-over, both with Hoffmann's V60 method (including the recent 1-mug version) and also experimenting with the 4:6 method. Along with my home-roasted (Whirley-pop) beans, I get cups of coffee where every mouthful makes me say 'wow' most of the time.

Sadly though I seem unable to approach this level with the siphon. Part of the issue I think is the lack of any consistent, believable recipe. There is such wide variety both online and in the instructions that Cona gave (obviously pretty old now) and those from Hario (even from them there are wildly differing instructions on their 'Syphon Brew Guide' online vs the actual instructions with the TCA-2). Some say medium-fine grind, some say medium-coarse or coarse; some say add the grounds once the water has all risen, some say add them before this; some say use 40–60 seconds, some say at least 1.5 mins, some say more…

I've tried various combinations of the above (obviously not a finer grind and 2.5 minutes, or a cafetiere grind and 40 seconds, as they'd be grossly over- or underextracted respectively), and have arrived at cups that are alright but absolutely nowhere near as delicious as I can get from a pour-over. I feel from what I've read over the years that a siphon brewer should be capable of matching or exceeding the deliciousness of a pour-over coffee so this is a bit frustrating and I'm sure I can get it to that level if I adjust the right parameter(s).

Although the alcohol burner is less ideal than a butane one, I don't feel this itself is to blame as I'm able to get a stable temperature of just under 200ºF in the brewing chamber with it.

I'm sure there are others who have been here before (and indeed over the years there have been some similar posts asking the same thing), but does anyone have any advice for getting a cup of coffee that makes me say WOW with every mouthful from the siphon brewer?

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